ELR Citation: ELR 20444
No(s). C-73-0163-WTS (N.D. Cal. May 13, 1974)

In an action to compel the Secretary of the Interior to exercise his statutory authority to protect the Redwood National Park from damage being inflicted upon it by timber harvesting done outside the part itself, the district court holds that the Secretary has a paramount legal duty to protect the park which transcends any discretion vested in him. Since the lands are held in the public trust, the Secretary, as a fiduciary of that trust relationship, is held to have a judicially enforceable obligation to protect the park. The Secretary's claim that exercise of his authority is, by statute, discretionary and hence not subject to a mandamus order only applies to determinations of what specific action should be taken and not to whether or not action may be taken at all. As a result, the Secretary's motion to dismiss on the grounds that his authority is discretionary is rejected on the premise that failure of the Secretary to protect the public trust lands constitutes an arbitrary and capricious abuse of discretion.

Counsel for Plaintiffs
John D. Hoffman
Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, Inc.
311 California St., Suite 311
San Francisco, CA 94104

Counsel for Defendants
James L. Browning Jr.
United States Attorney
450 Golden Gate Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94102

Paul E. Locke
Assistant United States Attorney
16th Floor Federal Bldg., Box 36055
450 Golden Gate Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94102