For Immediate Release

Tamalpais Conservation Club Files Suit Against State to Protect Mt. Tam
Environmental organizations join together in opposition of State’s plans for the Dipsea Trail, Coastal and Lone Tree Fire Roads.

Mill Valley – May 12, 2003 – The Tamalpais Conservation Club today announces the filing of a legal challenge (Writ of Mandamus) against the State of California, Department of Parks and Recreation's plan to re-designate trails within Mt. Tamalpais State Park. The TCC action is being supported by the Sierra Club, The Bay Area Trails Preservation Council and The Marin Horse Council, among others

The DPR plan calls for the decommissioning and conversion of the Coastal and Lone Tree Fire Roads and parts of the historic Dipsea Trail. The TCC finds the plan and the process under which it was produced flawed in numerous aspects and a threat to the long-term environmental health of the mountain.

The attorney for the Tamalpais Conservation Club, Dotty LeMieux, drafted the complaint based on the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which allows the TCC to request a full environmental impact report (EIR) be completed, in order to address the need for long term protection of the park and its resources.

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For additional information, please contact:
Larry Minikes, Corresponding Secretary
Tamalpais Conservation Club
415 459-7724

Dotty LeMieux, Attorney
Coastal Lawyer
415 383-3715

mandamus
(man-dame-us) n. Latin for "we order," a writ (more modernly called a "writ of mandate") which orders a public agency or governmental body to perform an act required by law when it has neglected or refused to do so. Examples: After petitions were filed with sufficient valid signatures to qualify a proposition for the ballot, the city refuses to call the election, claiming it has a legal opinion that the proposal is unconstitutional. The backers of the proposition file a petition for a writ ordering the city to hold the election. The court will order a hearing on the writ and afterwards either issue the writ or deny the petition. Or a state agency refuses to release public information, a school district charges fees to a student in violation of state law, or a judge will not permit reporters entry at a public trial. All of these can be subject of petitions for a writ of mandamus. ©2003 law.com