Ark Initiative v. Thomas Tidwell

<> Ark Initiative v. Thomas Tidwell - 3/8/16. In the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit, Case No. 14-5259. At issue in this case is the 2012 Colorado Rule's exclusion from the 4.2 million acres of inventoried roadless land in Colorado of about 8,300 acres of land that the Service also has designated for recreational skiing.       The plaintiffs—environmental organizations and two individuals—challenge the Service's application of the 2012 Colorado Rule to allow development of a proposed egress ski trail on once-roadless land within the Special Use Permit boundary for the Snowmass Ski Resort in Aspen.       The District Court disagreed, concluding that the Service offered ample reasons for its decision to exclude existing designated ski areas from the Colorado roadless inventory, and that the Service's six-year public rulemaking process satisfied all applicable notice requirements. The Appeals Court agreed and affirmed that the Service adequately explained the limited ski-area exclusion and did not violate any applicable notice requirements.