ELR Citation: ELR 20983
No(s). 95-36038, -36042 (9th Cir. Apr 24, 1996)

The court affirms a district court order directing the U.S. government to release, under §2001(k)(1) of the Fiscal Year 1995 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief and Rescissions Act, all timber sale contracts offered or awarded between October 1, 1990, and July 27, 1995, in any national forest in Oregon and Washington or Bureau of Land Management district in western Oregon. Section 2001(k)(1) defines its mandatory timber releases by reference to §318 of the 1990 U.S. Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. The court first holds that the phrase "subject to Section 318" in §2001(k)(1) describes only §318's geographical limits; it does not incorporate §318's chronological limits, which are fiscal years 1989 and 1990. Section 2001(k)(1) places the phrase squarely in the portion of the sentence that modifies the geographical areas covered by §2001(k)(1). It therefore authorizes timber sales offered or awarded after fiscal years 1989 and 1990 but before the 1995 Rescissions Act was enacted. The court notes that the doctrine of last antecedent lends support to the conclusion that §318 defines only the geographic scope of timber sales that §2001(k)(1) requires. Moreover, the canon of ordinary meaning and the principle of giving effect to every statutory subsection support the court's conclusion. The court also examines §2001(k)(1)'s legislative history, even though it is unnecessary when the statute is unambiguous. The court concludes that the section's legislative history confirms its holding.

The court holds that an environmental group did not demonstrate a signficantly protectable interest to warrant intervention in this action. The court also holds that the group failed to demonstrate inadequacy of representation. The group had alleged only minor differences in opinion with the government.

Counsel for Plaintiff
Patti A. Goldman
Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund
705 Second Ave., Ste. 203, Seattle WA 98104
(206) 343-7340

Counsel for Defendants
Albert M. Ferlo Jr.
Environment and Natural Resources Division
U.S. Department of Justice, Washington DC 20530
(202) 514-2000

Before Noonan, Leavy, and Hawkins, JJ.