Contact: Peter D. Armington, Chief Park Ranger
(906) 487-7148
Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Against Isle Royale National Park
(Houghton, MI)--In a ruling issued on June 6, 2001 the Federal District Court for the Western District of Michigan (Northern Division) dismissed a lawsuit filed in August 1999 by the Isle Royale Boater’s Association (IRBA) against the Secretary of the Interior and Isle Royale National Park. The Boater’s Association filed the suit seeking to overturn the approved General Management Plan/Final Environmental Impact Statement (GMP/FEIS) for Isle Royale produced by the National Park Service (NPS).
The boater group’s seven count complaint charged that the GMP/FEIS violated the Root-Bryce Treaty of 1909 and numerous Federal laws including the Wilderness Act, the Isle Royale Wilderness Act, the NPS Organic Act, the Isle Royale Organic Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, and the Administrative Procedures Act. Oral arguments in the case were heard on April 20, 2001 before the Honorable Gordon J. Quist in the Grand Rapids Federal District Courthouse. Judge Quist’s 61 page opinion dismissed each of the seven counts and granted summary judgment to the United States.
"We are very pleased with the decision and opinion issued by Judge Quist," said acting Isle Royale Superintendent Elizabeth Rossini. "Park management and the GMP team believed all along that the final plan was consistent with all of the laws and policies applicable to Isle Royale National Park." Rossini emphasized that the plan addressed all the issues identified at the outset of the planning process and was as responsive as
it could be to the diverse views expressed by the public during the four-year planning process.
Chief Park Ranger Peter Armington noted that "the NPS worked exceptionally hard to craft a plan which was both reasonable and fair to all the diverse park user groups." Armington believes that the final product represents a sensitive compromise between the mutually exclusive views held by some interests groups and individuals who participated in the planning process.
Chief among the objections of the Boater’s Association was that the GMP unfairly restricted boater access to the park. Judge Quist summarily rejected this argument noting that park access for boaters was not less than for other groups, such as backpackers and paddlers. The court noted that under the GMP/FEIS boaters will have access to docks and campgrounds in 22 locations along the park’s Lake Superior shoreline versus the 20 that exist today.
The case number assigned by the court to this matter is 2:99-CV-152. The complete text of the court’s opinion can be viewed on the Internet at www.miwd.uscourts.gov. Click on "High Profile Cases" to access the Isle Royale opinion.
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June 14, 2001
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