WASHINGTON (CN) - Millions of acres of national forest land will be managed under rules developed during the Clinton administration, rather than by less restrictive regulations issued in the waning days of the Bush administration, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
By adopting the 2000 rules, the agency is implementing a decision by the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California in Citizens for Better Forestry v. USDA which found that the Bush era rules violated the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to consider the environmental impact of the new rules and violated the Endangered Species Act by failing to consult and obtain concurrence from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service.
The agency also announced that it will begin the process of issuing new regulations to succeed the 2000 rules, which were immediately put back into effect by the district court's decision.
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