Near

ORDER

Plaintiffs sue to enjoin an agency of the United States, the Western Area Power Administration, Department of Energy (“WAPA”), from cutting down certain trees on their property. The government has counter-claimed, seeking to enforce the terms of its easement which, it claims, would require plaintiffs to remove certain structures from the easement and would allow the government to cut down certain trees. The case is before the court on the government’s motion for summary judgment on its counter-claim. I decide the matter on the pleadings and the papers on file herein and after oral argument.

I.

UNDISPUTED FACTS

In 1952, the land now belonging to plaintiffs was subject to a Declaration of Taking. Under that declaration, the United States acquired an easement providing for the right to construct, operate and maintain towers, poles and power lines for the purpose of transmitting electric energy over, through, and across the land described in the Declaration of Taking. See 1952 Declaration of Taking, Pi’s Exh. A at 3:2-9. The easement also includes:

Id. at 3:28-32. Reserved from the easement was the owners’ “right and privilege to cultivate, use, and occupy the said land for…