This update highlights two of the key elements of the FSU College of Law Environmental and Land Use Law Program. First, the College of Law has launched an Environmental Forum series, which will provide a neutral forum for the discussion of timely environmental issues. The Spring 2004 Environmental Forum, the third Forum to be held at the law school, is scheduled for April 7, 2004, from 3-4:30 p.m. The Forum is entitled The Future of the Florida Panhandle, and will focus on policy and legal issues associated with development of the Panhandle. Specifically, the Forum will focus on three key issues:

1. What are the major development/conservation challenges facing the Panhandle over the next twenty years?

2. What are the three most important guiding principles for development/conservation in the Panhandle during this time frame?

3. Are the existing legal and political institutions capable of implementing those principles effectively?

     The distinguished panelists include representatives from state government (Shaw Stiller, Assistant General Counsel at DCA), local government (Pat Blackshear, Director, Okaloosa County Department of Growth Management), the environmental community (Janet Bowman, Legal Director of 1000 Friends of Florida, Inc.), and the development community (Billy Buzzett, Director of Strategic Planning for The St. Joe Company). Tom Pelham, a partner in the Fowler White Boggs Banker law firm, former Secretary of DCA, and current Chair of the Land Use Committee of the American Bar Association’s Section on State and Local Government Law, is serving as an expert commenter. FSU College of Law students Amy Cline, David Gadd, and Jonathon Edwards are also participating in the Forum. ELULS is serving as a co-sponsor for the Forum.

     In addition, the College of Law’s student-run Environmental Law Society (ELS) has also made enormous strides this academic year with an enrollment of more than 60 student members. Its officers, Danielle Appignani, Amy Cline, David Childs, and Mike Curran have launched a series of programs intended to enhance the intellectual environment at the College of Law and provide students with a better appreciation for the practice of law in the environmental and land use arenas. The Society has sponsored a Brown Bag Luncheon Series that brings prominent attorneys to the law school to discuss their areas of practice. The ELS, working with ELULs, has also organized a career panel that includes representatives from a broad array of environmental and land use practice areas. The Society is also exploring “service” projects that will enhance environmental protection at the law school and in the local community. The energy and enthusiasm of the law school’s students in the environmental and land use area plays an important role in making the College of Law a leader in this arena.