And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Date: Mon, 28 Jun 1999 14:34:31 -0600 To: "Wild Rockies Alerts" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> From: Alliance for the Wild Rockies <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Judge Orders Release of Grizzly Comments A News Release from Alliance for the Wild Rockies PO Box 8731, Missoula, MT 59807 406-721-5420 Fax: 406-721-9917 JUDGE ORDERS RELEASE OF BITTERROOT GRIZZLY COMMENTS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 28, 1999 Contact: Mike Bader, (406)721-5420 mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] MISSOULA, MT-- In a major national precedent-setting ruling, federal Judge Stanley Sporkin has ruled that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service may not withhold the identities of persons who submitted public comments on the proposed reintroduction of grizzly bears to the Bitterroot ecosystem. Alliance for the Wild Rockies and its director Mike Bader challenged the agency's refusal to release the full, unredacted public comment record in federal court after they denied a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. "Contrary to defendants' assertions, the Court finds that the public interest in full disclosure of the written comments clearly outweighs the commenters' privacy interests, if any, in nondisclosure of their names and addresses," wrote Sporkin. Eric Glitzenstein, an attorney in Washington, D.C. who argued the case, said, "Judge Sporkin's ruling is a victory for the public's right to know and for common sense. But the most outrageous aspect of the case is the Interior Department's insistence on wasting taxpayer money defending its absurd effort to censor a public rulemaking record on such an important topic." Judge Sporkin noted that the Fish & Wildlife Service made it abundantly clear in its public notice that individuals who submitted comments would not have their identities concealed, writing, "...it is remarkable that defendants object to disclosure of the names and addresses of the commenters." "This is a very big victory for our public process," said Mike Bader, executive director of the Alliance for the Wild Rockies. "The government attempted to take a public process and keep part of it secret. Now the public will have a better view of what role public comments played in the final decision on Bitterroot grizzly bear reintroduction." Alliance for the Wild Rockies filed suit in federal court in Washington, D.C. after the government refused to provide the comments pursuant to the FOIA. The Fish & Wildlife Service had tried to claim "special circumstances" which would allow them to sidestep the requirements of the FOIA. "In this instance, the public has much to learn about defendants' rulemaking process from the disclosure of commenters' names and addresses," wrote Sporkin. "The public will be able to determine whether defendants used the written comments in reaching a final rule; whether the defendants give greater weight to the comments submitted by experts in the field over the comments of laypeople; whether the defendants distinguish between multiple comments submitted by a single contributor when quantifying public sentiment; and whether the defendants give greater weight to the comments submitted by residents of the Bitterroot region and the outlying regions than to the comments submitted by those who do not live within close proximity to the Bitterroot region." Judge Sporkin ordered the government to promptly make available to plaintiffs all written comments without redaction of commenters' names and addresses. The ruling is a major setback to the Department of the Interior, which has increasingly tried to withhold portions of public comment records on several controversial management plans involving public lands and wildlife. *************************** Alliance for the Wild Rockies P.O. Box 8731 Missoula, MT 59807 406-721-5420 406-721-9917 (fax) http://www.wildrockies.org/awr [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] *************************** ************************************************************************ List-Subscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> News Submissions or Problems: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> This list is a public service provided by WIN: http://www.wildrockies.org Reprinted under the fair use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
