Judge bars grooming of snowmobile trails

SPOKANE, Wash. — A federal judge has barred snowmobile trail grooming for the rest of the season in some of northern Idaho's most popular snowmobiling areas to protect the last remaining caribou in the region.

The order did not prohibit snowmobiling, but ungroomed trails quickly become rough and impassable.

U.S. District Judge Robert H. Whaley of Spokane issued the order late Tuesday, halting grooming of snowmobile trails on U.S. Forest Service land near Priest Lake.

"When we weigh the balance of winter recreation and the most endangered animal, we're going to come down on the side of caribou," Priest River resident Mark Sprengel, who directs the Selkirk Conservation Alliance, told The Spokesman-Review.

Mike Sudnikovich, also of Priest Lake, said the ruling could hurt local businesses.

"All those people that come from Seattle, Spokane and Coeur d'Alene aren't going to go out and snowmobile on these rough trails," Sudnikovich said. "It's unfortunate. It'll probably cost a lot of people their jobs and a lot of people their enjoyment."

The Selkirk Conservation Alliance filed the lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service with Defenders of Wildlife, Conservation Northwest, The Lands Council, Idaho Conservation League and the Center for Biological Diversity.

Sprengel said suing the Forest Service was the last option after nearly two decades of pushing the agency to protect caribou.

"They just stonewalled everything," Sprengel said.

Tuesday's ruling did not settle the lawsuit, only banning for one year trail grooming on 450,000 acres of a federally designated caribou recovery zone.