Settlement Documents

Attachment A

SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT

in the case of Association of O&C Counties and Douglas County, Oregon v. Babbitt and Dombeck, C.A. No. 96-5222 (D.C. Cir.); Civ. No. 94-1044 (U.S.D.C. D.C.)

1.  The parties will jointly request the Court of Appeals to stay the appeal and issue a limited remand to the District Court on the basis of this settlement agreement to seek vacation of the District Court’s dismissal of the cases, and instead enter voluntary dismissal without prejudice. Provided the District Court agrees to vacate its previous order on the basis of this settlement, the parties will then jointly request dismissal of the appeal. The Association of O&C Counties (AOCC) and Douglas County covenant that they will not file an action in any federal court against the Bureau of Land Management or its officers challenging the validity of the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan or the 1995 Resource Management Plans of the BLM in western Oregon (RMPs) based on the allegations of violations made in the complaints in the present cases or on any allegations substantively similar to those made in those complaints prior to the year 2001. The parties agree that the time between the date of execution of this Agreement and January 1, 2001, inclusive, will not be included in computing the time limited by any statue of limitations for any cause of action subject to this paragraph. Nor will that time period be considered on a defense of laches or similar defense concerning timeliness of commencing a civil action. The parties agree that any applicable statute of limitations shall be tolled during and for that period.

2.  The BLM agrees that in any major revisions to the RMPs, the range of alternatives given detailed consideration would include an alternative that emphasizes sustained-yield timber production on the O&C lands, except insofar as limitations on timber management on the O&C lands would be necessary to comply with the Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, or any other law to which management of the O&C lands must adhere. It is understood that the BLM would not be making any commitment to select such an alternative as the preferred alternative, and that it is expected that the BLM will develop as wide a range of reasonable alternatives as possible for consideration. A minor amendment to a current RMP resulting from the adaptive management process would not be considered to be a major revision. The obligation to consider the sustained-yield timber production alternative would not apply to changes to RMPs short of major revisions, and nothing herein would alter the discretion of the BLM to amend the RMPs pursuant to the adaptive management process without undertaking a major revision. Agreement to include any such alternative in future revisions is not an admission that the current Resource Management Plans of the BLM are in violation of the O&C Lands Act, or any other law. Similarly, nothing in the settlement agreement, or the fact of settlement, would be construed as an admission by any party of either a violation of law or the lack thereof.

3.  Under BLM’s existing Resource Management Plans and planning regulations, the BLM conducts plan evaluations every three years. The BLM agrees to allow the county governments who make up the membership of the AOCC to participate in the development of these periodic evaluations, including consultation during preparation of, and review of, draft documents prior to their publication and dissemination to the general public. In addition to other relevant information and comments, BLM specifically agrees to give consideration in these evaluations to the studies and research developed by the State and AOCC referenced in the following paragraph. The BLM and the AOCC will cooperate in finding ways to make the county government participation in these plan evaluations as meaningful and effective as possible. The first plan evaluation on the BLM’s western Oregon Resource Management Plans will be done in 1998, which will followed every three years thereafter (i.e. 2001, 2004, 2007, etc.).

4.  The AOCC intends to request the State of Oregon to join in studies that examine ways to improve forest health and increase sustainable timber production on the O&C lands consistent with the objectives and goals of the Northwest Forest Plan. The BLM will agree to cooperate with the AOCC for purposes of these studies, including by providing requested existing information and data, and access to BLM’s resource specialists, to the extent possible without interfering with the BLM’s ability to carry out its program.

5.  Nothing in this agreement will require the BLM to expend funds in excess of appropriations available under law.