Organized Village of Kake v. United States Department of Agriculture

Opinion by Judge HURWITZ; Concurrence by Judge CHRISTEN; Dissent by Judge CALLAHAN; Dissent by Judge MILAN D. SMITH, JR.; Dissent by Judge KOZINSKI.

OPINION

HURWITZ, Circuit Judge:

In 2001, the United States Department of Agriculture promulgated the “Roadless Rule,” limiting road construction and timber harvesting in national forests. The Department expressly found that exempting the Tongass National Forest from this Rule “would risk the loss of important roadless area [ecological] values.” Just two years later, relying on the identical factual record compiled in 2001, the Department reversed…