Friends of Yosemite, et al v. Babbitt, et al

Filing 498

ORDER approving joint stipulation to modify settlement agreement. signed by Chief Judge Anthony W. Ishii on 6/10/2011. (Nazaroff, H)

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JULIA A. OLSON (CSB # 192642)
Wild Earth Advocates
2985 Adams St.
Eugene, OR 97405
Telephone:
[phone]
Facsimile:
[phone]
Email:
[e-mail]
SHARON E. DUGGAN (CSB # 105108)
Law Offices of Sharon E. Duggan
370 Grand Avenue, Suite 5
Oakland, CA 94602
Telephone:
[phone]
Facsimile:
[phone]
Email:
[e-mail]
Attorneys for Plaintiff Mariposans for the Environment
and Responsible Government
LARA R. SHAPIRO (CSB # 227194)
LAW OFFICE OF LARA SHAPIRO
4145 Via Marina # 324
Marina del Rey, CA 90292
Telephone:
[phone]
Facsimile:
[phone]
E-mail:
[e-mail]
Attorney for Plaintiff Friends of Yosemite Valley
CHARLES R. SHOCKEY, Attorney
D.C. Bar # 914879
United States Department of Justice
Environment and Natural Resources Division
Natural Resources Section
501 “I” Street, Suite 9-700
Sacramento, CA 95814-2322
Telephone:
[phone]
Facsimile:
[phone]
Email:
[e-mail]
Attorney for Defendants

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
FRESNO DIVISION

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FRIENDS OF YOSEMITE VALLEY, et al.,)
)
Plaintiffs,
)
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v.
)
)
KEN SALAZAR, in his official
)
capacity as Secretary of the Interior, et al., )
Defendants.
)
____________________________________)

Case No. CV-F-00-6191 AWI DLB
JOINT STIPULATION TO MODIFY
SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT

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JOINT STIPULATION TO MODIFY
SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT

CASE NO. CV-F-00-6191-AW I/DLB
P AGE 1

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Plaintiffs, Friends of Yosemite Valley (FOYV) and Mariposans for the Environment and

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Responsible Government (MERG), and Defendants, Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, et al.,

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through their undersigned attorneys, jointly stipulate and move to modify the Settlement
Agreement that the court approved on October 1, 2009. The parties request that the court

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approve this stipulation and sign the proposed order included with this stipulation. As grounds
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for the stipulation, the parties state as follows:
1.

On September 29, 2009, the parties filed a Settlement Agreement (Doc. 477) with the

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court to resolve this litigation over the Merced Wild and Scenic River Plan (MRP) for

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Yosemite National Park. On October 1, 2009, the court entered an Order Approving the

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Settlement Agreement. Doc. 479.
2.

In ¶ II.B.1. of the Settlement Agreement, the parties agreed that the National Park Service

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(NPS) would prepare a new Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP) for the Merced
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Wild and Scenic River and issue a new Record of Decision (ROD) by December 2012.

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Doc. 477 at 4, ¶ II.B.1. The Settlement Agreement also listed several non-binding interim

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target dates to guide the NPS in developing a new environmental impact statement (EIS).

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3.

On March 7, 2011, representatives of the plaintiffs met with the Superintendent of
Yosemite National Park to discuss the process for developing and completing the new

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MRP. The parties agreed that the deadline for completing the ROD should be extended
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from December 2012 to July 2013. The reasons for the extension are that (1) the NPS
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had several internal personnel changes among key planning team members, (2) the NPS

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changed contractors for the new plan and EIS, (3) the NPS adjusted the scoping process

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for the EIS, partly in response to plaintiffs’ requests, and (4) the NPS needs extra time to

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prepare the draft EIS alternatives workbook that it intends to circulate for public review.

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4.

The parties, therefore, propose to modify ¶ II.B.1. of the Settlement Agreement to
substitute the following dates for completion of the new MRP, along with changes in the
non-binding interim guidelines:

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a.

Release Public Scoping Report - January 2011;

b.

Publish and release Draft CMP and EIS - August 2012;

JOINT STIPULATION TO MODIFY
SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT

CASE NO. CV-F-00-6191-AW I/DLB
P AGE 2

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c.

Publish and release Final CMP and EIS - May 2013; and

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d.

Issue Record of Decision - July 2013.

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5.

The parties also propose to modify ¶ II.H.12 of the Settlement Agreement to reflect a
change in the NPS primary contact person. The NPS contact designated in the Settlement

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Agreement, Mark Butler, has left Yosemite National Park to serve as Superintendent of
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Joshua Tree National Park. The new Superintendent of Yosemite National Park, Don

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Neubacher, is hereby designated as the NPS primary contact person for purposes of the

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Settlement Agreement, with Kathleen S. Morse, Planning Division Chief, Yosemite

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National Park, designated as the NPS alternate contact person.

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6.

Finally, the parties propose to modify ¶ II.H.13 of the Settlement Agreement to add Greg
Adair as the contact for the plaintiff FOYV. Julia Olson and Sharon Duggan remain the

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contacts for plaintiff MERG.
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The parties request that the court approve this stipulation and sign that proposed order to reflect
the changes to the Settlement Agreement set forth in ¶¶ 4-6 above.

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Respectfully submitted this 6th day of April, 2011.

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/s/ Julia A. Olson

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JULIA A. OLSON (CSB # 192642)
Wild Earth Advocates
2985 Adams St.
Eugene, OR 97405
Telephone:
[phone]
Facsimile:
[phone]
Email:
[e-mail]

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/s/ Sharon E. Duggan
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SHARON E. DUGGAN (CSB # 105108)
Law Offices of Sharon E. Duggan
370 Grand Avenue, Suite 5
Oakland, CA 94602
Telephone:
[phone]
Facsimile:
[phone]
Email:
[e-mail]
Attorneys for Plaintiff Mariposans for the Environment
and Responsible Government
JOINT STIPULATION TO MODIFY
SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT

CASE NO. CV-F-00-6191-AW I/DLB
P AGE 3

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/s/ Lara R. Shapiro

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LARA R. SHAPIRO (CSB # 227194)
LAW OFFICE OF LARA SHAPIRO
4145 Via Marina # 324
Marina del Rey, CA 90292
Telephone:
[phone]
Facsimile:
[phone]
E-mail:
[e-mail]
Attorney for Plaintiff Friends of Yosemite Valley

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/s/ Charles R. Shockey

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CHARLES R. SHOCKEY, Attorney
D.C. Bar # 914879
United States Department of Justice
Environment and Natural Resources Division
Natural Resources Section
501 “I” Street, Suite 9-700
Sacramento, CA 95814-2322
Telephone:
[phone]
Facsimile:
[phone]
Email:
[e-mail]
Attorney for Defendants

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ORDER

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The Court, having reviewed the parties’ Joint Stipulation, finds that good cause exists to
approve the stipulation and modify the Settlement Agreement as set forth herein.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated:
0m8i78

June 10, 2011
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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JOINT STIPULATION TO MODIFY
SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT

CASE NO. CV-F-00-6191-AW I/DLB
P AGE 4