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Judge Jelderks' Letter to Counsel

Chambers of
John Jelderks
United States Magistrate Judge

Paula A Barran
Barran Liebman, LLP
601 S W 2nd Avenue, Suite 2300
Portland, OR 97204

Alan Schneider
Attorney at Law
1437 SW Columbia St. Suite 200
Portland, OR 97201-2535

David F. Shuey
U. S. Department of Justice
Environment & Natural Resources Div.
General Litigation Section
601 Pennsylvania Ave. NW R 845
Washington, DC 20044

Timothy W. Simmons
Assistant US Attorney
U. S. Attorney's Office
1000 SW 3rd Ave., Suite 600
Portland OR 97204-2902

Re: Bonnichsen, et al., v. USA, et al., Case No. 96-1481-JE

Dear Counsel:

Because considerable time has elapsed since I took this case under advisement, I want to let you know the status of the proceedings. The unusual delay in the case has in large part been due to the time required to review the entire record which, as you know, exceeded 20,000 pages. Although your memoranda and arguments were very helpful, I felt that a careful analysis of the actual record was critical to a proper review of the Secretary's decision. That analysis has been completed. However, it has been a lengthy process to summarize the large amount of pertinent data gleaned from the record and produce an opinion that is not unreasonably long.

I am currently working on the final draft of the decision and my schedule should allow me to have it filed before Labor Day.

Yours truly,
(signed) John Jelderks

cc: Amicus Counsel

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