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Collaborative Governance Under The Endangered Species Act: An Empirical Analysis Of Protective Regulations, Robert L. Fischman, Vicky J. Meretsky, Matthew P. Castelli

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Recent conservation and administrative law scholarship emphasizes the need for potential legal adversaries to work together. Stakeholders and regulators can pool their political capital, money, property, expertise, and legal leverage to achieve more than could be accomplished through mere mechanical implementation of statutory commands. Most commentators associate collaboration with programs promoting fuzzy objectives to engage the public and advisory groups.

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is a polarizing statute that imposes seemingly uncompromising mandates. But this Article demonstrates that the ESA actually provides rich opportunities for collaborative governance. In exploring this underappreciated success story, we document how conservation collaboration adapts …

National Wildlife Federation V. Secretary Of The United States Department Of Transportation, Holly A. Seymour

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled in favor of the Department of Transportation in considering whether the district court erred in holding that an agency took a discretionary action when it approved oil spill response plans to a pipeline under the Clean Water Act. The Sixth Circuit reversed the district court’s decision. It held the Department of Transportation does not need to consider the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act requirements in their response plans as long as the Clean Water Act criteria for such plans are met.

All Dogs Get Regulatory Protection—And This Means Wolves Too: Extending Species- Specific Animal Welfare Act Protections, Megan Edwards

Pace Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

Bringing Animal Protection Legislation Into Line With Its Purported Purposes: A Proposal For Equality Amongst Non-Human Animals, Jane Kotzmann, Gisela Nip

Pace Environmental Law Review

The United States has a strong history of enacting laws to protect animals from the pain and suffering inflicted by humans. Indeed, the passage of the Massachusetts’ Body of Liberties in 1641 made it the first country in the world to pass such laws. Nevertheless, contemporary animal protection laws in all jurisdictions of the United States are limited in their ability to adequately realize their primary purpose of protecting animals from unnecessary or unjustifiable pain and suffering. This is a result of limited statutory definitions of ‘animal’ and far-reaching exclusions commonly found in animal protection legislation. These exclusions frequently apply …

Letting Go Of Stability: Resilience And Environmental Law, Robert L. Fischman

Indiana Law Journal

Historic variation in the environment once served as a reliable guide to future behavior. Sustainability promised continuity of ecological and social structures and functions within the known envelope of historic variation. Now climate change and other environmental stressors are tipping systems into behaviors that no longer remain within the confines of precedent. Social-ecological systems are neither persistent nor predicable. Letting go of stability releases us from untenable expectations of steady maintenance of some natural order. Resistance to change will continue to play a role as environmental law suppresses disruptions and buys time. But resistance will eventually yield the stage to …

Public-Private Conservation Agreements And The Greater Sage-Grouse, Justin R. Pidot

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In 2015, the Obama Administration announced its conservation plans for the greater sage-grouse, an iconic bird of the intermountain west.Political leadership at the time described those plans as the “largest landscape-level conservation effort in U.S. history,”and they served as the foundation for a decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“FWS”) that a listing of the bird was not warranted under the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”). The Trump Administration appears poised to substantially amend the plans, although an array of interested parties have urged that the plans be left intact. Regardless of the outcome of this debate, conservation of …

Center For Biological Diversity V. Zinke, Ryan Hickey

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The oft-cited “arbitrary and capricious” standard revived the Center for Biological Diversity’s most recent legal challenge in its decades-long quest to see arctic grayling listed under the Endangered Species Act. While this Ninth Circuit decision did not grant grayling ESA protections, it did require the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to reconsider its 2014 finding that listing grayling as threatened or endangered was unwarranted. In doing so, the court found “range,” as used in the ESA, vague while endorsing the FWS’s 2014 clarification of that term. Finally, this holding identified specific shortcomings of the challenged FWS finding, highlighting how …

Friends Of Animals V. United States Fish & Wildlife Service, Bradley E. Tinker

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In Friends of Animals v. United States Fish & Wildlife Service, the Ninth Circuit held that the plain language of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act allows for the removal of one species of bird to benefit another species. Friends of Animals argued that the Service’s experiment permitting the taking of one species––the barred owl––to advance the conservation of a different species––the northern spotted owl––violated the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The court, however, found that the Act delegates broad implementing discretion to the Secretary of the Interior, and neither the Act nor the underlying international conventions limit the taking of …

California Sea Urchin Commission V. Bean, Thomas C. Mooney-Myers

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In California Sea Urchin Commission v. Bean, the Ninth Circuit upheld the Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to end an experimental sea otter colony and translocation program. Commercial fishing groups sought reversal of the decision due to their interest in maintaining the translocation program which reduced otter predation on commercially valuable shellfish. While the Ninth Circuit held the group had standing, it then applied the Chevron test and determined the agency’s actions were reasonable.

Avian Jurisprudence And The Protection Of Migratory Birds In North America, Marshall A. Bowen

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract forthcoming

Markle Interest, L.L.C. V. U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Peter B. Taylor

Public Land & Resources Law Review

This action is an appeal of a grant of summary judgment to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service on the designation of critical-habitat for the dusky gopher frog under the ESA. Landowner appellants originally sought declaratory and injunctive relief against the Service, the Department of Interior, and agency officials challenging the designation of their private property as critical-habitat for the dusky gopher frog. The court’s holdings recognize loss of property value as a “particularized injury” for standing under the ESA in addition to addressing the landowners’ three principal arguments: 1) the critical habitat designation violated the ESA and the …

Legislative Efforts To Increase State Management For Imperiled Species Should Be Rejected, Stephanie Kurose

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Anthropogenic Noise And The Endangered Species Act, Carolyn Larcom

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Save Our Cabinets V. U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Jaclyn Van Natta

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Choosing Your Ground On The Endangered Species Act: How Do The Ninth, Tenth, And District Of Columbia Circuit Courts Of Appeal Evaluate Water Management Decisions Made By Federal Water Agencies?, Michael Kinsey

Pace Environmental Law Review

The purpose of this article is twofold. First, federal agencies are responsible for the development and implementation of ESA documents, and knowing what a court will look for and at when that document is challenged can help the agencies to develop a document that can better survive court review. Second, a plaintiff who challenges such a document can benefit from that same knowledge, by knowing which elements of the document to best challenge. The intent of this article is to provide practitioners, both agency and non-, with an introduction to that knowledge, to identify some of those difficulties, dangers, and …

Legal Pathways For A Massive Increase In Utility-Scale Renewable Generation Capacity, Michael Gerrard

Faculty Scholarship

Decarbonizing the U.S. energy system will require a program of building onshore wind, offshore wind, utility-scale solar, and associated transmission that will exceed what has been done before in the United States by many times, every year out to 2050. These facilities, together with rooftop photovoltaics and other distributed generation, are required to replace most fossil fuel generation and to help furnish the added electricity that will be needed as many uses currently employing fossil fuels (especially passenger transportation and space and water heating) are electrified. This Article, excerpted from Michael B. Gerrard & John Dernbach, eds., Legal Pathways to …

Day 1: Wednesday, 17 August 2005: Biodiversity And Critical Habitat, Charles Bedford, Federico Cheever, Tim Sullivan

Tim Sullivan

6 pages (includes color illustration). Contains references.

Slides: Klamath Basin Agreements: Largest River Restoration Project In American History, Amy Cordalis

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

Presenter: Amy Cordalis, Staff Attorney, Yurok Tribe

34 slides

Slides: New Era Of Water Banking And Refined "Water Accounting", Bonnie Colby

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

Presenter: Professor Bonnie Colby, Departments of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona

23 slides

Turtle Power Down Under The Sea?: Comparative Domestic And International Legal Protection Of Marine Turtles By Australia And The United States, Marjorie Palmer

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Responsible, Renewable, And Redesigned: How The Renewable Energy Movement Can Make Peace With The Endangered Species Act, Kalyani Robbins

Faculty Publications

One of the most promising routes to a sustainable energy future, as well as climate change mitigation, is the development of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar energy, and hydropower. Indeed, scientists have proposed plans to move completely (100 percent!) to these energy sources within a couple of decades. Mark Z. Jacobson and M.A. Delucchi, scientists from Stanford and U.C. Davis, have outlined a plan to achieve this goal, thereby “eliminating all fossil fuels”. Hydroelectric power already provides almost one-fifth of the world's electricity, and wind and solar development is rapidly picking up as well. However, before we leave …

Regulatory Blowout: How Regulatory Failures Made The Bp Disaster Possible, And How The System Can Be Fixed To Avoid A Recurrence, Alyson Flournoy, William Andreen, Rebecca Bratspies, Holly Doremus, Victor Flatt, Robert Glicksman, Joel Mintz, Daniel Rohlf, Amy Sinden, Rena I. Steinzor, Joseph Tomain, Sandra Zellmer, James Goodwin

Holly Doremus

The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is destined to take its place as one of the greatest environmental disasters in the history of the United States, or for that matter, of the entire planet. Like so many other disasters on that list, it was entirely preventable. BP must shoulder its share of the blame, of course. Similarly, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) – since reorganized and rebranded – has come under much deserved criticism for its failure to rein in BP’s avaricious approach to drilling even where it was unable to respond to a worst-case scenario in …

Regulatory Blowout: How Regulatory Failures Made The Bp Disaster Possible, And How The System Can Be Fixed To Avoid A Recurrence, Alyson Flournoy, William Andreen, Rebecca Bratspies, Holly Doremus, Victor Flatt, Robert Glicksman, Joel Mintz, Daniel Rohlf, Amy Sinden, Rena I. Steinzor, Joseph Tomain, Sandra Zellmer, James Goodwin

Rena I. Steinzor

The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is destined to take its place as one of the greatest environmental disasters in the history of the United States, or for that matter, of the entire planet. Like so many other disasters on that list, it was entirely preventable. BP must shoulder its share of the blame, of course. Similarly, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) – since reorganized and rebranded – has come under much deserved criticism for its failure to rein in BP’s avaricious approach to drilling even where it was unable to respond to a worst-case scenario in …

Slides: The Spotted Owl Controversy: An Example Of The Esa's Dominant Role In Federal Land Use Planning, Norman D. James

The Past, Present, and Future of Our Public Lands: Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Public Land Law Review Commission’s Report, One Third of the Nation’s Land (Martz Summer Conference, June 2-4)

Presenter: Norman D. James, Director, Fennemore Craig, PC (Phoenix, AZ)

17 slides

Slides: Celebrating Flpma: Land Use Planning At The Blm, Marcilynn Burke

The Past, Present, and Future of Our Public Lands: Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Public Land Law Review Commission’s Report, One Third of the Nation’s Land (Martz Summer Conference, June 2-4)

Presenter: Marcilynn Burke, BLM Deputy Director - Programs and Policy, U.S. Dept. of the Interior, (Washington, D.C.)

30 slides

Slides: The Promise And Peril Of Oil Shale: Federal Law And Policy, David Bernhardt

The Promise and Peril of Oil Shale Development (February 5)

Presenter: David Bernhardt, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, Denver, CO

13 slides

Slides: The History Of Oil Shale Development And What It Means For The Future, Patty Limerick

The Promise and Peril of Oil Shale Development (February 5)

Presenter: Patty Limerick, Center of the American West, University of Colorado at Boulder

35 slides

Regulatory Blowout: How Regulatory Failures Made The Bp Disaster Possible, And How The System Can Be Fixed To Avoid A Recurrence, Alyson Flournoy, William Andreen, Rebecca Bratspies, Holly Doremus, Victor Flatt, Robert Glicksman, Joel Mintz, Daniel Rohlf, Amy Sinden, Rena I. Steinzor, Joseph Tomain, Sandra Zellmer, James Goodwin

Faculty Scholarship

The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is destined to take its place as one of the greatest environmental disasters in the history of the United States, or for that matter, of the entire planet. Like so many other disasters on that list, it was entirely preventable.

BP must shoulder its share of the blame, of course. Similarly, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) – since reorganized and rebranded – has come under much deserved criticism for its failure to rein in BP’s avaricious approach to drilling even where it was unable to respond to a worst-case scenario in …

The Evolution Of Natural Resources Law And Policy, Lawrence J. Macdonnell, Sarah F. Bates

Books, Reports, and Studies

This digital resource contains only an abstract, cover image and table of contents information from the published book.

Print copy of book is available in the University of Colorado’s Wise Law Library: http://lawpac.colorado.edu/record=b444104~S0

Contents: Introduction / Bruce Babbitt -- PART I : REFLECTIONS ON NATURAL RESOURCES LAW AND POLICY: Historical evolution and future of natural resources law and policy / Sally Fairfax, Helen M. Ingram, Leigh Raymond -- Ethical perspectives on resources law and policy : global warming and our common future / Sarah Krakoff -- Why care about the polar bear? : economic analysis of natural resources law and …

Slides: Next Evolutionary Steps In State Instream Flow Programs, Lawrence J. Macdonnell

Western Water Law, Policy and Management: Ripples, Currents, and New Channels for Inquiry (Martz Summer Conference, June 3-5)

Presenter: Lawrence J. MacDonnell, attorney and consultant, Boulder, CO

27 slides