Law Commons^™

The Green's Dilemma: Building Tomorrow's Climate Infrastructure Today, J. B. Ruhl, James Salzman

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

"We need to make it easier to build electricity transmission lines." This plea came recently not from an electric utility executive but from Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, one of the Senate's champions of progressive climate change policy. His concern is that the massive scale of new climate infrastructure urgently needed to meet our nation's greenhouse gas emissions reduction policy goals will face a substantial obstacle in the form of existing federal, state, and local environmental laws. A small but growing chorus of politicians and commentators with impeccable green credentials agrees that reform of that system will be needed. But how? How …

Creating A Transparent Methodology For Measuring Success Within A Continuum Of Conservation For The America The Beautiful Initiative, Jamie Pleune

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

On January 27, 2021, the Joseph Biden Administration identified the national goal of conserving at least 30% of our lands and waters by 2030. With this order, the America the Beautiful Initiative (“ATB Initiative”) was born, and the United States joined many other nations in adopting the 30 x 30 conservation target. However, beneath the lofty aspiration lay ambiguity. The Administration has not defined the term “conservation” or explained how it will be measured. Without a clear definition or metric for measuring the outcome of conservation projects, the ATB Initiative will lose credibility. The Biden Administration should avoid this result …

The Evolution Of International Environmental Law Amidst Political Gridlock: Environmental Rights As A Common Ground, Maria Antonia Tigre

Dissertations & Theses

In the leadup to the 50th anniversary of the Stockholm Conference and the global Covid- 19 pandemic, nations and people have realized they have not lived up to the obligations of the U.N. Charter and the principles of international environmental law. In 2019, the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) adopted Resolution No. A/RES/73/333, which set forth substantive and procedural recommendations for follow-up work for the progressive development of international environmental law, and specifically called for the adoption of a political declaration in 2022 to strengthen the implementation of international environmental law. The resolution derives from the proposed Global Pact for the …

Comments In Response To Request For Information To Inform Interagency Efforts To Develop The American Conservation And Stewardship Atlas, John C. Ruple, Jamie Pleune

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

On January 2, 2022, the Department of the Interior published a notice in the Federal Register seeking Information to Inform Interagency Efforts to Develop the American Conservation and Stewardship Atlas. This letter responds to the Department’s request for information.

Our comments focus on what we believe would be a useful framework for the Atlas. Our comments proceed in 5 parts: (1) broad comments about conservation, the Conservation and Stewardship Atlas, and the America the Beautiful Initiative; (2) the need to provide a universal baseline of ecological health that includes ecological potential, existing conditions, and a landscape health assessment; (3) the …

Conservation Easements As A Tool For Nature Protection, William Snape

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

No abstract provided.

Reimagining The Duck Stamp, Hunting Licensure And Public Land Preservation, Alec Wayne Boyd-Devine

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The American Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, or Duck Stamp, is a form of licensure issued by the Federal Government for waterfowl hunters. Why do physical stamps act as licensure to hunt waterfowl on both public and private land in the United States? How did the stamp become the key that grants access to resources that supposedly should be owned by the public? The duck stamp has been well-documented in conservation communities as a resource which has made significant positive impacts on the environment. The increase of anti-hunting sentiments in our society combined with fewer hunters per capita may …

The Bounds Of Energy Law, Shelley Welton

Faculty Publications

U.S. energy law was born of fossil fuels. Consequently, our energy law has long centered on the material and legal puzzles that bringing fossil fuels to market presents. Eliminating these same carbon-producing energy sources, however, has emerged as perhaps the most pressing material transformation needed in the twenty-first century—and one that energy law scholarship has rightfully embraced. Yet in our admirable quest to aid in this transformation, energy law scholars are largely writing into the field bequeathed to us, proposing changes that tweak, but do not fundamentally challenge, last century’s tools for managing the extraction, transport, and delivery of fossil …

Connecting Ecosystem Services Science And Policy In The Field, J. B. Ruhl, James Salzman, Craig A. Arnold, Robin Craig, Keith Hirokawa, Lydia Olander, Margaret Palmer, Taylor H. Ricketts

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Conservation and provision of ecosystem services (ES) have been adopted as high-level policy in many countries, yet there has been surprisingly little application of these broad policies in the field; for example, ES are rarely considered in permit issuance or other discrete agency actions. This large implementation gap arises in part because the science that drove general policy interest in ES differs from the science needed for practical application. A better understanding of the environmental policy toolkit can guide more effective research to support agency decisions. Here, we outline the framework used to teach environmental policy instruments through the “Five …

Legal Limits On Recreational Fishing Near Offshore Wind Facilities, Kaitlynn Webster, Read Porter

Sea Grant Law Fellow Publications

No abstract provided.

The Gap-Filling Role Of Private Environmental Governance, Jim Rossi, Michael P. Vandenbergh

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Private environmental governance provides new tools that can fill gaps in government regulatory regimes. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a valuable case study for testing the efficacy of private environmental governance because it is one of the largest utility carbon emitters and is largely insulated from near-term federal and state government pressure to reduce emissions. TVA is not on a trajectory to achieve the decarbonization targets necessary to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, but private governance initiatives can motivate TVA to accelerate its decarbonization process. TVA's securities filings acknowledge that it faces material threats on the energy …

Law School News: Marine Law Symposium At Rwu Law To Focus On Legal Strategies For Climate Adaptation 11/08/2018, Edward Fitzpatrick

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

No Farms No Food? A Response To Baylen Linnekin, Joshua Ulan Galperin

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

You have likely seen the bumper sticker, bold white text on a green background, reading “No Farms No Food.” The sticker is a product of, and in fact a tagline for, the American Farmland Trust. On the one hand, the point is obvious: As American Farmland Trust puts it, “[e]very meal on our plates [c]ontains ingredients grown on a farm. We all need farms to survive.” On the other hand, what seems like a plain statement on its face, “no farms no food,” is not so simple. Farms produce affordable food, they produce vast quantities of food, they produce healthy …

Climate Change Challenges For Land Conservation: Rethinking Conservation Easements, Strategies, And Tools, Jessica Owley, Federico Cheever, Adena R. Rissman, M. Rebecca Shaw, Barton H. Thompson Jr., W. William Weeks

Articles

No abstract provided.

The Baseline Bar, Nadia B. Ahmad

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Exploiting Conservation Lands: Can Hydrofracking Be Consistent With Conservation Easements, Jessica Owley, Collin Doane

Articles

No abstract provided.

Trust Me, I'M A Pragmatist: A Partially Pragmatic Critique Of Pragmatic Activism, Joshua Ulan Galperin

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Pragmatism is a robust philosophy, vernacular hand waiving, a method of judicial and administrative decisionmaking, and, more recently, justification for a certain type of political activism. While philosophical, judicial, and administrative pragmatism have garnered substantial attention and analysis from scholars, we have been much stingier with pragmatic activism — that which, in the spirit of the 21st Century’s 140-character limit, I will call “pragtivism.” This Article is intended as an introduction to pragtivism, a critique of the practice, and a constructive framework for addressing some of my critiques.

To highlight the contours of pragtivism, this Article tells the story of …

Trust Me, I'M A Pragmatist: A Partially Pragmatic Critique Of Pragmatic Activism, Joshua Galperin

Articles

Pragmatism is a robust philosophy, vernacular hand waiving, a method of judicial and administrative decisionmaking, and, more recently, justification for a certain type of political activism. While philosophical, judicial, and administrative pragmatism have garnered substantial attention and analysis from scholars, we have been much stingier with pragmatic activism — that which, in the spirit of the 21st Century’s 140-character limit, I will call “pragtivism.” This Article is intended as an introduction to pragtivism, a critique of the practice, and a constructive framework for addressing some of my critiques.

To highlight the contours of pragtivism, this Article tells the story of …

Our Oceans Need Sharks: A Comparative Analysis Of Shark And Turtle Conservation Law In Australia And The United States, Gabrielle Stiff Heim

Law Student Publications

The model used for turtle conservation and recovery would be an accurate model for conserving and recovering the endangered shark species, as well. As sharks are crucial to the marine environment, action needs to be taken in the form of policies that parallel those that protect turtles. Specifically, the models of protection for turtles in both Australia and the United States can serve as examples for shark conservation and recovery policies. As sharks are migratory species like turtles, international efforts and treaties are also crucial to providing boundaries and regulations for sharks in the global arena. The future of sharks …

Agenda: Flpma Turns 40, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment

FLPMA Turns 40 (October 21)

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) administers approximately 245 million acres of our public lands and yet, for most of our nation's history, these lands seemed largely destined to end up in private hands. Even when the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 ushered in an important era of better managing public grazing districts and "promoting the highest use of the public lands," such use of our public lands still was plainly considered temporary, "pending its final disposal." It was not until 1976 with the passage of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) that congress adopted a policy that …

Enhancing Conservation Options: An Argument For Statutory Recognition Of Options To Purchase Conservation Easements (Opces), Federico Cheever, Jessica Owley

Articles

Land conservation transactions have been the most active component of the conservation movement in the United States for the past three decades. Conservation organizations have acquired property rights-mostly conservation easements-to protect roughly 40 million acres of land nationwide. However, climate change threatens this vast edifice. Climate change means that the resources that land conservation transactions were intended to protect may not persist on the land protected. Options to purchase conservation easements ("OPCEs") have long played a modest but important role in conservation law practice. In the world climate change is creating, with its substantial uncertainties and shifting windows of opportunity, …

The Presidential Memorandum On Mitigation, J.B. Ruhl

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

On November 3, 2015, President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum aimed at unifying the mitigation practice and policy for activities carried out and approved by the Departments of Defense, Interior, and Agriculture, the EPA, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration... See Mitigating Impacts on Natural Resources from Development and Encouraging Related Private Investment, 80 Fed. Reg. 68743 (Nov. 6, 2015). The broad policy goal of the Memorandum is to ensure that the agencies mitigation policies are clear, work similarly across agencies, and are implemented consistently within agencies. Id. at 68743. The Memorandum also emphasizes the need for transparency, measurable …

Slides: Gwc Review Report, Larry Macdonnell

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Larry MacDonnell, University of Colorado Law School

12 slides

Slides: The (Largely) Untold Success Story Of Urban Water Conservation, Peter Mayer

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Peter Mayer, P.E., Water Demand Management

20 slides

Slides: Perspectives On Water Management In Arizona, Kathy Jacobs

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Kathy Jacobs, Director, Center for Climate Adaptation Science and Solutions (CCASS), Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, University of Arizona

25 slides

Slides: Moffat Collection System Project, Travis Bray

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Travis Bray, Project Manager, Moffat Collection System Project, Denver Water

45 slides

Slides: Urban Water Reliability And The Salton Sea: Can We Have Both?, Michael Cohen

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Michael Cohen, Senior Research Associate, Pacific Institute

29 slides

Slides: Six Decades Of Texas Water Planning, Ronald Kaiser

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Ronald Kaiser, Professor of Water Law and Policy, Chair of Graduate Water Degree Program, Texas A&M University

32 slides

Slides: Food Production: Technical Challenges In Agricultural Water Conservation, Perry Cabot

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Dr. Perry Cabot, Research Scientist and Extension Specialist, Colorado Water Institute, Colorado State University

35 slides

Conservation And Hunting: Till Death Do They Part? A Legal Ethnography Of Deer Management, Irus Braverman

Journal Articles

Claims that hunters are exemplar conservationists would likely come as a surprise to many. Hunters, after all, kill animals. Isn’t there a better way to appreciate wildlife than to kill and consume it? Yet there is no mistake: wildlife managers frequently make the claim that hunters, in the United States at least, are in fact some of the greatest conservationists. This article explores the complex historical and contemporary entanglements between hunting and wildlife conservation in the United States from a regulatory perspective. Such entanglements are multifaceted: hunting provides substantial financial support for conservation and hunters are the state’s primary tools …

Keeping Track Of Conservation, Jessica Owley

Articles

Throughout the world, governments require land protection in exchange for development permits. Unfortunately, oftentimes scant attention has been paid to these land protection programs after development. Agencies and permit applicants agree on mitigation rules, but there appears to be little follow-up. When we do not know where conservation is occurring and cannot determine the rules of mitigation projects, the likelihood that they will be successful or enforced diminishes. I journeyed to California in search of answers by tracing four mitigation plans associated with the Federal Endangered Species Act. While I anticipated some difficulties, the tale is more alarming than expected. …