Judge May Hold Bush Officials in Contempt

A federal judge in San Francisco today may hold the Bush administration in contempt for failing to honor a pledge made under the Clinton administration to force ranchers to get their cattle off public land considered vital to the survival of the desert tortoise.

U.S. District Judge William A. Alsup two weeks ago blasted the Bureau of Land Management for violating a court-sanctioned deal between the government and environmentalists to have cattle removed from 500,000 acres of public land in the high desert of San Bernardino County and elsewhere.

The tortoise, the California state reptile, is protected by the federal Endangered Species Act.

Alsup gave the federal government until today to provide assurance that the cattle will be removed. If he is unsatisfied, the judge could fine, or even jail, key government officials for contempt.

At a May 3 hearing, Alsup rejected an argument by Department of Justice attorneys that the BLM has misunderstood the cattle-removal deal between the BLM and the Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity.

Rather, Alsup, appointed to the bench by President Clinton, said he suspected that the Bush administration is attempting to renege on the deal because it is more sympathetic to the ranchers than to the Endangered Species Act.

“I think this has something to do with the change of administration,” Alsup said. “I think that is all that’s going on here, and that’s not the way the government should be working.”

Stung by the judge’s allegation, government lawyers Tuesday submitted a document to Alsup pledging that the Bureau of Land Management now has a plan to remove cattle from the desert areas between March 1 and June 15, and between Sept. 7 and Nov. 15, considered critical mating and foraging periods for the tortoise.

That plan will take effect as soon as ranchers have a chance to appeal, according to the document, which was signed by a top Department of Justice attorney.

Furthermore, Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton will take “the highly unusual step of invoking administrative powers reserved to her” to ensure a speedy decision on all appeals.

An attorney for the ranchers welcomed Norton’s intervention.

Richard Walden, representing ranchers belonging to the High Desert Cattlemen’s Assn., said the appeal process will allow ranchers to present evidence that their cattle can graze on the public land without harming the tortoise population.

But an attorney for the environmentalists was wary of the government’s response.

Jay Tutchton, who runs an environmental law clinic at the University of Denver law school, said he is concerned the result could be further delay. The BLM’s record in protecting the tortoise, he said, “has been woeful.”

“My hope is that we don’t have to go through this drill again,” Tutchton said.