By SEMA Washington, D.C, Staff

A federal district court judge upheld a lower court ruling issued last September that rejected a U.S. Forest Service (USFS) plan to add 137 miles of off-road vehicle trails in central Oregon’s Ochoco National Forest.

A conservation group had challenged the plan’s environmental analysis regarding habitat for elk, wolves and native fish. The USFS plan would have expanded the existing off-highway vehicle trail system of 674 miles by 20%, including 53 miles of newly developed roads and trails connecting to the existing system.

The USFS must now pursue a new plan. 

For more information, contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.