US appeals court asked to rehear roadless case

The state of Wyoming and the Colorado Mining Association want a federal court in Denver to reconsider a rule
prohibiting roads on nearly 50 million acres of land in national forests across the United States.

In a motion filed Monday, the plaintiffs say the U.S. Forest Service's roadless rule was a "sham process" designed to circumvent Congress.

Last month, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals backed the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. Lawyers for the state of Wyoming and the Colorado Mining Association contended it was a violation of the law. Monday's notice to the court asks for a rehearing.

The roadless rule was put in place by the Clinton administration in 2001, just before George W. Bush took office.