The sportsmen groups did not challenge activities outside of the roadless areas.

The alliance and council lodge similar legal points on roadless areas to the first lawsuit. Specifically they argue that the project does not meet standards for big game hiding cover and that roads not open to the public but open for logging or administrative use were improperly exempted from analysis.

The alliance and council further challenge the entirety of the project in their lawsuit. Increased road density during and after the project is likely to impact grizzly bears, which have been documented in the area, they argue. They also challenge the project based on its proximity adjacent to the Telegraph Vegetation Project south of Elliston, arguing that the two projects should have been analyzed as one to determine “cumulative impacts.”

“The decision calls for 11,650 acres of logging including clearcutting 2,239 acres, prescribed burning of 7,189 acres, bulldozing 11 miles of new logging roads and rebuilding another 21 miles of already revegetated old roads. In return, Helena's municipal watershed will suffer a 15-year-long project that will destroy habitat for elk, lynx and grizzly bears while bulldozing in new brand logging roads and massive clearcuts,” Mike Garrity, executive director of the alliance, said in a statement.