1. FORESTS:
Judge reinstates 'roadless rule' for Tongass
A federal judge ruled late last week that the Tongass National Forest should not be exempted from the Forest Service rule that prevents most road construction and timber harvesting in remote wooded areas. It was a win for environmentalists, who opposed the 2003 decision by the George W. Bush administration to exclude the Tongass, the largest national forest, from the Clinton-era "roadless rule" designed to conserve pristine forests.