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Even bureaucrats can have a sense of humor

Here's a scan of the original opinion. It's not the clearest image -- it's been sitting in my files for 21 years now. Click on the thumbnail to get it full size.
This is the original opinion she signed (mine is unsigned, since it came from my personal chron file--I would have the opinion as it went to her, the signed one would have gone into the departmental files. The tribe applied for listing, Fish and Wildlife kicked it to us, the legal shop, for an opinion. We all knew it was a publicity gig for the Tribe. Gale signed this opinion, and sent it to Fish and Wildlife, then the other bureaucrats got worried and had her sign another, perfectly serious, one. Fish and Wildlife in the meantime had passed the first opinion to the media and they loved it. But both opinions remained in the files. I'm told that when she was nominated the first opinion was hunted down and shredded. I don't have a copy of the second, serious, one since I didn't draft it.

· Personal