BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A federal appeals court has upheld a ruling that dismisses a lawsuit brought by the state of North Dakota and several western counties that could have resulted in the construction of additional roads in parts of the Badlands.
The Badlands Conservation Alliance says the ruling protects some of the most pristine areas of the Badlands from traffic and potential oil development.
“I think it’s a really serious win for the Badlands, for the long-term integrity of those areas that are still roadless and considered suitable for wilderness,” said Connie Triplett, president of the alliance.
A three-judge panel of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals found the state’s and counties’ claim is barred by a 12-year statute of limitations that was passed years ago.
Their ruling upholds an earlier decision by U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Hovland, who dismissed the matter in 2017.
The case began a decade ago when Billings, Golden Valley, McKenzie and Slope counties sued the federal government. The state followed with its own lawsuit and the court consolidated the two cases.
The plaintiffs sought to claim rights to section lines used in land surveying and mapping in the Little Missouri National Grassland and other areas that make up the Dakota Prairie Grasslands.
Triplett said that if the ruling went the other way and more of the Badlands were opened to roads, those areas could lose their designation as “suitable for wilderness” and, one day, see oil development. Much of the Little Missouri National Grassland has already been leased by oil companies, she said.
“There’s no particular reason every last acre has to be drilled,” Triplett said.