Sierra Club v. Block, Civ. A. No. L-85-69-CA.

• Decision Date: 02 November 1987
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. L-85-69-CA.
• Citation: 694 F. Supp. 1255
• Parties: SIERRA CLUB, The Wilderness Society, and Texas Committee on Natural Resources, Plaintiffs, v. John R. BLOCK, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Texas

694 F. Supp. 1255

SIERRA CLUB, The Wilderness Society, and Texas Committee on Natural Resources, Plaintiffs, v. John R. BLOCK, et al., Defendants.

Civ. A. No. L-85-69-CA.

United States District Court, E.D. Texas, Lufkin Division.

October 26, 1987.

On Motion to Reconsider November 2, 1987.

Doug L. Honnold, Boulder, Colo., for plaintiffs Sierra Club & Wilderness Soc.

Edward C. Fritz, Dallas, Tex., for plaintiff Texas Committee on Natural Resources.

Ruth Harris Yeager, Asst. U.S. Atty., Tyler, Tex., Charles Brooks, and Wells D. Burgess, U.S. Dept. of Justice, Washington, D.C., for defendants.

ORDER

ROBERT M. PARKER, District Judge.

The plaintiff, Texas Committee on Natural Resources (TCONR), has filed a motion for a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction seeking relief from certain timber management practices of the defendants and United States Forest Service (Forest Service). TCONR argues that the contemplated practice of clear-cutting or "even-age management" of timber in National Forests located in Texas, particularly the Angelina National Forest, will cause irreparable harm to the plaintiffs and the Red-Cockaded Woodpecker, an endangered species located therein.

The court conducted a hearing on the matter on October 23, 1987, and after considering the file and pleadings, concludes that TCONR's request for a Temporary Restraining Order shall not be granted. Given the circumstances of the case, particularly the paucity of sufficiently developed facts which form the basis of the claim, the court is of the opinion that the extraordinary relief of a Temporary Restraining Order is not a proper or appropriate remedy at this time.

At the hearing on the motion, the parties stipulated that no cutting would take place within one tract in particular, Unit 6 of Compartment 72 of the Angelina District of the Angelina National Forest, until the date of trial, thereby temporarily eliminating the need for injunctive relief with respect to clear-cutting of that parcel. At the hearing, the parties failed to reach agreement regarding cutting within one hundred (100) yards of affected Red-Cockaded Woodpecker colonies.

Although the court has determined that a Temporary Restraining Order is not appropriate in this case, the court nonetheless is concerned that a balancing of considerations between the parties is necessary to protect the Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers, currently listed as an endangered species, during the pendency of this action. The...