Opinion
Friends of Yosemite Valley v. Jewell, Dist. Court, ED California 2013
JULIA A. OLSON, (CSB # 192642), Wild Earth Advocates, Eugene, OR, SHARON E. DUGGAN, (CSB # 105108), Law Offices of Sharon E. Duggan, Oakland, CA, Attorneys for Plaintiff Mariposans for the Environment and Responsible Government
RENÉ P. VOSS, (CSB # 255758), San Anselmo, CA, LARA R. SHAPIRO, (CSB # 227194), LAW OFFICE OF LARA SHAPIRO, Marina del Rey, CA, Attorneys for Plaintiff Friends of Yosemite Valley
ROBERT G. DREHER, Acting Assistant Attorney General U.S. Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division, DAVID NEGRI, (Idaho Bar # 6697) United State Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division, Boise, ID, Attorneys for Defendants S.M.R. Jewell, Secretary of the Interior, et al.
JOINT STIPULATION TO FURTHER MODIFY SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT AND ORDER
ANTHONY W. ISHII, Senior District Judge.
Plaintiffs, Friends of Yosemite Valley (FOYV) and Mariposans for the Environment and Responsible Government (MERG), and Defendants, S.M.R. Jewell, Secretary of the Interior, et al., through their undersigned attorneys, jointly stipulate and move to further modify the Settlement Agreement that the court approved on October 1, 2009. The parties request that the court approve this stipulation and sign the proposed order included with this stipulation. As grounds for the stipulation, the parties state as follows:
1. On September 29, 2009, the parties filed a Settlement Agreement, ECF Doc. 477, with the court to resolve this litigation over the Merced Wild and Scenic River Plan (MRP) for Yosemite National Park. On October 1, 2009, the court entered an Order Approving the Settlement Agreement. ECF Doc. 479.
2. In ¶ II.B.1. of the Settlement Agreement, the parties agreed that the National Park Service ("NPS") would prepare a new Comprehensive Management Plan ("CMP") for the Merced Wild and Scenic River and issue a new Record of Decision ("ROD") by December, 2012. ECF Doc. 477 at 4, ¶ II.B.1.
3. On April 6, 2011, the parties filed a stipulation and proposed order to modify ¶ II.B.1. of the Settlement Agreement to substitute July, 2013, as the date for completion of the new MRP. The court approved that stipulation and issued an order on June 10, 2011, setting July, 2013, as the date for completion of the new MRP. ECF Doc. 498. Since that date, the NPS has been developing the new MRP.
4. On July 24, 2013, the parties filed a stipulation and proposed order to further modify ¶ II.B.1. of the Settlement Agreement to substitute December, 2013, as the date for completion of the new MRP. The court approved that stipulation and issued an order on July 24, 2013, setting December, 2013, as the date for completion of the new MRP. ECF Doc. 503. Since that date, the NPS has continued work on development of the new MRP.
5. As explained in the previous Stipulation, NPS has been attempting to respond to extensive public comments submitted in response to the draft MRP, including FOYV's notification pursuant to paragraph G.3.a. of the Settlement Agreement of a dispute. See ECF Doc. 503 ¶¶ 4-9. This process has included in-person meetings among the parties on August 20, 2013, and September 11, 2013, and exchange of several position papers to discuss FOYV's concerns with the draft MRP.
6. This dispute resolution process has just recently concluded. As noted in the previous Stipulation, the parties anticipated that if the dispute resolution process extended beyond August 30, 2013, the NPS would need to further extend the deadline for the Record of Decision, due to the length of time required to prepare and review the interim work products and obtain final printed copies of the FEIS and ROD. The government shutdown in October, 2013, also delayed the production schedule for the MRP.
The parties therefore request that the Court approve this stipulation and sign the attached proposed order to reflect the changes to the Settlement Agreement by extending the deadline for completion of the ROD for the new MRP to March 31, 2014.
ORDER
The Court, having reviewed the parties' Joint Stipulation, finds that good cause exists to approve the stipulation and further modify the Settlement Agreement as set forth herein. The deadline for the defendants to issue the Record of Decision for the new Merced Wild and Scenic River Plan is March 31, 2014.
IT IS SO ORDERED.