CCFA heard little substantive back from NMFS after we submitted our comments about their draft coho recovery plan.
Homer T. (Bud) McCrary received the following response to his separate petition from NMFS, which rejected the points of the petition and added on a few more streams to the list for good measure. Here is the cover letter and the report:
26JAN2011_Findings of BRT_CCC Coho Salmon ESU
… and the press release:
The Fish and Wildlife Commission suit remained off the radar as it worked its way through the courts.
Meanwhile, up north in Humboldt, PLF, representing Barnum Timber, scored a win. Barnum Timber’s lands border on Redwood Creek in Humboldt County which has been designated by the EPA as an impaired waterbody. The EPA then placed wide and onerous buffer zones around the creek, preventing Barnum Timber from harvesting or managing that land and significantly reducing the land’s market value. Barnum sued, alleging the stream was declared impaired based on faulty science and that the designation was causing economic hardship.
Barnum lost in district court, which declared Barnum had no “standing” to sue, since it had not been injured by the listing. The Ninth Circuit disagreed; saying Barnum had indeed been injured and could seek recourse in federal court. This sets the stage for individuals and businesses to sue the EPA when they are injured by their decision; declaring that the EPA is not above judicial review.
Pacific Legal Foundation has an extensive history on the case. Search on “Barnum”.
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