Current work in wildlife, rivers, public lands, and climate

In 1992, Congress passed the Appeals Reform Act, which guarantees the right to bring an administrative appeal to any “person who notified the Forest Service of their interest in [a] proposed action.” This right was reflected in Forest Service regulations until June of 2003, when the Bush administration revised the regulations limiting the right to appeal only to those citizens who commented during a narrow 30- or 45-day window chosen by the agency.

The lawsuit arose when the Forest Service threw out three administrative appeals filed by WildEarth Guardians that challenged Forest Service decisions to continue livestock grazing on 150,000 acres in New Mexico’s National Forests, despite its impacts to water quality and wildlife habitat. The only reason stated for rejecting the appeals was that WildEarth Guardians commented on the projects in advance of the specified 30-day window.

“The Forest Service claims they want public involvement early in the planning process, but our rights were effectively trampled because we commented at the start of the planning process and not during the narrow window set by the agency,” said Billy Stern, Grazing Reform Coordinator for WildEarth Guardians. “This is part of a larger strategy by the Bush administration to systematically stymie public participation. By attacking the public participation process, they are attacking the democratic process.”

Read the Complaint (PDF)