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U.S. District Court Judge John W. Sedwick issued an injunction effective at midnight Wednesday. Ith and co-plaintiff Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics said the repairs should not occur without an environmental review and a public process.

The roads go through stands of old-growth timber where the Forest Service plans to allow logging.

The plaintiffs said the Forest Service is trying to promote logging by avoiding the required study and public process.

The agency will have to give convincing reasons why the road work's effects on the environment are minimal if it wants to resume, Sedwick wrote. Some repairs will continue to ensure public safety.

A lawyer for the Forest Service said the road work is routine maintenance that does not require an environmental study.

The agency has routinely fixed up roads without environmental reviews, but is rethinking the policy in light of the lawsuit, said spokesman Dennis Neill.

Ith could not be reached Friday by the Anchorage Daily News.

Andy Stahl, executive director of FSEEE in Eugene, Ore., said he's pleased but not surprised by the judge's decision because his group sees its case as solid.

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Information from: Anchorage Daily News, http://www.adn.com