Free Joint Status Report - District Court of Federal Claims - federal

Case 1:01-cv-00444-MMS

Document 62

Filed 01/30/2007

Page 1 of 2

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS __________________________________________ ) QUINAULT INDIAN NATION, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) No. 01-444 L v. ) ) Judge Margaret M. Sweeney THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) ) Defendant. ) __________________________________________) FIFTH JOINT STATUS REPORT Pursuant to the Court's Order of October 24, 2006, the parties file this fifth Joint Status Report ("JSR") to report on their progress toward implementing the terms of the Settlement Agreement signed by the parties on September 20, 2004. As noted in previous JSRs, the settlement framework envisions the purchase (with appropriated monies) of several permanent conservation easements by no later than December 2006. In their fourth semi-annual JSR filed on October 18, 2006, the parties reported that the settlement was proceeding as planned but indicated that a short extension of time might be required beyond December 31, 2006, to fully implement their settlement. The Court's Order of October 24, 2006, extends the stay through January 31, 2007, and requires the submission of a further joint status report if the settlement was not completed prior to that date. As previously reported, the federal party requested FY 2007 appropriations sufficient to complete the federal obligation set forth in the parties' settlement. However, Congress has not yet authorized the FY 2007 Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill. Under a partial continuing resolution passed by Congress, Defendant has paid a portion of the remaining federal -1-

Case 1:01-cv-00444-MMS

Document 62

Filed 01/30/2007

Page 2 of 2

obligation, but requires further authorization through the federal appropriations process to complete its obligations under the settlement agreement. For this reason, the parties respectfully request that the stay of proceedings in this case be continued through March 15, 2007. The parties further propose to report back to the Court on or before March 15, 2007, regarding the status of their settlement implementation. This JSR was jointly prepared by counsel for the Nation and counsel for the United States, and is filed by Defendant with the consent of and on behalf of both parties. Dated: January 30, 2007 Respectfully submitted, MATTHEW J. MCKEOWN Acting Assistant Attorney General Environment & Natural Resources Division s/Kristine S. Tardiff KRISTINE S. TARDIFF United States Department of Justice Environment & Natural Resources Division Natural Resources Section 53 Pleasant Street, 4th Floor Concord, NH 03301 TEL: (603) 230-2583 FAX: (603) 225-1577 Attorney of Record for Defendant Of Counsel: MARLENE ZICHLINSKY Office of the Regional Solicitor Pacific Northwest Region U.S. Department of the Interior 500 N.E. Multnomah, Suite 607 Portland, OR 97232 TEL: (503) 231-2128 FAX: (503) 231-2166 -2-