Opinion ID: 175356
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Road Density

Text: Prior to 2006, the Gallatin Plan limited road density in the forest in order to protect elk habitat. The Plan ensured at least 70% elk effective cover, limiting road density to 0.75 miles/square mile. It did so based on the recommendations of scientists who stated that [r]oads are undoubtedly the most significant consideration on elk summer range. The road density restriction was intended to meet the NFMA requirement that the Service provide for diversity of plant and animal communities. 16 U.S.C. § 1604(g)(3)(B); see also 36 C.F.R. § 219.19 (2000) (Fish and wildlife habitat shall be managed to maintain viable populations.). In 2006, the Gallatin Plan was amended to remove the road density restriction. The Forest Supervisor concluded that the restriction was not scientifically supportable or logical and that it caused unjustifiable problems. The Supervisor explained that the standard compelled more timber harvests in some areas than was desired, led to disagreements over its application, was ineffective in protecting elk, and was already violated in many areas. The Plan amendment placed all road development decisions within the Travel Management Plan and the Service's discretion. The current road density in the Project area is 2.1 miles of road/square mile, which well exceeds the previous 0.75 limitation. Plaintiffs argue that the 2006 amendment to the Gallatin Plan violated NFMA. They claim that the Project therefore violates NFMA because it would be implemented subject to an unlawful plan. The Service responds that the 2006 amendment did not violate NFMA because it was justified by new scientific data and by the circumstances prevailing in the Gallatin National Forest. We need not decide whether the 2006 amendment violated NFMA because the Project would reduce, not increase, longterm road density in the area. We consider challenges to the lawfulness of a forest plan only to the extent that the contested portion of the plan plays a causal role with respect to the [Project]. Ohio Forestry Ass'n v. Sierra Club, 523 U.S. 726, 734, 118 S.Ct. 1665, 140 L.Ed.2d 921 (1998); see also Neighbors of Cuddy Mountain v. Alexander, 303 F.3d 1059, 1067 (9th Cir.2002). The Project would use only existing roads, some of which would be permanently closed and rehabilitated at the end of the Project. Because road density in the Project area would not be increased as a result of the 2006 amendment, we have no occasion to evaluate its lawfulness.