Two counties and a coalition of advocates are challenging the government’s sharp reduction of trails and roads in the Plumas National Forest available to motorized recreational vehicles.
A lawsuit filed Wednesday in Sacramento federal court alleges that thousands of roads and trails open for decades to the public are now unlawfully off-limits to personal vehicles such as ATVs, motorcycles, snowmobiles, trucks and jeeps.
The suit accuses the U.S. Forest Service of violating two federal laws by blocking access to these roads and trails “without a careful, factually specific review of environmental impacts, including consequences for the public.”