A long-awaited Bureau of Land Management bid to develop recreation opportunities on 328,000 acres in central Idaho cleared a roadblock Friday as a federal appeals panel dismissed claims that inadequate BLM planning put big game at risk.
The decision by the Interior Board on Land Appeals rejecting the challenge brought by Idaho resident Elizabeth Lili Simpson marks an important turn for what the BLM calls the Wood River Valley Recreation and Access project. Unveiled in March of 2021, the project envisions 81 miles of new trails as well as new trailheads, some additional e-bike access and revised rules for off-highway vehicles.
Simpson argued that the federal agency’s planning efforts failed to meet its National Environmental Policy Act obligations, but the IBLA found otherwise.
“Simpson’s dissatisfaction with the course of action chosen by BLM after considering the relevant information is not sufficient to meet Simpson’s burden to demonstrate that BLM failed to take a ‘hard look’ at the cited issues as part of its decisionmaking process,” the IBLA panel stated, adding that “while Simpson highlights environmental questions of material significance to the proposed action, the record reflects that BLM did consider those questions.”
