www.ELULS.org - Section Reporter

As the fall semester draws to a close, we wanted to share with you some recent news as well as outline the busy spring semester schedule of environmental and land use law programs at UF. We welcome your participation. Please contact elulp@law.ufl.edu for more information on any upcoming events.

Faculty Update

The ELUL faculty began a new tradition this fall, challenging the students to volleyball, croquet, and bocce in an Environmental Law(n) Sports Afternoon. The students defeated the faculty in 2 games of volleyball, but the faculty bested the students in croquet. Bocce was postponed for another day when faculty expert Mary Jane Angelo could participate. Everyone enjoyed the pizza afterwards.

In addition to teaching, writing, and not practicing their volleyball skills, UF faculty have been traveling around the state and country to speak on a variety of topics in the past few months. Recent presentations include:

Mary Jane Angelo
“Rapanos, Carabell and Beyond,” Florida Wetlands Conference (November 17), Tampa

Tom Ankersen
"Vamos a la Playa: Comparative Beach Access Law," at Sustainable Tourism and Coastal Development, University of Costa Rica College of Law (December 1), San Jose, Costa Rica

Conference Co-Chair & Panel Presenter, “Anchoring (and mooring) Away: Government Regulation and Rights of Navigation in Florida”, From Stem to Stern: Boating and Waterway Management in Florida, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida Sea Grant, University of Florida Levin College of Law (November), Cocoa Beach

“Preservation of Recreational and Commercial Working Waterfronts,” Planning in Paradise: The Squeeze is On, Florida Chapter of the American Planning Association State Conference (September 27-30), Marco Island

“Changing Waterfronts; Changing Communities,” National Sea Grant Fisheries Extension Meeting (Oct. 15-18), Atlantic Beach

Alyson Flournoy
“Wetlands Conservation and Metropolitan Growth: A Look at the Landscape and Some Predictions after Rapanos and Carabell,” Georgia State University Center for the Comparative Study of Metropolitan Growth (November 16), Atlanta, GA

Christine Klein
“The Law of the Lakes: From Protectionism to Sustainability in the Great Lakes Water Basin,” Institute for Trade in the Americas, Michigan State University College of Law, Second Annual Conference on Trade and Investment in the Americas (Dec. 1, 2006), Chicago, IL.

Student Publications
An article titled “Influence of Carcinogenicity Classification and Mode of Action Characterization on Distinguishing ‘Like Products’ Under Article III 4 of the GATT and Article 2.1 of the TBT Agreement” written by third year student Todd Stedeford, who also has his Ph.D. in Toxicology and Risk Assessment and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology, will be published in the NYU Environmental Law Journal next year.

Upcoming Events
UF will host its two annual environmental and land use law related conferences this spring – the Richard E. Nelson Symposium and the Public Interest Environmental Conference – in addition to hosting four visiting lecturers for the spring Environmental Speaker Series. We are also holding a special roundtable meeting at UF to bring together environmental law scholars from around the country and UF faculty with expertise in a wide array of relevant disciplines, to discuss the next generation of environmental laws.

The PIEC is co-sponsored by the Public Interest Committee of the ELUL Section. The Environmental Speaker Series is made possible by support from the ELUL Section, Hopping Green & Sams, P.A., and Lewis Longman & Walker, P.A. Brief descriptions of each of these events follow.

Richard E. Nelson Symposium in Local Government Law
Date: 2/2/07
Location: UF Hilton, Gainesville FL
Topic: From Fairways to Driveways: Implications of Golf Course Conversions
Speakers: Robert Banks, Palm Beach County; Professor Eric R. Claeys, St. Louis Univ.; Professor Nancy A. McLaughlin, University of Utah; Dennis D. Mele, Ruden McCloskey; Professor Patricia E. Salkin, Government Law Center, Albany Law School; Thomas D. Shults, Kirk-Pinkerton, P.A.; James T. Snow, United States Golf Association; Ronald L. Weaver, Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson, P.A.; Steven Wernick, Levin College of Law, J.D. Class of 2007; and Professor Michael Allan Wolf, Levin College of Law.
Description: The Sixth Annual Richard E. Nelson Symposium will assemble an unprecedented panel of experts to discuss the legal aspects of a growing phenomenon in Florida and throughout the nation - the conversion of existing golf courses into more intensive land uses. In many communities experiencing intense growth pressures, golf courses are being targeted for residential, commercial, and mixed-use projects. Symposium presenters, will survey national trends in golf course conversions; review the pertinent case law; explain the perspectives of, and special challenges facing, attorneys representing developers, neighbors, and local governments; debate the legitimacy of the use of eminent domain to take a golf course; explore relevant conservation easement and covenant law concepts; discuss the environmental aspects of golf course operations and conversions; and highlight special Florida law concerns. This program will be of interest to attorneys representing local governments, neighborhood associations, real estate developers, golf course owners, and environmental groups.
Registration and Information: Contact Barbara DeVoe at devoe@law.ufl.edu.

Public Interest Environmental Conference
Date: 3/1 – 3/3/07
Location: UF Levin College of Law
Topic: Talk, Technology & Techniques: Game Plan for Green
Speakers: Keynote Speaker – Ray Anderson, Founder and Chairman of Interface, Inc.; Invited Speaker for Kick-off Reception: Hunter Lovins, President and Co-Founder Natural Capitalism, Inc. Other confirmed plenary speakers include Professor David Driesen, Syracuse Law School; Professor Charles Kibert, UF School of Building Construction and Design; Professor J.B. Ruhl, FSU School of Law; Professor Joe Tomain, University of Cincinnati Law School.
Description: The conference will feature three tracks: Green Design, Green Infrastructure, and Green Institutions. Many of the conference panels will emphasize sustainability. Panel topics include sustainable architecture, low-impact development, greening historic preservation, rural stewardship, highways, greening the media, ecosystem services, green building, and greening government, the media, corporations, and education. The UF Leadership Development Institute will sponsor our keynote speaker and help to coordinate the ever-popular Saturday morning skills workshop.

This year, the conference will be held in the new facilities at the Levin College of Law for the first time.

Registration and Information: You can register now at www.ufpiec.org. A detailed agenda will be online in early January.

Next Generation Environmental Law Roundtable Meeting
Date: 3/1/07
Location: UF Levin College of Law
Topic: Identifying the Challenges and Opportunities for the Next Generation of Environmental Laws
Participants: David Adelman, Univ. of Arizona Law; Janaki Alavalapati, UF Forest Resources and Conservation; Mary Jane Angelo, UF Law; Alyson Flournoy, UF Law; Tom Ankersen, UF Law; John Applegate, Univ. of Indiana Law; Mark Brown, UF Environmental Engineering; Margaret Carr, UF Landscape Architecture; David Driesen, Syracuse Law; Richard Hamann, UF CGR; Christine Klein, UF Law; Tom McGarity, Univ. of Texas Law; Christine Overdevest, UF Sociology; Sid Shapiro, Wake Forest Law; Rena Steinzor, University of Maryland Law; Joe Tomain, University of Cincinnati Law; Jeff Wade UF CGR; Wendy Wagner, Univ. of Texas Law; Michael Wolf, UF Law.
Details: This roundtable meeting is a scoping meeting funded by a seed money grant from the UF School of Natural Resources and the Environment. The meeting will bring together scholars from an array of disciplines to identify the challenges and opportunities to which our next generation of environmental laws must respond, and to develop proposals for further interdisciplinary research on the subject.

Environmental Speaker Series
This year’s environmental speaker series brings four outstanding speakers from around the country to UF to talk on topics related to Conservation Techniques, and features a joint presentation by a UF faculty member and J.D. student. Section members are invited to join UF faculty and students at all seminars. Because space is limited, please contact Lena Hinson at elulp@law.ufl.edu to reserve a seat. All presentations are 3-5 pm in the Faculty Dining Room, Bruton-Geer Hall.

Jan. 18

Alyson Flournoy

UF Foundation Research Professor & Director, ELULP

Christina Storz

UF Candidate for J.D. and Masters in Interdisciplinary Ecology

The National Environmental Legacy Act: A New Tool for Conservation

Michael Wolf (commenter)

UF Professor & Richard E. Nelson Chair in Local Gov’t Law

February 8

Bob Irvin

Senior Vice President of Conservation

Defenders of Wildlife

Reauthorization of the Endangered Species Act: The Debate Over Critical Habitat

Feb. 15

J.B. Ruhl

Matthews & Hawkins Professor of Property

FSU Law

Making the Common Law Ecological: Using Ecosystem Services to Make the Common Law a Technique of Conservation

Feb. 22

Amy Sinden

Associate Professor of Law

Temple University Law

Mar. 29

Marc Mihaly

Acting Assoc. Dean for the Environmental Program, Acting Director, Env’tal Law Center, & Associate Professor of Law

Vermont Law School

Public / Private Development as a Conservation Technique

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January 2007

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