Remy, Thomas, Moose and Manley LLP is a law partnership focusing on land use and environmental law since 1982.

Mr. Moose joined the firm in 1986 as an associate, became a partner in 1990, and is now senior partner with the firm. His practice focuses on land use and environmental matters, with an emphasis on issues arising under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the State Planning and Zoning Law, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Endangered Species Act, the California Endangered Species Act, and other relevant land use and environmental statutes. He represents public agencies, project proponents, consulting firms, non-profit organizations, and individuals. He handles all phases of the land use entitlement process and permitting processes, including administrative approvals and litigation. Over the last two decades, he has also participated in drafting amendments to CEQA and the CEQA Guidelines.

Mr. Moose has received an “AV” rating from Martindale-Hubbell, which ranks attorneys throughout the United States based on solicited feedback from their colleagues. “AV” is the highest rating available, with “A” signifying that an attorney is ranked from “Very High to Preeminent” in his or her field(s), and “V” indicating high ethical standards.

Along with his partners, he is co-author of Guide to the California Environmental Quality Act, a respected legal treatise frequently cited by the appellate courts. The most recent edition was published in early 2007 and was current through early 2006. In late 2008, the California Supreme Court approvingly cited the treatise in Save Tara v. City of West Hollywood (2008) 45 Cal.4th 116, 139. Previous judicial opinions citing or quoting the treatise include the following: Woodward Park Homeowners Assn. v. City of Fresno (2007) 150 Cal.App.4th 683, 709-710; County of Amador v. City of Plymouth (2007) 149 Cal.App.4th 1089, 1103; Banker’s Hill, et al. v. City of San Diego (2006) 139 Cal.App.4th 249, 269; Friends of the Eel River v. Sonoma County Water Agency (2003) 108 Cal.App.4th 859, 874; Friends of the Santa Clara River v. Castaic Lake Water Agency (2002) 95 Cal.App.4th 1373, 1387; Galante Vineyards v. Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (1998) 60 Cal.App.4th 1109, 1118-1119; Mountain Lion Foundation v. Fish & Game Com. (1997) 16 Cal.4th 105, 131.

Starting in 1989 and continuing into 2009, Mr. Moose has co-taught annual CEQA Update courses through the University of California at Davis Extension Program. Over the last several years, he has also co-taught through that program courses entitled, “Environmental Review of California Water Projects: Legal Requirements, Approaches and Techniques,” and “Advanced CEQA Symposium.” In the years 1994 through 1997, he also co-taught a course entitled, “Writs of Mandate in Land Use and Environmental Law.” Starting in 1991 and continuing into 2009, he co-taught CEQA Update courses on behalf of the Association of Environmental Professionals. He has also taught CEQA courses or participated in the teaching of courses put on by CLE International, Lorman International, and the California Continuing Education of the Bar program, and has spoken about CEQA at the annual State Bar Environmental Law Conference at Yosemite.

With over 23 years of litigation experience in state and federal environmental cases, Mr. Moose has been involved in litigation resulting in numerous significant CEQA precedents in the Courts of Appeal and California Supreme Court. These include the following: California Native Plant Society v. City of Santa Cruz (2009) 177 Cal.App.4th 957; California Native Plant Society v. City of Rancho Cordova (2009) 172 Cal.App.4th 603; Vineyard Area Citizens for Responsible Growth, Inc. v. City of Rancho Cordova (2007) 40 Cal.4th 412; Sierra Club v. County of Napa (2004) 121 Cal.App.4th 1490; Californians Against Waste v. California Department of Conservation (2002) 104 Cal.App.4th 317; CalBeach Advocates v. City of Solana Beach (2002) 103 Cal.App.4th 529; County of Amador v. El Dorado County Water Agency (1999) 76 Cal.App.4th 931; Chaparral Greens v. City of Chula Vista (1996) 50 Cal.App.4th 1134; Stanislaus Audubon Society, Inc. v. Stanislaus County (1995) 33 Cal.App.4th 144; Western States Petroleum Assn. v. Superior Court (1995) 9 Cal.4th 559; Sacramento County v. Local Agency Formation Commission (1992) 3 Cal.4th 903; City of Sacramento v. State Water Resources Control Board (1992) 2 Cal.App.4th 960; Citizens of Goleta Valley v. Board of Supervisors of Santa Barbara (1990) 52 Cal.3d 553; Oro Fino Gold Mining Corp. v. County of El Dorado (1990) 225 Cal.App.3d 872; Kings County Farm Bureau v. City of Hanford (1990) 221 Cal.App.3d 692; Midway Orchards v. County of Butte (1990) 220 Cal.App.3d 765; Mountain Lion Coalition et al. v. California Fish and Game Commission et al. (1989) 214 Cal.App.3d 1043; Citizens for Quality Growth v. City of Mt Shasta (1988) 198 Cal.App.3d 433; and Emmington v. Solano County Redevelopment Agency (1987) 195 Cal.App.3d 491.

Representative matters in which Mr. Moose is currently involved, or has recently been involved, include the following:

• Outside counsel to the California Department of Water Resources with respect to the pending Bay Delta Conservation Plan, a proposed habitat conservation plan for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta;
• Lead attorney for the real parties in interest in Vineyard Area Citizens for Responsible Growth, Inc. v. City of Rancho Cordova (2007) 40 Cal.4th 412, in which the California Supreme Court announced legal principles governing the preparation of water supply analyses in environmental impact reports for land use plans;
• Outside counsel to the City and County of San Francisco with respect to the formulation and approval of the Water System Improvement Program (WSIP), a long-term strategy for improving the San Francisco Public Utility Commission’s water supply system to protect it against earthquakes and to increase its reliability and flexibility;
• Outside counsel to the City of Stockton with respect to its 2007 General Plan Update, various land use approvals, and water supply issues.

Mr. Moose is active in several philanthropic organizations. For example, he is member of the Advisory Board of the Center for Law, Energy and the Environment at the School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. He sits on the Board of Directors of Solar Cookers International, Inc., a Sacramento-based non-profit corporation devoted to increasing the use of solar cooking devices worldwide with the goals of providing humanitarian relief and reducing deforestation caused by over-harvesting of firewood. He is also on the Board of Directors of Gifts to Share, Inc., a nonprofit organization supporting the City of Sacramento’s park, recreation, cultural, educational, and neighborhood improvement programs and facilities, and those of its partners. As a landowner and citizen activist in Western Montana, he is a member of the Board of Directors and President of the Placid-Mission Coalition, non-profit corporation created to advocate for the protection and sound management of the ecosystems in the Seeley-Swan Clearwater Valleys. In the past, Mr. Moose has served on the Board of Directors of the Sacramento City-County Solid Waste Advisory Committee and the Environmental Council of Sacramento.

Mr. Moose received his undergraduate degree from University of California at Berkeley in 1981, where he completed a double major in English and History. He graduated cum laude and was made a member of Phi Beta Kappa in recognition of his academic achievements. He received his law degree from University of California at Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law in 1981. While in law school, he served as Articles Editor for the Ecology Law Quarterly, the nation’s leading environmental law journal, and served as a law clerk at the San Francisco environmental law firm of Shute, Mihaly, & Weinberger.