A follow up to an earlier post on ATV litigation on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.
“Under the settlement, the Forest Service agreed not to authorize public use to all-terrain vehicles without first completing an assessment of environmental effects. The agency also agreed to re-survey routes and remove any remaining signs authorizing ATV use.”
“The federal agency denied the groups’ allegations but agreed to pay their attorney’s fees as part of the settlement.”
This telegraphs something important that the Forest Service gets out of settlements. They don’t get a judicial precedent, and that gives them more flexibility to use the same disputed approach in future actions (and better protects other past actions that used this approach, at least for awhile).
Some more background: http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/outdoors/2016/mar/18/forest-service-ok-watvs-blocked-must-be-revisited-court-says/