From Earth First! News

A U.S. District Judge ruled in favor of the Nez Perce Tribe and Idaho Rivers United today, effectively blocking megaloads from Highway 12 in Idaho.

The Nez Perce brought the case to court in August, as Omega Morgan tried to transport General Electric megaloads up Highway 12 without asking permission from the Forest Service.

The megaloads can be an estimated 21 feet wide, weighing 644,000 pounds, and their traffic up scenic Highway 12 (site of the famous movie A River Runs Through It) would disturb vital riparian and forest ecosystems. However, the ruling comes only after a week-long rolling blockade of Highway 12 that, at times, included 150 tribe members and activists, and resulted in the arrest of the entire tribal council. The verdict can be seen as vindicating the direct action of the tribal council, which brought international attention to the issue.

In his ruling, Judge  B. Lynn Winmill wrote, “In an earlier decision in a related case, the Court held that the Forest Service must ‘enforce all relevant legal authorities, including, but not limited to, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act … .’ The Forest Service was taking the position that it had authority to review but not to enforce. Obviously, that was an erroneous reading of the Court’s decision.”

As well as the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the Tribe’s Treaty rights, and the NFMA (National Forest Management Act) were also considerations for the injunction.

The court’s injunction is effective over mileposts 74 to 174 on Highway 12 “until the Forest Service has conducted its corridor review and consulted with the Nez Perce Tribe.” Omega Morgan says they will lose $5 million dollars thanks to the court’s ruling, but the judge reminded the corporation that they had been warned in April that they would lose out if they decided to proceed without Forest Service permission.

He noted, “The plaintiffs are not seeking damages; they are seeking to preserve their Treaty rights along with cultural and intrinsic values that have no price tag.”

Omega Morgan has already begun looking for other options.

read the judge’s ruling here, and another full story here at spokesman.com.

By Earth First! News

Protestors with the Nez Perce as well as Wild Idaho Rising Tide and Idle No More turned out for a third night of demonstrations against the illegal megaload’s passage through Nez Perce country.

Yesterday’s police was the largest yet, taking the side of Omega Morgan rather than the law. According to Wild Idaho Rising Tide, the police were “more forceful this time. Using their cars and phalanx tactics they forced a way through the crowd and broke the blockade faster than on other nights. The megaload took off and fled, tail between its legs, and proceeded to break laws (AIDED by the cops!) and endanger people all the way to get itself off the Res. before stopping for the night, terrified of facing the Nimipu on yet another night.”

WIRT is calling on the US Forest Service to “step up to the plate with fed marshals, arrest the driver, and impound the rig,” which is traveling without a permit.

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Cross Posted from http://coalexportaction.org/

Last summer, 23 people were arrested protesting coal exports at the Montana State Capitol, in the largest act of climate and energy-related civil disobedience in Montana history.  That action was a big step toward the kind of powerful, people-driven movement we need to stop the world’s biggest coal companies from turning Montana into an energy resource colony.  But at Coal Export Action, we’ve always known this fight would be a long one – and lately we’ve been hearing from more and more people asking, “When will it be time to put our bodies on the line again?”

Today, we’re excited to announce the next big phase in our effort to harness the power of peaceful, disciplined, nonviolent civil disobedience.  This year we’re again inviting those concerned about Montana coal exports to use direct action to take our movement to the next level.  And, yes, it will once again involve ordinary people risking arrest.

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Hello climate fighters!

Some of this has been in circulation for a minute now, but we just wanted to share these exciting updates from Great Plains Tar Sands Resistance, just in case you hadn’t heard yet. Their ongoing blockade in Oklahoma is rolling along, with a fresh action every couple of days now. Known as the Red River Showdown — they are attempting to slow down construction on the last sections of the southern leg of the KXL tar sands pipeline. Let’s wish them the best! And of course, if you are able, you can donate to their mounting legal costs on their Donation Page.

TWO ACTIVISTS LOCK DOWN TO PROTECT CROSS TIMBERS FROM TAR SANDS

BLOCKADER ENCASES ARM IN CONCRETE, HALTING CONSTRUCTION OF PIPELINE