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COLUMNS
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University of Florida ELULP Wraps Up
an Active Year |
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Alyson C. Flournoy |
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The 2006-2007 academic year has been busy and successful for the
Environmental and Land Use Law Program at the Levin College of Law. Here’s a
quick summary of some of the major activities, events, and accomplishments of
the past year. We’ll focus on faculty research and publications in an update
this fall.
Conferences & Lectures
13th Annual Public Interest Environmental Conference
The 13th Annual PIEC, co-sponsored by the ELUL Section, highlighted the theme of
sustainability. The keynote speaker at Thursday’s reception was Jil Zilligen,
Vice President of Sustainable Business Practices at Nau, Inc., an outdoor
apparel company formed using a unique business strategy built around sustainable
business practices. Ray Anderson, Founder and Chairman of Interface, Inc. served
as the keynote speaker for the conference banquet. Anderson’s leadership has
made Interface, Inc. a leader in sustainable industry and was the subject of a
recent profile in the New York Times. The conference also featured a Saturday
morning workshop organized by the UF Leadership Development Institute that
encouraged effective communication with corporate leaders, and plenary
presentations by leading academics. The Saturday grand finale plenary featured a
lively discussion of ethics and sustainability, featuring Wal-Mart’s Vice
President for Environmental Compliance, Phyllis Harris, and former EPA Regional
Administrator for Region IV, John Henry Hankinson, who concluded with the
rousing song “Testify,” written specially for the conference and performed by
Hankinson. Save the date for next year’s PIEC: February 28-March 1, 2008.
2006-2007 Environmental Speaker Series
Students and faculty hosted a series of distinguished speakers this year and
heard about topics ranging from takings and private property, to wilderness and
citizen suits. Speakers in this year’s series were:
• Bob Irvin, Senior Vice President for Conservation Programs, Defenders of
Wildlife, on “The Politics of Conservation: Critical Habitat and Reauthorization
of the Endangered Species Act;”
• J.B. Ruhl, Matthews and Hawkins Professor of Property, Florida State
University, on “Making the Common Law Ecological: Using Ecosystem Services to
Make the Common Law a Technique of Conservation;”
• Amy Sinden, Associate professor of law, Temple University Beasley School of
Law, on “The Tragedy of the Commons and the Myth of a Private Property
Solution;” and
• Marc Mihaly, Acting Associate Dean for the Environmental Program, Acting
Director of the Environmental Law Center, and Associate Professor of law,
Vermont Law School, on “Public-Private Development Partnerships.”
The Speaker Series is made possible through the support of Hopping Green & Sams,
P.A.; Lewis Longman & Walker, P.A.; and the Environmental and Land Use Law
Section.
Nelson Symposium
Over a hundred people attended the Richard E. Nelson Symposium on Jan. 22, in
Gainesville, organized by Michael Allan Wolf, the Richard E. Nelson Chair in
Local Government Law, and co-sponsored by the ELUL and the City, County and
Local Government Law Sections of the Florida Bar. The Symposium assembled an
unprecedented panel of experts to discuss the legal aspects of a growing real
estate development phenomenon in Florida and throughout the nation – the
conversion of existing golf courses into more intensive land uses. Officials
with the National Golf Foundation and the United States Golf Association joined
academics, practicing lawyers, and local government officials, to explore and
debate the issues communities are facing.
Student Accomplishments
Six Students Graduate with Certificates
Six students graduated with Certificates in Environmental and Land Use Law
during the 2006-2007 academic year, bringing the total number of students who
have graduated with ELUL Certificates to 67.
UF Law Student Wins Roscoe Hogan Essay Contest
An essay written by second-year student Yee Huang has been selected as the
winner of the 2007 Roscoe Hogan Environmental Law Essay Contest sponsored by the
Roscoe Pound Institute. She will be recognized with a $5000 prize. Her article
is titled "Fifth Amendment Takings & Transitions in Water Law: Compensation
(Just) For the Environment." In addition to serving as a research assistant for
Professor Klein, Yee is one of the incoming co-chairs for the Public Interest
Environmental Law Conference. She is working with EPA Region III in Philadelphia
this summer.
Environmental and Land Use Law Society Wins Grant
UF’s ELUL Society has received a $16,300 grant from University of Florida
Student Government and UF Physical Plant to restore a 3.3-acre wooded area
across from the law school on Village Drive. The proposal was written and
coordinated by third-year law student Ashley Henry as part of a project for the
Conservation Clinic. Henry will also serve as project manager for the
restoration. The project will involve faculty and students from five colleges,
providing expertise in botany, archaeology, landscape architecture, geomatics,
and law, as well as residents of the neighboring Golf View Neighborhood
Association.
Summer Migrations
Tom Ankersen, Thomas Ruppert, and Joan Flocks will travel to Costa Rica to
participate in our Summer Environmental Law Study Abroad program. Richard Hamann
has been in South Florida to co-teach a two-week intensive interdisciplinary
field course on the law, science, and policy of the Everglades Restoration.
After his return, Richard travels to Botswana with the students in the
interdisciplinary IGERT program on Adaptive Management: Wise Use of Water,
Wetlands and Watersheds. Mary Jane Angelo and Jeff Wade will head to Brazil in
June to teach a short course on Environmental Law for Brazilian judges,
prosecutors and lawyers. Our students have left for Washington, D.C.,
Philadelphia, Oakland, California, and cities throughout Florida, for summer
jobs and externships. We’ll look forward to seeing many of you at the Annual
Update in August.
For more information and stories about ELULP activities, faculty and students,
you can download our Spring 2007 newsletter at
www.law.ufl.edu/elulp/events.htm.
