Environmentalists said Friday they were heartened by the court's decision to expedite the appeal. A spokesman for the groups, which include Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund and the Natural Resources Defense Council, said this week's appellate court order represents a possible first step toward reversal of the ruling by U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge in Boise, Idaho. That would allow the ban to take effect this summer. President Clinton issued the prohibition order in January that would block almost all logging and road-building on 58.5 million acres of national forests. The Bush administration has said the rule should be changed to allow more local communities and American Indian tribes to have some say in the policy and maps used to inventory the roadless areas to be checked for accuracy.
Environmentalists contend the policy represents the most extensive public rule-making in history.
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