Fighting to keep public lands open to all

Yesterday, we filed our final trial court briefs in Granat v. USDA, PLF’s challenge to the Forest Service’s mass road and trail closure on the Plumas National Forest in northeastern California.  Our case focuses on the agency’s decision to close to all motor vehicle access nearly 700 miles of existing, legally authorized roads and trails without any onsite field verification of the “data” purportedly supporting the closures.  Essentially, the Forest Service converted a transportation plan update into an opportunity to effect a dramatic shutdown of the forest to public access.  We represent a coalition of forest access advocates and local governments, including mobility-impaired individuals who can no longer reach their favorite spots because of the Service’s mass closure.  A hearing on the case is scheduled for July 28 in Sacramento.