Foreign Species Lawsuit News
SCCC News - 6 January 2006
We have been busy and want to bring you up to date.
1. The Spring Creek Conservation Coalition filed suit against the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation and the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission in Mayes County on the 30th day of September, 2005. That suit challenges the permit the ODWC has issued for trout to be stocked during the winter of 2005/2006. The suit also challenges the manner in which the rule for stocking exotic species was adopted by the ODWC. While we have attempted to negotiate a settlement and thought we had made some progress on that approach, those negotiations have broken down and we are now headed to a hearing on the Motion for Summary Judgment which we filed on the 30th day of September, 2005. Unbeknownst to us, the ODWC had actually issued the permit two days prior to our having filed the suit, notwithstanding the fact that we were, at that time, trying to negotiate with the ODWC to avoid their issuing the permit for trout stocking during the winter of 2005/2006. You might remember that in the past two years they have issued the permit during the month of November, but this year appeared to accelerate the permit before we could file a lawsuit to try to enjoin them from doing so.
Nevertheless, in our negotiations with the ODWC, at the trial court’s urging, the ODWC prevailed on the group which received the permit to withhold stocking the trout this year until the hearing on our Motion for Summary Judgment could be held. Thus, it is our understanding that the trout have not yet been stocked in Spring Creek for the 2005/2006 winter.
We want to urge each of you who can do so to attend the hearing on our Motion for Summary Judgment which will be held in the Mayes County courthouse in Pryor, Oklahoma. THE HEARING WILL BE HELD AT 9:30 A.M. ON FRIDAY, JANUARY 20TH. The hearing will be in the courtroom of Judge James Goodpaster.
2. We have established a web site for the Spring Creek Conservation Coalition ( www.springcreekok.org ) which will allow us to communicate with all of you on a regular basis and which will allow you to have access to important reports, government and otherwise, which affect Spring Creek. Of major importance is the BRUSH CREEK REPORT issued by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation entitled “Evaluation Of Trout Stocking In Northeastern Oklahoma Streams”. This is a document that supporters of stocking trout have said supports the view that there is no harm to stocking trout in northeastern Oklahoma streams. When you read this report you will find that the report does not support that conclusion.
3. The Spring Creek Conservation Coalition has other projects in mind for the benefit of Spring Creek after we conclude the battle with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation over its stocking of trout in Spring Creek. There are other very real and presently existing threats to the quality and to the quantity of water in Spring Creek which we intend to begin addressing after we have digested the present issue. So, we want to tell you that we do not intend to be a “one issue” group.
4. Even though the law firms that are handling our suit against the ODWC have been working at one-half their normal fees, we have expended several tens of thousands of dollars in that effort. The cost of the web site has already exceeded $2,000. In short, we need your financial support in as large an amount as you can afford and as soon as you can afford to send it. Make your checks out to the Spring Creek Conservation Coalition, P.O. Box 217, Peggs, Oklahoma 74452. We greatly appreciate your interest, your support and your financial contribution.
