Cabez Prieta NMD
| Tracking # |
FWS-2019-00333 |
| Submitted | Jan. 15, 2019 |
MuckRock users can file, duplicate, track, and share public records requests like this one. Learn more.
Communications
From: Jimmy Tobias
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
E-mails containing the phrase "No More Deaths" sent or received by one or more staffers at the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge between January 1, 2018 and the date this request is processed.
I am a reporter for The Guardian and The Nation magazine.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Jimmy Tobias
From:
Due to the lapse in funding of the federal government budget, I am out
of the office. I am not authorized to work during this time, but will
respond to your email when I return to the office. No FOIA requests
can be accepted or processed at this time.
--
Melanie Ruiz
Chief, Branch of Litigation/FOIA
USFWS-Southwest Region
Division of Ecological Services
Office: 505-248-6284
Cell: 505-259-0335
From: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 2
Hello Mr. Tobias,
Please see attached FOIA request acknowledgement letter.
David Tischer
Government Information Specialist (FOIA)
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service - Ecological Services
(: 505.248.6658
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: <requests@muckrock.com>
Date: Tue, Jan 15, 2019 at 11:22 AM
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Freedom of Information Act Request: Cabez Prieta NMD
To: <Melanie_Ikenson@fws.gov>
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 2
FOIA Office
500 Gold Avenue SW
Albuquerque, NM 87102
January 15, 2019
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following
records:
E-mails containing the phrase "No More Deaths" sent or received by one or
more staffers at the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge between January
1, 2018 and the date this request is processed.
I am a reporter for The Guardian and The Nation magazine.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and
this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform
me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer
the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or
CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I
look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business
days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Jimmy Tobias
Filed via MuckRock.com
E-mail (Preferred): requests@muckrock.com
Upload documents directly:
https://www.muckrock.com/accounts/agency_login/us-fish-and-wildlife-service-region-2-3808/cabez-prieta-nmd-67425/?uuid-login=92d3b668-d5b9-4db2-9bc0-1ac42ad8de91&email=Melanie_Ikenson%40fws.gov#agency-reply
Is this email coming to the wrong contact? Something else wrong? Use the
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For mailed responses, please address (see note):
MuckRock News
DEPT MR 67425
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA 02144-2516
PLEASE NOTE: This request is not filed by a MuckRock staff member, but is
being sent through MuckRock by the above in order to better track, share,
and manage public records requests. Also note that improperly addressed
(i.e., with the requester's name rather than "MuckRock News" and the
department number) requests might be returned as undeliverable.
[image: Image removed by sender.]
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~WRD000
From: Jimmy Tobias
Thank you David.
Jimmy
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 15, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #FWS-2019-00333.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 15, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #FWS-2019-00333.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 15, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #FWS-2019-00333.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 15, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #FWS-2019-00333.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 15, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #FWS-2019-00333.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 15, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #FWS-2019-00333.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 15, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #FWS-2019-00333.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 2
Mr. Tobias,
Just to let you know our response will be sent via FedEx today. If you do
not receive, please let me know as we’ve had some issues with deliveries to
the MuckRock News address.
Sincerely,
David Tischer
Government Information Specialist (FOIA)
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service - Ecological Services
Region 2 – Albuquerque, New Mexico
(: 505.248.6658
-
~WRD001
From: Jimmy Tobias
Hi David,
Thank you for the note. Can any mail being sent be sent to the following address: 124 Washington Place, NY NY 10014.
That is where to reach me via hard copy mail.
Thank you!
Jimmy Tobias
From: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 2
A copy of documents responsive to the request.
-
67425.zip
From: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 2
Jimmy,
Below is delivery confirmation of the FedEx package. I’ll try to remember
the NY NY address, but if in the future if you could add the NY address in
the body of your request would be much appreciated.
Sincerely,
David Tischer
Government Information Specialist (FOIA)
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service - Ecological Services
Region 2 – Albuquerque, New Mexico
(: 505.248.6658
From: Jimmy Tobias
Thank you David. I appreciate it. Just to confirm: Is it possible to resend this package to the New York address. The address you sent it to in Somerville is not a working address for me.
Thank you again!
Jimmy
From: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 2
Hi Jimmy,
I will get this out to you this week.
David Tischer
Government Information Specialist (FOIA)
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service - Ecological Services
Region 2 – Albuquerque, New Mexico
(: 505.248.6658
-
~WRD259
From: Jimmy Tobias
Thank you David. I appreciate it.
Also, would you be available for a phone call sometime after I receive the documents?
Thank you.
Jimmy Tobias
From: Jimmy Tobias
U.S. Department of the Interior
Office of the Solicitor
Attn: FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Office
To Whom It May Concern:
I find the agency's final decision regarding FOIA request FWA-2019-00333 adverse and am appealing the decision. (The agency's final letter is attached below and all other relevant documents mentioned in this appeal are attached below or will be attached in a second follow up email).
In responding to my request, the agency invoked FOIA exemptions 5, 6, and 7 to fully withhold more than 40 documents related to my request. However, under FOIA, agencies have a “duty to segregate” and provide releasable information. The FOIA requires that “[a]ny reasonably segregable portion of a record shall be provided to any person requesting such record after deletion of the portions which are exempt.” The agency appears to have made no effort to segregate releasable information in regard to the more than 40 documents it fully withheld. Therefore, I appeal the decision and ask that the agency release all segregable information in the more than 40 documents related to my request that are currently being withheld, including such information as email subjects, email addresses, time stamps, dates, page numbers, email subject lines, and any information not covered by the attorney client privilege or other FOIA exemptions.
Attached below are three more documents in which the names and emails of public officials have been redacted. The names of public officials are subject to disclosure under FOIA, and therefore I appeal all the redactions in the three documents attached below that are related to the names of public officials, including redactions found in the body of the emails contained in these documents. The documents in question are titled "11_redacted", "13_redacted" and "20_redacted". I will include the relevant documents as attachments below or in a follow up email.
Finally, I am appealing the large b(5) redaction in the document titled "NMD091918_Redacted.pdf". This redaction is related to a discussion between federal officials concerning a news article that has long since been published. Because the topic under discussion in the email chain contained in this document is related to an event that has already occurred (i.e. the publication of the news article in question) the deliberative process privilege no longer applies to this case. I request that the redaction in this document be removed.
Please confirm receipt of this appeal.
Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
Jimmy Tobias
248-763-0088
jtoby87@gmail.com
From: Jimmy Tobias
Dear Appeals Office:
See below for the other two documents mentioned in my appeal related to FOIA request FWS-2019-00333. Thank you very much.
Jimmy Tobias
248-763-0088
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Jan. 15, 2019. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #FWS-2019-00333.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 2
Hello Mr. Tobias: Any communications related to your appeal must be
directed to the FOIA Appeals Office at:
DOI FOIA/Privacy Act Appeals Office
Department of the Interior, Office of the Solicitor
1849 C Street, N.W.
MS-6556 MIB
Washington, D.C. 20240
Telephone: 202-208-5339 / Fax: 202-208-6677
Email: FOIA.Appeals@sol.doi.gov
I cannot discern from the string below whether the Appeals Office has
received or responded to your appeal. You may wish to follow up directly
with that office.
Best,
Melanie
Melanie Ruiz
Chief, Branch of Litigation/FOIA
USFWS-Southwest Region
Division of Ecological Services
Office: 505-248-6284
Cell: 505-259-0335
From: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 2
Please see the attached final response.
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