Law Commons^™

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.

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 …

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

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract forthcoming

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.

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 …

Slides: Flpma In Its Historical Context, John D. Leshy

FLPMA Turns 40 (October 21)

Presenter: John D. Leshy, Sunderland Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus, U.C. Hastings College of the Law

36 slides

This session traces the history of FLPMA including, among other things, its legislative, administrative, and historical antecedents, including for example, the Public Land Law Review Commission’s 1970 report, One Third of Our Nation’s Lands. It then considers FLPMA’s unique public lands policies and requirements and how they are reflected in the BLM’s management of public lands today.

See: https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/blm/history/contents.htm

Take It To The Limit: The Illegal Regulation Prohibiting The Take Of Any Threatened Species Under The Endangered Species Act, Jonathan Wood

Jonathan Wood

The Endangered Species Act forbids the “take” – any activity that adversely affects – any member of an endangered species, but only endangered species. The statute also provides for the listing of threatened species, i.e. species that may become endangered, but protects them only by requiring agencies to consider the impacts of their projects on them. Shortly after the statute was adopted, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service reversed Congress’ policy choice by adopting a regulation that forbids the take of any threatened species. The regulation is not authorized by the Endangered Species Act, but …

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

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: Recommended Best Management Practices For Plants Of Concern: Practices Developed To Reduce The Impacts Of Oil And Gas Development Activities To Plants Of Concern, Brian Kurzel, Colorado Rare Plant Conservation Initiative

Best Practices for Community and Environmental Protection (October 14)

Presenter: Brian Kurzel, Colorado Natural Areas Program (CNAP)

27 slides

Slides: The Future Public Law Of Private Ecosystems, J. B. Ruhl

The Future of Natural Resources Law and Policy (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

Presenter: J.B. Ruhl, Florida State University Law School

18 slides

Justice Delayed: A Tribal Attorney’S Perspective On Elwha River Dam Removal And Ecosystem Restoration, Russell W. Busch

The Future of Natural Resources Law and Policy (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

Presenter: Russell W. Busch, Attorney for the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe

10 pages.

Saving Special Places: Trends And Challenges With Protecting Public Lands [Outline], Robert B. Keiter

The Future of Natural Resources Law and Policy (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

7 pages.

Includes bibliographical references

"Robert B. Keiter, Wallace Stegner Professor of Law, University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law"

The Growing Influence Of Tort And Property Law On Natural Resources Law: Case Studies Of Coal Bed Methane Development And Geologic Carbon Sequestration, Alexandra B. Klass

The Future of Natural Resources Law and Policy (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

19 pages.

"Alexandra B. Klass, Associate Professor of Law, University of Minnesota Law School"

Slides: Lessons Learned From The Development And Implementation Of An Adaptive Management Plan At Three Hydropower Plants In Northeastern Washington State, Bob Dach

Best Management Practices and Adaptive Management in Oil and Gas Development (May 12-13)

Presenter: Bob Dach, Federal Activities Specialist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Mountain-Prairie Region, Lakewood, CO

11 slides

Notes From The Directional Drilling Workshop, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Workshop on Directional Drilling in the Rocky Mountain Region (November 13)

20 pages

"These notes were taken by one of our law students attending the workshop. They are not a verbatim transcript and they were not supplied by, and may not have been reviewed by, the speakers. There may be errors or gaps in the notes and for these we apologize in advance. Where the speaker provided an abstract of their talk, these are included and noted as such."

Federal, State, And Local Regulatory Framework For Permitting Of Cbm Development, Kate Zimmerman

Coalbed Methane Development in the Intermountain West (April 4-5)

17 pages.

Contains 5 pages of endnotes.

Texas Groundwater: Reconciling The Rule Of Capture With Environmental And Community Demands Comment., Stephanie E. Hayes Lusk

St. Mary's Law Journal

In order to avert the depletion of water resources, many states have attempted to enact legislation aimed at promoting water conservation. Such legislation has been known to conflict with outdated principles of property ownership, namely the rule of capture. The rule of capture vests landowners with property rights in water located directly beneath their land. Texas categorizes water based on whether the water flows above or below the surface. Surface water is typically the property of the state, with property owners having no possessory interest in the surface water. Yet, the opposite is true for groundwater, where all rights to …

Agenda: Regulatory Takings And Resources: What Are The Constitutional Limits?, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center, Byron R. White Center For The Study Of American Constitutional Law

Regulatory Takings and Resources: What Are the Constitutional Limits? (Summer Conference, June 13-15)

Sponsored by the University of Colorado's Natural Resources Law Center and the Byron R. White Center for American Constitutional Study.

Conference organizers, faculty and/or moderators included University of Colorado School of Law professors David H. Getches, Lawrence J. MacDonnell, Gene R. Nichol, Jr. and Mark Squillace.

Governmental regulation for environmental protection and other important public purposes can affect the manner in which land and natural resources are developed and used. The U.S. constitution (and most state constitutions) prohibit the government from "taking" property without payment of compensation. Originally intended to apply to situations where the government physically seized private property …

Ski Development In National Forests, Harris D. Sherman, David S. Neslin, Ian K. Whitlock

The Public Lands During the Remainder of the 20th Century: Planning, Law, and Policy in the Federal Land Agencies (Summer Conference, June 8-10)

79 pages.

Progress And Problems In National Forest Planning, Jeff M. Sirmon

The Public Lands During the Remainder of the 20th Century: Planning, Law, and Policy in the Federal Land Agencies (Summer Conference, June 8-10)

17 pages.

Environmental Considerations In Public Lands Mineral Leasing And Development I, Karin P. Sheldon

Public Lands Mineral Leasing: Issues and Directions (Summer Conference, June 10-11)

18 pages.

Contains 2 pages of references.

The Clean Water Act As A Restraint On Interbasin Transfers Of Water, Sue Ellen Harrison

New Sources of Water for Energy Development and Growth: Interbasin Transfers: A Short Course (Summer Conference, June 7-10)

44 pages.

Contains references.

Contains 1 attachment.

Federal Regulation Of Appropriations Of Water In The Name Of Protecting Water Quality, David L. Harrison

Water Resources Allocation: Laws and Emerging Issues: A Short Course (Summer Conference, June 8-11)

9 pages.