Alliance for the Wild Rockies et al

Filing 32

ORDER re 30 Status Report filed by Leanne Marten, United States Forest Service. IT IS ORDERED that the Defendants Status Report is DENIED IN PART AND GRANTED IN PART. The Defendants shall have until November 1, 2017, to file their summary judgment response brief. Signed by Judge Dana L. Christensen on 10/10/2017. (APP)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MONTANA
MISSOULA DIVISION

ALLIANCE FOR THE WILD
ROCKIES, NATIVE ECOSYSTEMS
COUNCIL,

CV 17-21-M-DLC

ORDER

Plaintiffs,
vs.
LEANNE MARTEN, Regional Forester
of Region One of the U.S. Forest
Service, UNITED STATES FOREST
SERVICE, an agency of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture,
Defendants.

Defendants request this Court to extend the stay ordered in the abovecaptioned matter until January 18, 2018. (Doc. 30.) Plaintiffs oppose this motion.
(Doc. 31.) Defendants request this relief because fire containment and
rehabilitation in the project area is still ongoing and Defendants would appreciate
prolonging assessment of the impacts of the fire until full containment and
rehabilitation. The Court will deny the motion in part and grant in part.
Plaintiffs have provided the declaration of Dr. Chad Hanson, an ecologist
with a specialization in forest and fire ecology, as support for Plaintiffs argument

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that the Park Creek Fire-which is still active in the project area-is a "very slowmoving fire that essentially stopped moving by September 13, 2017." (Doc. 31 at
8.) Further, Plaintiffs provide publicly available maps showing the progression of
the fire boundaries upon which Dr. Hanson based his opinion. These maps may be
readily compared to the project site map to discern the effect of the fire upon the
project area. After reviewing this information, the Court sees no reason to further
delay litigation in this matter. However, Plaintiffs have suggested a compromise
by allowing Defendants additional time to file their summary judgment response
brief. The Court will allow Defendants additional time to file their summary
judgment response brief but, will not extend the stay.
Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that the Defendants Motion to Extend the
Stay (Doc. 30) is DENIED IN PART AND GRANTED IN PART. The
Defendants shall have until November 1, 2017, to file their summary judgment
response brief.
DATED this 10th day of October, 2017.

Dana L. Christensen, Chief istrict Judge
United States District Court
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