Mt. Hood/Cooper Spur Lawsuit to Move Forward

Our case against the US Forest Service had its first test in Federal District Court on Wednesday and we emerged with a win!

Last July, we filed suit against the Forest Service for “unreasonable delay” after waiting more than six years for them to complete the Mt. Hood/Cooper Spur land exchange ordered by Congress way back in 2009. The Forest Service had sought to have the case thrown out, saying that the court did not have jurisdiction to compel the agency (USFS) to act. Judge Anna Brown disagreed and denied the  Forest Service’s Motion to Dismiss. At the hearing the judge said that the “agency can’t ignore a mandate of Congress, put it on a shelf and let years go by.”

In such situations, the court can enforce a mandate of Congress. In denying the Forest Service’s Motion to Dismiss, Judge Brown noted that the sheer lapse of time would support that the trade was unreasonably delayed and that the case should move forward. At oral argument, the Residents Committee was joined by Hood River County, Clackamas County and Mt. Hood Meadows as plaintiffs defending against the Forest Service’s Motion to Dismiss. Judge Brown set a briefing schedule and the case will now proceed under her careful supervision. For more info on the hearing . . .click here

HRVRC Board members and supporters in front of Federal District Court in Portland with our attorneys from CRAG Law, Chris Winter (top left) and Ralph Bloemers (far right) and co-plaintiffs from Mt. Hood Meadows, Matthew Drake and Jonathan Radmacher (top two right)

Many thanks to the lovely folks who attended the hearing in Portland and to those who have donated to the legal fund for the land trade. This trade is a marathon, not a sprint. We are grateful that so many of you have stuck with this issue all these miles. . .