A little over a year ago (8-23-23) SCA along with other conservation groups (WildEarth Guardians (“Guardians”), Inland Empire Task Force, the Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Friends of the Clearwater) signed on to and submitted an objection letter for the Idaho Panhandle National Forest’s combined Environmental Assessment, Finding of No Significant Impact, and Draft Decision Notice (collectively, “DDN”) for the Kaniksu Over-Snow Vehicle Use Designation Project.
Despite our objections the final decision was signed in December 2023.
Our attorney friends at WildEarth Guardians submitted our NOI on 8-30-24 triggering a 60-day waiting period to give the agency’s a chance to respond before we move forward with filing a complaint. During those 60 days we will be developing additional claims not related to the ESA, such as Travel Management Rule and NEPA violations.
The suit is challenging the agencies’ failure to comply with Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), 16 U.S.C. § 1536, with regards to the Kaniksu Over-Snow Vehicle Use Designation Project. The Kaniksu Project dramatically expands the use of motorized over-snow vehicles (“OSV”) on over one million acres in the Idaho Panhandle National Forests, including in the habitat of several ESA-listed species harmed by OSV use. The agencies have violated both procedural and substantive ESA provisions concerning the Project’s impacts on the threatened grizzly bear, Canada lynx, and North American wolverine. SCA and the other named conservation groups intend to file suit on these violations after the statutory 60-day period has run unless the issues described in our NOI are remedied.
The Kaniksu Over-Snow Vehicle Travel Plan would open up seasonally and year round almost 65% of ALL NFS (1,041,460) lands within the Bonners Ferry, Priest Lake, and Sandpoint Ranger Districts of the Idaho Panhandle National Forests 673,982 acres. To put it into perspective, the state of Rhode Island is 788, 832 acres.
You can read the final NOI with all attachments as well as SCA’s original comments to the USFS HERE!