Court Cases

EPA WOTUS Update

July 11, 2016

The EPA WOTUS Rule is still hung up in the Sixth Circuit, but even if the Court ultimately rules against the EPA, they won’t give up seeking to put themselves in the middle of anything you do on your land. How are we to defend ourselves? We have just created a toolkit of legal cases […]

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Environmentalists must show direct harm to sue

February 3, 2015

Summers v Earth Island Institute – a case for forestry’s legal toolkit In a September 2009 PLF newsletter, PLF summarizes the case as follows: “The court restricted environmental organizations from challenging forest cleanup plans when the environmentalists cannot show they suffered direct harm.  Said PLF Litigation Director Jim Burling: This ruling makes it harder for environmental […]

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Can you be fined for violating an unrecorded easement? Breinig v. Martin County

November 10, 2014

Pacific Legal Foundation has taken on a Florida case that asks the question: is an unrecorded conservation easement enforceable? Robert and Anita Breinig own the Flash Beach Grille in Martin County, Florida.  Unknown to them, a previous owner had set aside a portion of the property under a conservation easement to obtain a county permit. […]

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Litigation Update 9/6/13 – Fire Taxes and Dusky Gopher Frogs

September 8, 2013

Fire Tax/SRA Fees The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association announced the next date in court for their challenge to the SRA fees/Fire tax will be: Date:  Thursday, November 21, 2013 Time:  9:00 a.m. Place:  Dept. 14, Sacramento Superior Court, 720 Ninth St., Sacramento The hearing is open to the public.  HJTA asks that if you come, […]

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CCFA and coho 2013: The state jumps back into the fray while NMFS begins execution of plan

March 23, 2013

California Fish and Wildlife stuns Scott Creek residents with an attempted hijacking of their water rights The CCFA Board heard the first rumblings of this at our 2012 November Board meeting when Scott Creek resident Barbara McCrary reported all the locals had been told they would be prevented from drafting from their springs if the […]

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CCFA and coho 2011: In which NMFS finally responds to the delisting petition

March 23, 2013

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 […]

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Big win for Forestry in the Supreme Court

March 20, 2013

The forestry community across the country is buzzing with the news of the Supreme Court’s decision in Decker v. NEDC.  The Supreme Court voted 7-1 in favor of exempting forest roads from industrial runoff rules, as the EPA has done successfully for decades. This is a very big win for forestry.  NEDC has sued the […]

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Legislative Update, 3/18/2013 – CCFA supports legislation to repeal or amend the SRA fee

March 20, 2013

CCFA has sent letters of support for the following bills, all of which relate to the SRA fee or fire tax: AB 23, AB 124, SB 17 and SB 125.  AB 23, AB 124 and SB 17 all call for the repeal of the fee.  SB 125 exempts people who reside in a fire district […]

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SRA Fees – Preparation for the Second Round of Billing has Commenced

March 12, 2013

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has advised us that CalFIRE is preparing the second round of billing for the State Responsibility Area Fee (the Fire Tax).  Even though the “fee” is being challenged by a lawsuit, CalFIRE will continue to bill every year until the class action lawsuit is resolved.  We can expect the lawsuit […]

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CCFA & Big Creek Lumber Co. vs County of Santa Cruz – a history

March 12, 2013

This dispute and the resultant lawsuit are the seminal forces that formed the Central Coast Forest Association and informed its purpose.  CCFA came together in 1998 to respond to predation on forestland owners by environmental activists using the Santa Cruz County government as their foil to enact ordinances to disable and eventually kill local timber […]

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