Beyond Jurisdiction: Wetlands Policy for the Next Generation

In the spring of 2012, UB Law will host an interdisciplinary conference entitled “Beyond Jurisdiction: Wetlands Policy for the Next Generation.” This conference will allow academics from multiple disciplines to join interdisciplinary advocates in an exploration of the future of wetlands law and policy from a variety of perspectives (normative, empirical, instrumental, etc.). It is being planned as a joint effort with the Association of State Wetland Managers, the National Wildlife Federation, and other stakeholders in the wetlands policy debate.

As is true of many areas of law and social policy, the world of wetlands is inherently political and “value-laden” – the law itself can often be a poor means of accomplishing contested social objectives in this area.  For the past decade, a debate sparked by U.S. Supreme Court decisions and related administrative and Congressional action have focused much of the work in wetlands law on what areas are actually jurisdictional under federal and state law.  This concentration has detracted from scholarship and study of many other important issues related to wetlands policy, such as mitigation, the Tulloch rule, nationwide permits, local and state policy developments, international treaty obligations, and other matters.  This conference is designed to broaden the focus of exploration and include voices of scholars, activists, scientists, media professionals, and others.

To this end, this conference will bring together those on the ground as well as scholars to discourse on what the next generation of wetland policy can and should entail.  To accomplish this goal, it will be designed to open on the first day with an afternoon session covering the history of wetlands policy and law and a statement of where things stand now.  It will also invite participants to start to think about how the narrow focus of recent years has stagnated the thought and action necessary to take the next steps in the world of social policy as it affects wetlands.  A dinner to include all presenters will be organized the first night.

The second day will start with a broad scholarly discourse at the outset, but then focus on a practical level on case studies from a number of areas, including at least one local case study.  Local activists from various sides of the debate as well as scientists will thus be invited to attend and present the real-world issues, and commentary and analysis from scholars and other wetland experts will help frame the issues for a practical outcome.  Media professionals who have covered wetlands issues (such as Craig Pittman, author of Paving Paridise: Florida’s Vanishing Wetlands) will also be included in the discourse. Continuing Legal Education will be offered to area lawyers.

A special issue of the Buffalo Environmental Law Journal will compile and publish some of the work, and if there is interest among participants the conference proceedings will be proposed as a publication (perhaps in conjunction with the non-partisan Environmental Law Institute, which has a history of publishing cutting-edge and scholarly commentary on wetlands law and policy). The presentations will be recorded and offered in a streaming capacity, and the case studies will be compiled and posted on the UB Law website as well as on the websites of other relevant participating organizations.

Some of the leading scholars on wetlands law will be invited to attend and present, such as Hope Babcock of Georgetown University Law Center, Mark Squillace of the University of Denver, Steve Johnson of Mercer University, Roy Gardner of Stetson University and Robin Kundis Craig of Florida State University will be invited.  One or two national wetland scientists will be invited as well.  Scholars who study wetlands science and work with other waters within the SUNY system, including some at UB but also at other campuses, will also be included to add an interdisciplinary perspective. The group of professors who are working to develop a water center at UB will be included in the planning process.

Professors Connolly, Meidinger and Owley participated in crafting the concept behind this proposal and will participate in the conference.

Jonathan Adler will present the paper, “Desperately Seeking Certainty.”
 

2011 CALL FOR PAPERS

The CFP read, in part:  Beyond Jurisdiction: Wetlands Policy for the Next Generation will bring together academics from law and other fields to join advocates in an exploration of the future of wetlands law and policy from a variety of perspectives (normative, empirical, instrumental, etc.). As is true of many areas of law and social policy, the world of wetlands is inherently political and value-laden—the law is often be a poor means of accomplishing contested social objectives in this area. A debate sparked by U.S. Supreme Court decisions and related federal actions have focused wetlands scholarship and advocacy during the past decade on exploring the parameters of which “waters of the United States” fall under federal jurisdictional. Such concentration has detracted from scholarship and study of many other important issues related to wetlands policy, such as mitigation, the Tulloch rule, nationwide permits, local and state policy developments, international treaty obligations, and other matters. This conference is designed to broaden the focus of exploration and include voices of scholars, activists, scientists, media professionals, and others.

CLE credits were available for attorneys who attended the comference