Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-1_02-cv-06553/USCOURTS-caed-1_02-cv-06553-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 890
Nature of Suit: Other Statutory Actions
Cause of Action: 16:1538 Endangered Species Act

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE

EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

__________________________________________

)

MODESTO IRRIGATION DISTRICT, ) 

a California irrigation district, et al., )

) CIV-F-02-6553 OWW DLB

Plaintiffs, )

v. )

)

CARLOS GUTIERREZ, in his official capacity as )

Secretary of Commerce, et al., )

) ORDER

Defendants, ) GRANTING FEDERAL

) DEFENDANTS’ REQUEST TO

and ) EXTEND STAY OF APRIL 2004

) ORDER

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA COUNCIL OF )

FEDERATION OF FLY FISHERS, et al., )

)

Defendant-Intervenors. )

__________________________________________)

Plaintiffs’ challenge to the validity of the National Marine Fisheries Service’s (“NMFS”)

Endangered Species Act (“ESA”) listing of the Central Valley California Evolutionarily

Significant Unit of steelhead (“CV steelhead”) is described in this Court’s April 12, 2004 Order,

granting and denying in part Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment (“April 2004 Order”), and

incorporated herein. See Docket Number 79. In the April 2004 Order, though finding the listing

invalid, this court stayed vacatur of the listing during Federal Defendants’ review of the CV

steelhead’s listing status. The Court’s April 2004 Order required the Federal Defendants to show

cause why, if a new final listing determination was not completed by June 14, 2005, the Court

should not vacate the invalid CV steelhead listing. 

On July 7, 2005, Federal Defendants responded to the Court’s April 2004 Order to show

cause. Federal Defendants informed the Court that they would not be issuing a final listing rule

by June 14, 2005 and instead had exercised the statutory six-month extension of the deadline for

the final listing determination on a new proposal to list the CV steelhead, set forth at 16 U.S.C. §

1533(b)(6)(B)(i). Federal Defendants requested that the Court retain the current listing through

Case 1:02-cv-06553-OWW -DLB Document 100 Filed 09/13/05 Page 1 of 3
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the remainder of the six-month extension, extending the protections under the ESA until the final

determination on the new listing proposal was completed. On July 11, 2005, DefendantIntervenors filed a response in support of Federal Defendants’ position. On August 9, 2005,

Plaintiffs filed an opposition to Federal Defendants’ request. On August 12, 2005, amici curiae

filed an opposition to Federal Defendants’ request. Both oppositions requested the Court to

vacate the current listing immediately. This Court held a status conference on August 24, 2005,

during which it heard from all parties concerning Federal Defendants’ request to retain the

current listing of the CV steelhead. 

Having heard from all parties, the Court hereby grants Federal Defendants’ request to

extend the stay on the April 2004 Order. The Court denies the request of Plaintiffs and amici

curiae to immediately vacate the current listing of the CV steelhead. 

1. The Stay on the Order on Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment, originally 

set forth in the April 2004 Order, is extended until December 14, 2005, and the current listing

determination will remain in effect through that date. If Federal Defendants have not finalized

the new listing determination by the statutory deadline, they bear the burden to move this Court

for any further extension or other relief;

2. The Court expressly reserves jurisdiction to address any threatened irreparable 

injury through December 14, 2005;

3. Through December 14, 2005, Federal Defendants shall not seek to modify the 

water or power operations or facilities of any Plaintiff herein based on the current CV steelhead

listing, unless there is an independent unrelated grant to protect Chinook Salmon not at issue in

this case. 

SO ORDERED.

DATED: September 12 , 2005.

/s/ OLIVER W. WANGER

 

Oliver W. Wanger

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Case 1:02-cv-06553-OWW -DLB Document 100 Filed 09/13/05 Page 2 of 3
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on the 1st day of September, 2005, I filed a true and correct copy of the

foregoing [Proposed] Order Granting Federal Defendants’ Request to Extend Stay of April 2004

Order with this Court’s CM/ECF system, which generated a Notice of Electronic Filing and

service upon the following:

Russell Clayton Brooks

rb@pacificlegal.org rlc@pacificlegal.org 

Steven P. Emrick

semrick@ssjid.com 

Patti Goldman

pgoldman@earthjustice.org chamborg@earthjustice.org 

Stephen D Mashuda

smashuda@earthjustice.org chamborg@earthjustice.org 

Roger K Masuda

rmasuda@calwaterlaw.com

Tim O'Laughlin

towater@olaughlinandparis.com 

Kenneth M. Robbins

krobbins@mrgb.org jlarson@mrgb.org 

Michael Ramsey Sherwood

msherwood@earthjustice.org jwall@earthjustice.org 

Scott Thomas Steffen

scottst@mid.org 

Jeanne M Zolezzi

jzolezzi@herumcrabtree.com rlopez@herumcrabtree.com

Pursuant to the mailing information for this Case, located on the Court’s CM/ECF

website, no require manual notice.

 Bridget Kennedy McNeil

Bridget Kennedy McNeil

Case 1:02-cv-06553-OWW -DLB Document 100 Filed 09/13/05 Page 3 of 3