Attorneys for feds, environmental groups, argue for roadless rule in 10th Circuit briefs

October 26th, 2009 Utah bidder asserts oil auction was illegalSALT LAKE CITY — Defense attorneys say a Utah college student has a plausible defense for disrupting a federal auction of oil-and-gas leases last December. The attorneys filed court papers Monday saying Tim DeChristopher should be able to argue at trial — over government objections — that he was acting to curb climate change.

October 23rd, 2009 Groups run ad urging stop to Tongass timber salesANCHORAGE, Alaska — Nearly a dozen conservation groups are appealing to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to put a stop to two timber sales in the Tongass National Forest.

October 11th, 2009 Oregon thinning project tests Obama forest policyDIAMOND LAKE, Ore. — When Sharon Karr's cabin was built on the shores of this high mountain lake in 1928, there were few neighbors and little thought given to the prospects of wildfire.

September 14th, 2009 Appeals court blocks BLM-Asarco land swapPHOENIX — A federal appeals court ruled Monday that a proposed land exchange between the federal Bureau of Land Management and copper miner Asarco LLC violates environmental laws. The ruling in the lawsuit filed by three environmental groups in 2001 overturns a lower court decision backing the exchange long sought by Asarco.

September 10th, 2009 Obama picks Colorado official to oversee forestsWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama Thursday chose a Colorado natural resources official to be the new agriculture undersecretary in charge of the U.S. Forest Service.

September 10th, 2009 AP source: Obama picks Colo. official for forestsWASHINGTON — Congressional aides say the Obama administration has chosen a Colorado natural resources official to be the new agriculture undersecretary in charge of the U.S.

August 14th, 2009 Vilsack calls for renewed emphasis on forestsSEATTLE — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Friday outlined a vision for managing the nation's forests that placed a high priority on restoration to protect water resources and combat climate change.

August 13th, 2009 Obama asks court to block forest road buildingWASHINGTON — The Obama administration says it will defend a 2001 rule imposed by President Bill Clinton that blocked road construction and other development on tens of millions of acres of remote national forests. The administration's decision was contained in court papers filed Thursday in a case in Wyoming that could help settle the fate of remote federal forests.

August 6th, 2009 Judge approves phosphate mine expansion in IdahoBOISE, Idaho — A federal judge has given approval for the expansion of the Smoky Canyon phosphate mine into a roadless area near Yellowstone National Park, but an environmental group is already promising to appeal the ruling. In a 53-page decision handed down late Tuesday evening, U.S.

August 6th, 2009 Court blocks road construction in national forestsWASHINGTON — A federal appeals court Wednesday blocked road construction in at least 40 million acres of pristine national forests. The decision by a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstates most of a 2001 rule put in place by President Bill Clinton just before he left office that prohibited commercial logging, mining and other development on about 58 million acres of national forest in 38 states and Puerto Rico.

August 6th, 2009 Judge approves Smoky Canyon Mine expansionBOISE, Idaho — An environmental group promises to appeal a federal ruling that on Tuesday approved the expansion of a phosphate mine into a roadless area near Yellowstone National Park. In his decision, U.S.

June 9th, 2009 Nacchio: Case never should have gone to trialDENVER — Lawyers for former Qwest CEO Joseph Nacchio filed a brief Tuesday rebutting federal prosecutors who oppose a Supreme Court review of Nacchio's insider trading conviction, saying he never should have been prosecuted in the first place. In response to a brief the government filed last month, Nacchio's lawyers wrote that the alleged insider information cited by prosecutors referred to immaterial internal predictions that didn't have to be publicly disclosed.

June 4th, 2009 Chrysler, supporters argue sale to Fiat is fairNEW YORK — The sale of Chrysler LLC to Italian automaker Fiat Group SpA is fair, has the backing of a majority of Chrysler's creditors and should proceed quickly, Chrysler and other supporters of the sale said in court briefs filed Thursday. The groups include Chrysler, its finance arm, its unsecured creditors, the United Auto Workers and Fiat.

May 29th, 2009 Obama moves to curb road-building in forestsWASHINGTON — The Obama administration is ordering a one-year moratorium on most road-building and other development on about 50 million acres of remote national forests. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack issued a directive Thursday reinstating for one year most of a Clinton-era ban against new road construction and development in national forests.

April 29th, 2009 4 groups supporting ex-Qwest CEO Nacchio's appealDENVER — Four groups have filed friend-of-the-court briefs supporting former Qwest CEO Joseph Nacchio's appeal to the Supreme Court of his insider trading conviction. The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the New York Council of Defense Lawyers filed a joint brief and the Washington Legal Foundation and the U.S.