Sierra Club v. Lyng (II)

Following the court's earlier ruling in Sierra Club v. Lyng (I) finding the original pine-beetle control program deficient, the Forest Service published an environmental impact statement narrowing the program by limiting cutting to spot-control techniques at wilderness-area edges, requiring detailed site-specific analysis before any cutting, and requiring adjacent private landowners to first take reasonable steps to control infestations on their own property; the Sierra Club and Wilderness Society (plaintiffs) argued this revised program still failed to prove the pest control was 'necessary' (meaning, they argued, 'essential') under the Wilderness Act, citing unsophisticated past studies and the beetle's ability to travel between wilderness and non-wilderness lands. Both parties moved for summary judgment.