On Sept. 30, a U.S. District Court judge ruled, in part, that the U.S. Forest Service violated the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in a case related to the Village at Wolf Creek Access Project land exchange.
The lawsuit, which was filed in 2014 by Rocky Mountain Wild, pertains to the draft environmental impact statement and draft record of decision on the project, and states that the Forest Service failed to disclose documents relating to the land exchange when requested in February of 2014.
According to Senior U.S. District Judge Wiley Y. Daniel, the Forest Service“has violated FOIA by failing to conduct a reasonable search for responsive documents for this FOIA request, and by withholding information without showing that this information was exempt from disclosure under FOIA exemption 5.”
The order for motions on summary judgment, which spans 20 pages, was filed on Sept. 30 and also states that the Forest Service “shall conduct and complete a search” for additional documents in response to the FOIA request by Oct. 30 of this year.
The Forest Service must also keep an index of any information withheld from the request for the court to review.
The full version of this story is available in the print edition and e-edition of the Pagosa Springs SUN. Subscribe today by calling (970)264-2100 or click here.
