The Wilderness Society and others sought the documents under the Freedom of Information Act. The Interior Department turned over roughly 5,000 pages of material, including various drafts of the Utah agreement with handwritten notes scrawled in the margins.

But the department refused to release other material, and the environmental groups sued, demanding their release.

U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton ruled late Friday that the department had 30 days to produce the documents or offer a valid legal explanation for withholding them.

During the Clinton administration, the Interior Department identified 3 million acres in the state that could potentially qualify as wilderness, and issued a policy prohibiting development or recreation on the land until Congress could decide if it should be permanently protected.

Utah sued, challenging the inventory but much of the case was dismissed. Then, in March 2002, after sitting dormant for several years, the state revived its challenge. The Bush administration eventually agreed to settle the lawsuit by admitting the Clinton policy was wrong and lifting protections on the acreage.