29 Co-plaintiffs will again defend their lawsuit against the Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs (EOEEA) and the Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR). The Plaintiffs contend that EOEEA & DCR’s commercial logging practices are contrary to the forest practices required by the Climate Emergency
Virtual Court Date: Wednesday Sept. 16
Contact the Franklin Clerks office at
413-775-7400 or franklinclerksoffice@jud.state.ma.us
for instructions re: virtual attendance
The case was last heard in January 2020, when Assistant Attorney General Kendra Kinscherf motioned for dismissal. AAG Kinscherf’s second motion for dismissal will be heard 9/16 at 9am at the Franklin County Superior Court in Greenfield.
The hearing will take place virtually, due to Court rules and regulations relevant to the Covid 19 pandemic. Press and the public who desire to participate virtually should follow the Court’s directions by contacting the clerks office at 413-775-7400 or by email at: franklinclerksoffice@jud.state.ma.us
The Plaintiffs filed their case in August 2019 when commercial logging began in the Wendell State Forest. The Plaintiffs contend that EOEEA and DCR’s commercial logging practices are contrary to the forest practices required by the present and ongoing Climate Emergency and that EOEEA and DCR are operating from significantly outdated rules and regulations, which do not give consideration and deference to the Climate Emergency.
Co-Plaintiff Bill Stubblefield, Wendell resident who holds a PHD in Ecology and Evolution from Harvard University states, “ The levels of CO2 in the atmosphere have already reached levels that almost guarantee Catastrophic Global Warming and the collapse of industrial civilization. It is now essential that we not only halt all additional emissions from burning fossils fuels, but also remove vast quantities of CO2 from the atmosphere and the only tool we have to do so on anywhere near the scale required is to encourage carbon capture and storage by natural ecosystems, of which forest are the most important.”
The Plaintiffs further claim that EOEEA and DCR not only follow outdated rules and regulations that fail to address the Climate Emergency, but their practices are part of a larger pattern that rejects standard administrative practices, misinterprets regulations, engages in self serving and self-dealing, while withholding public records, all of which results in the corrosive erosion of the public trust. Co-plaintiff Gia Neswald of Greenfield said, “The Court’s involvement is essential in order to restore public confidenchttp://www.pfpi.net/ma-house-climate-bill-would-promote-biomass-incinerators-as-non-carbon-emitting-sourcese in the functioning of EOEEA and DCR, whose current policies are gravely impacting the citizens and our communal lands.”
The Co-plaintiffs are representing themselves Pro Se. Co-plaintiff Glen Ayers of Greenfield states that this has been necessary as “the Attorney General has chosen to defend EOEEA and DCR’s violations of the public trust, instead of upholding the laws and regulations on behalf of the citizens.”
CONTACT: Gia Neswald: 802-585-1608, gneswald@gmail.com
Glen Ayers: 413-834-5273, glenayers@gmail.com
Bill Stubblefield: 978-480-0708, bill@stubblefield.org