Wolf Creek Update – Our FOIA Case

By: Chris Talbot-Heindl, Communications & Membership Manager, Rocky Mountain Wild

In its January 5 Order, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the decision of District Court and declared that the contractor files didn’t count as “agency records” subject to a FOIA request since the Forest Service had not supervised the contractors.

Matt Sandler, Rocky Mountain Wild’s staff attorney, was disappointed in the court’s decision, saying, “We feel like FOIA should encompass these records from contractors that do the statutory work for the agencies. However, we are encouraged that the 10th Circuit noted these records can be accessed through the Administrative Procedure Act which requires collection of the full administrative record which is broader than FOIA’s definition of agency records. If we have a legal means of accessing contractor records, we are happy.”