U.S. District Court Judge Dana Christensen on June 29, 2018 upheld the U.S. Forest Service’s 2016 Bitterroot National Forest Travel Plan against a legal challenge brought by motorized and mechanized users.

The Travel Plan protects some of the wildest landscapes in the continental United States, located in the Bitterroot National Forest, from a rising tide of motorized and mechanized backcountry use. Snowmobile, off-road vehicle, and mountain bike groups filed a legal challenge in December 2016, asking the court to open the protected areas to motor vehicles and mountain bikes, but a broad coalition of Montanans represented by Earthjustice intervened in the lawsuit last year to defend the Travel Plan. On June 29, the court ruled for the intervenors, and ordered that the Travel Plan’s protections remain in place.

“The wilderness-quality lands the Travel Plan protects are important to people from all walks of life in the Bitterroot valley, including hunters, fishermen, horsepackers, hikers, and skiers,” said Earthjustice attorney Josh Purtle. “The court’s decision ensures that these special places will continue to support elk and other wildlife and provide Montanans with outstanding opportunities for solitude and quiet recreation for years to come.”

Read the decision.