The New Fight To Defend The Sunset Roadless Area—And Our Climate.

The National Roadless Area Conservation Policy directive is issued, ending virtually all commercial logging and roadbuilding across 58 million acres of the wildest remaining undeveloped national forests lands.

The Roadless Rule is the direct result of a tremendous outpouring of public support. More than 600 public hearings were held around the nation, and the public provided more than 1.6 million comments on the Rule—more comments than any other Rule in the nation's history.

The Rule is immediately subjected to attacks. Earthjustice begins a decade-long legal battle to defend the Roadless Rule.

The West Elk coal mine, near Paonia in Gunnison County, western Colorado, is identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as the fourth largest emitter of methane from an underground coal mine in the U.S. and one of only 12 mines in the country that does not capture vented methane for use. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas.

The mine is owned by a subsidiary of Missouri-based Arch Coal, the nation’s second largest coal company.

Federal agencies begin the process of a 1,700-acre expansion of coal leases into the Sunset Roadless Area in Colorado. Lease owner Arch Coal's West Elk underground mine will have to remove methane, which it does by bulldozing roads to construct vents drilled into the coal seam from on top.

The Sunset Roadless Area, a 5,800-acre area within the Gunnison National Forest, is prime wildlife habitat and is home to pristine forests of aspen and giant spruce.

During the public comment period that follows, more than 30,000 comments are submitted in opposition to the mine.

After a long-running legal battle, the 2001 National Roadless Rule is upheld by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.

But, the federal government is considering a Colorado-specific Rule that would allow miles of roads to be built in 20,000 acres of roadless areas to meet the desires of coal companies hoping to develop these wild areas for mining.

The Forest Service (Grand Mesa Uncompahgre and Gunnison (“GMUG”) National Forest) approves the 1,700-acre expansion of Arch Coal’s West Elk coal mine. The decision would allow well pads and miles of road to be built into the pristine lands of the Sunset Roadless Area.

Earthjustice files a formal appeal of the decision to the Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Region in Denver, on behalf of the Sierra Club, High Country Citizens’ Alliance, WildEarth Guardians, and Defenders of Wildlife.

The Forest Service’s regional office in Denver overturns GMUG National Forest's approval of the coal mine expansion. The Rocky Mountain Region states that GMUG National Forest did not explain why it had weakened protections for lynx, bald eagles, and measures meant to prevent landslides.

GMUG National Forest tweaks the Sunset Roadless Area bulldozing project and re-proposes it, hoping to get the project approved by the fall.

The state-specific Colorado Roadless Rule goes into effect, superseding the National Roadless Rule. A 20,000-acre loophole built in to the Colorado Roadless Rule opens the door for mines to bulldoze miles of road in pristine forest north and east of Paonia.

The public comment period on the tweaked proposal concludes, with tens of thousands of comments submitted in opposition to the mine's expansion.

GMUG National Forest admits that it would be “environmentally preferred” to protect the wildest, most pristine part of the Sunset Roadless Area from bulldozing for road construction and for scraping well pads that would benefit Arch Coal.

But the agency approves the most aggressive coal mine expansion proposal for the West Elk mine.

Earthjustice files an administrative appeal with the Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Regional Forester in Denver challenging the decision on behalf of the WildEarth Guardians, High Country Citizens’ Alliance Sierra Club, Rocky Mountain Wild and Defenders of Wildlife.

The appeal argues that the GMUG National Forest's decision re-approving the mine expansion violates federal laws meant to protect the climate wildlife, air quality, and forest lands.

The Rocky Mountain Regional Forester denies the appeal.

The Bureau of Land Management approves the coal mine expansion.

Earthjustice files an appeal with the Interior Board of Land Appeals, on behalf of the conservation groups High Country Citizens’ Alliance, WildEarth Guardians, Rocky Mountain Wild, and the Sierra Club.

The groups argue that BLM violated federal environmental laws in authorizing Arch Coal’s mine expansion, and that the impacts developing methane venting wells will irreparably alter the Sunset Roadless Area.

A federal court lawsuit challenging the approval of the mine expansion is filed by Earthjustice, representing WildEarth Guardians and High Country Citizens' Alliance. (Sierra Club joins the suit later.)

In a landmark decision, the U.S. District Court of Colorado rules on the court challenge. Citing agencies’ neglect to consider climate change impacts, the Court rejects federal agencies’ approval of Arch Coal’s plans to bulldoze roads through the pristine Sunset Roadless Area.

The Court held that the Forest Service looked at the benefits to the local economy—but ignored the global costs of climate change, stating: “It is arbitrary to offer detailed projections of a project’s upside while omitting a feasible projection of the project’s costs.”

The court’s decision has nationwide implications and halts—for the time being—Arch Coal’s plan to begin exploring for coal in the heart of the Sunset Roadless Area.

U.S. District Court Judge R. Brooke Jackson issues a ruling eliminating the coal mining loophole in the Colorado Roadless Rule, and vacating the lease expansion. The order finalizes the June 27 decision.

The West Elk mine expansion on roadless lands cannot occur unless, and until, the Forest Service and the BLM correct the legal violations, and the agencies make new decisions that permit road construction for coal mining in roadless areas and that permit Arch Coal to expand its lease.

The Forest Service moves to revive the loophole in Colorado Roadless Rule. The agency announces its intent to analyze the loophole’s potential harms and benefits in a draft Environmental Impact Statement. The loophole will pave the way for Arch Coal to move ahead with its West Elk mine expansion into the Sunset Roadless Area.

The Forest Service receives an avalanche of protest from more than 100,000 people, urging the agency to reject re-opening the loophole.

The Forest Service continues to move forward on re-opening the loophole by issuing a draft Environmental Impact Statement.

The draft EIS concludes that the damage to the global economy and environment from the climate pollution unleashed by mining coal in roadless forest could be in the billions of dollars. The actual costs are likely far higher; experts found plenty of ways that the Forest Service low-balled the loophole’s climate costs.

The Interior Department announces a “pause” in coal leasing on federal lands, but specifically exempts Arch Coal’s proposed expansion plan from the leasing moratorium.

More than 150,000 people, including thousands of Coloradans, submit comments to the draft EIS, calling on the Forest Service to prevent the West Elk mine expansion.

The Forest Service begins the process for re-approving West Elk mine’s leases that will expand into the Sunset Roadless Area, taking advantage of the impending approval of the roadless rule coal mine loophole.

More than 60,000 comments are submitted in opposition to the mine's expansion.

The Forest Service issues the final Environmental Impact Statement on the Colorado Roadless Rule coal mine loophole, disclosing that the mining and burning of the coal at issue would result in millions of tons of climate pollution, and cause up to $3.4 billion in global damage due to worsened climate change.

The Forest Service issues its decision approving the roadless rule loophole, inviting the mining of 170 million tons of coal, and bulldozing of wild aspen and spruce forest in the Sunset and Flat Irons Roadless areas immediately adjacent to Mount Gunnison in the West Elk Wilderness, 45 miles southwest of Aspen, Colorado.

According to a Forest Service analysis, coal mined from these roadless lands will displace nearly 10,000 gigawatt hours of clean, renewable power including solar and wind.

A draft environmental impact study addressing a plan to approve Arch Coal’s proposal to lease 1,700 acres of roadless wildlands in the Gunnison National Forest for mining 17 million tons of coal is issued, beginning a 45-day public comment period. Read more.