Mealey's (January 17, 2020, 1:39 PM EST) -- WASHINGTON, D.C. — Environmental groups on Jan. 15 filed a response brief in the U.S. Supreme Court contending that the Appalachian Trail cannot be separated from the land that constitutes it; therefore, neither the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) nor any other federal agency can grant an oil or gas pipeline right-of-way that crosses the trail on federal land (Atlantic Coast Pipeline LLC v. Cowpasture River Preservation Association, et al., No. 18-1587, U.S. Forest Service, et al. v. Cowpasture River Preservation Association, et al., No. 18-1584, U.S. Sup. [consolidated])....