December 16, 2005 | LOGAN -- Four organizations including three from Cache County filed suit against the U.S. Forest Service on Thursday in U.S. District Court, seeking to restore a non-motorized closure in an area known as the Franklin Basin in northern Utah. The original closure was part of an updated Wasatch Cache National Forest 2003 Forest Plan.

The suit, filed by Nordic United, Bridgerland Audubon Society, Winter Wildlands Alliance and Bear River Watershed Council, was prompted by a Forest Service decision in July 2005 that cut by over half the area in Franklin Basin originally set aside for non-motorized recreation.

The decision was made behind closed doors. The suit alleges the agency acted inappropriately and illegally to change the newly released Forest Plan without soliciting public input or revealing the impacts of opening this unique area to motorized winter use by snowmobiles. Such actions are direct violations of the Federal Advisory Committee Act and the National Environmental Policy Act, the groups say.

"The Forest Service broke the law by not allowing public input with their 2005 decision," said Wally MacFarlane, president of Nordic United, a local group dedicated to promoting non-motorized winter recreation. "The elimination of a substantial winter non-motorized area without fully revealing the impacts and including the public is contrary to laws requiring informed management of our National Forests. The Forest Service failed to uphold its responsibilities and their own rules to protect non-motorized users. Our groups have exhausted every avenue to correct these mistakes and have no further recourse."

In order to manage the growing demand and conflicts between non-motorized and motorized winter recreationists, the Forest Service made a Record of Decision, or ROD, in 2003 closing 9,000 acres to snowmobile use. The Forest Service made its decision after considering thousands of comments and professional analysis concerning the conflict. For decades backcountry skiers and snowshoers have traditionally utilized this area, the 1 percent set aside by the ROD.

Snowmobilers who were unhappy with the 2003 closure pressured the agency to change their decision. The Forest Service began meeting with both interests in 2004 and again in 2005. The meetings resulted in the Forest Service's July 2005 adoption of the snowmobilers' proposal to open about half of the 9,000 acres to motorized use.

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