Conservation Congress v. United States Forest Service et al

Filing 13

STIPULATION and ORDER signed by Judge John A. Mendez on 12/3/13: The deadline for the parties to confer and submit the joint status report currently due on December 2, 2013 is extended until December 30, 2013.(Kaminski, H)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7

ROBERT G. DREHER
Acting Assistant Attorney General
Environment and Natural Resources Division
PAUL D. BARKER, JR., Senior Attorney
United States Department of Justice
Environment and Natural Resources Division
Natural Resource Section
Ben Franklin Station, P.O. Box 7611
Washington, D.C. 20044-7611
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]

8
9
10
11
12
13

J. BRETT GROSKO, Trial Attorney
United States Department of Justice
Environment and Natural Resources Division
Wildlife and Marine Resources Section
Ben Franklin Station, P.O. Box 7611
Washington, D.C. 20044-7611
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]

14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22

Attorneys for Defendants
JAMES J. TUTCHTON (CA Bar No. 150908)
Tutchton Law Office, LLC
6439 E. Maplewood Ave.
Centennial, CO 80111
Tel: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
STUART NICHOLAS WILCOX (Pro Hac Vice)
Stuart Wilcox LLC
1840 Vine St. #5
Denver, CO 80206
E-mail: [e-mail]

23

26

STEVEN SUGARMAN (Pro Hac Vice Application Forthcoming)
347 County Road 55A
Cerrillos, New Mexico 87010
[phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]

27

Attorneys for Plaintiff

24
25

28
STIPULATION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE 1
FEDERAL DEFENDANTS’ ANSWER
Conservation Congress v. U.S., No. 2:13-cv-01977 JAM-DAD

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
SACRAMENTO DIVISION
CONSERVATION CONGRESS,

)
)
Plaintiff,
)
)
v.
)
)
UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE, )
and the UNITED STATES
)
FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE,
)
)
Federal Defendants.
)
______________________________)

Case No. 2:13-cv-1977-JAM-DAD

11
12
13
14
15

STIPULATION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE FEDERAL DEFENDANTS’
ANSWER OR RESPONSE TO THE COMPLAINT
AND TO POSTPONE THE JOINT STATUS REPORT DEADLINE
In support of this Stipulation, the parties hereby
stipulate and state as follows:

16
1. In this action, Plaintiff Conservation Congress alleges
17
18

that Defendants United States Forest Service (“USFS”) and

19

United States Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS”)

20

violated the Endangered Species Act, the National

21

Environmental Policy Act, and the National Forest

22
Management Act in connection with the Smokey Project on
23
24

the Mendocino National Forest.

25

2. On November 12, 2013 the USFS indefinitely suspended all

26

Smokey Project operations “[d]ue to ongoing litigation

27

and the new biological analysis needing to be performed.”

28
STIPULATION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE 2
FEDERAL DEFENDANTS’ ANSWER
Conservation Congress v. U.S., No. 2:13-cv-01977 JAM-DAD

3. In light of the USFS decision to reinitiate consultation

1
2

with USFWS under Section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered

3

Species Act, 16 U.S.C. §1536(a)(2),

USFWS may issue a

4
new biological opinion at the conclusion of that
5
6

consultation.

7

Conservation Congress will file an Amended Complaint in

8

this matter.1

9

If it does, the parties expect that

4. Accordingly, the parties agree that the interests of

10
judicial economy and efficiency favor the issuance of a
11
12

stay of this litigation until the new consultation is

13

complete.

14

schedule for a stipulation for a stay of the proceedings

15

The parties are attempting to negotiate a

during the consultation.

16
5. The stipulation for a stay of proceedings will seek the
17
Court’s approval to extend the deadlines for Federal

18
19

Defendants to answer or otherwise respond to the

20

complaint or any amended complaint, and the deadline for

21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28

1

The parties contemplate that Conservation Congress might
actually need to file two amended complaints in this action,
since new citizen’s suit claims against the USFS cannot be pled
until sixty days have elapsed from the time that Conservation
Congress provides the USFS notice of its intent to sue under the
citizen’s suit provision of the Endangered Species Act. If
there were a need for Conservation Congress to seek interim
injunctive relief within that sixty day period, then
Conservation Congress would likely file a First Amended
Complaint pleading those new claims which are not Endangered
Species Act citizen’s suit claims as the basis for its motion
for interim injunctive relief.
STIPULATION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE 3
FEDERAL DEFENDANTS’ ANSWER
Conservation Congress v. U.S., No. 2:13-cv-01977 JAM-DAD

1

the Joint Status Report, until after the Endangered

2

Species Act consultation is complete.

3

For the above reasons, Conservation Congress and the

4
Federal Defendants hereby stipulate pursuant to Local Rule 144
5
6

and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 6 to a twenty-eight day

7

extension of time of Federal Defendants’ deadline for filing

8

their answer or response to Plaintiff’s Complaint.

9

Pursuant to

the instant stipulation, if the Court does not approve the

10
stipulation for stay of proceedings, Federal Defendants’
11
12

deadline for filing their answer or response to the Complaint

13

shall be due on December 30, 2013.

14

this deadline will be vacated if the parties submit and the

15

The parties anticipate that

Court approves a stipulation for a stay of proceedings during

16
the Endangered Species Act consultation.
17
18

Also for the reasons set out above, the parties also

19

respectfully request that the Court postpone the deadline for

20

the parties to confer and submit the joint status report

21

currently due on December 2, 2013 until December 30, 2013.

22
Dkt.No. 4¶ 4.

As with the deadline for Federal Defendants’

23
24

answer or response, the parties contemplate that this deadline

25

will be vacated if the parties submit and the Court approves a

26

stipulation for stay of proceedings.

27
28
STIPULATION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE 4
FEDERAL DEFENDANTS’ ANSWER
Conservation Congress v. U.S., No. 2:13-cv-01977 JAM-DAD

1

For all the foregoing reasons, the parties respectfully

2

request that the Court approve the stipulation to extend the

3

deadline for the joint status report.

4
5
6

It is so ordered this 3rd day of December, 2013.

7
/s/ John A. Mendez________________
The Honorable John A. Mendez
United States District Court Judge

8
9
10
11
12

Respectfully submitted this 2nd day of December, 2013,

13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24

_/s/ STUART NICHOLAS WILCOX _
(signed by filer with written
authorization provided on
December 2, 2013)
JAMES J. TUTCHTON (CA Bar No.
150908)
Tutchton Law Office, LLC
6439 E. Maplewood Ave.
Centennial, CO 80111
[phone]
[e-mail]
STUART NICHOLAS WILCOX
(Pro Hac Vice)
Stuart Wilcox LLC
1840 Vine St. #5
Denver, CO 80206
[e-mail]

25
26
27
28

STEVEN SUGARMAN
(Pro Hac Vic Application
Forthcoming)
347 County Road 55A

ROBERT G. DREHER
Acting Assistant Attorney
General

_/s/ Paul D. Barker, Jr.____
PAUL D. BARKER, JR.
Senior Attorney
United States Department of
Justice
Environment and Natural
Resources Division
Natural Resource Section
Ben Franklin Station
P.O. Box 7611
Washington, D.C. 20044-7611
[phone]
fax [phone]
[e-mail]
SETH M. BARSKY, Chief
KRISTEN L. GUSTAFSON,
Assistant Chief
J. BRETT GROSKO, Trial

STIPULATION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE 5
FEDERAL DEFENDANTS’ ANSWER
Conservation Congress v. U.S., No. 2:13-cv-01977 JAM-DAD

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Cerrillos, New Mexico 87010
[phone]
[e-mail]
Attorneys for Plaintiff

Attorney
United States Department of
Justice
Environment and Natural
Resources Division
Wildlife and Marine Resources
Section
Ben Franklin Station, P.O.
Box 7611
Washington, D.C. 20044-7611
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Attorneys for Defendants

10
OF COUNSEL
11
12
13
14
15
16

JAMES L. ROSEN
Senior Counsel
U.S. Department of
Agriculture
Office of the General Counsel
33 New Montgomery, 17th Floor
San Francisco, California
94105

17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
STIPULATION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME TO FILE 6
FEDERAL DEFENDANTS’ ANSWER
Conservation Congress v. U.S., No. 2:13-cv-01977 JAM-DAD