A three-judge panel from the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously agreed that a 2001 rule governing inventoried roadless areas was the law of the land. That dovetailed with earlier 9th Circuit Court rulings saying the same thing.

The decisions prohibit road construction and timber cutting in 58.5 million acres of inventoried roadless areas, including 6.4 million acres in Montana. That covers about 30 percent of the national forest system.

"I think this is a really big deal with Montana's general rifle season just opening on Saturday," said Joel Webster of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. "There were a lot of folks headed to the woods, and the places where they parked their trucks and walked in are roadless areas. Our five-week elk season is dependent on providing these roadless areas."

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