Public Land & Resources
Law Review
A Federal Lands Agenda for the 21st Century:
Recommendations for the New Administration
32nd Annual Public Land Law Conference
September 22-24, 2008
Missoula, Montana
Proudly presented by the University of Montana's Public Land & Resources Law reivew,
in partnership with the Public Policy Research Institute
Special thanks for the generous support provided by:
Conference Summary
The 32nd annual Public Land Law Conference will bring together leaders from government, industry, academia, the legal and conservation communities and beyond to explore challenges facing public lands and discuss key elements of a federal lands agenda for the 21st century. The conference will offer a broad context of national law and policy as well as detailed discussions of critical issues related to federal lands governance in the West and recommendations for how these issues might be addressed in the next administration.
For updated details and information about sponsorship opportunities, please visit the Public Land & Resource Law Review or our webpage at http://www.umt.edu/publicland or contact us at plrlr@umontana.edu
Attorneys may obtain 11 CLE Credits.
Schedule
Monday, September 22 - University Center Theater, U.M. University Center, 3 rd Floor
7:00 Keynote address
John Leshy, Former Solicitor General, Department of the Interior, U.M. University Center Theatre, 3rd Floor
Reception to follow
Tuesday, September 23 - University Center, 3rd Floor Conference Room
8:30 Welcome and conference introduction
E. Edwin Eck, Dean, University of Montana School of Law
8:45 The Big Picture: Today's Challenges to Federal Lands Governance: Agency Overview: What two major changes would you suggest for federal land management agencies and why? What are agnecies currently doing well and how can this be seized upon for future management?
Lead Speaker: Karin Sheldon
Respondents: Mat Millenbach, Former Bureau of Land Management State Director, MT; Western Rivers consevancy Stewardship Director, Maggie Pittman, District Ranger, Missoula Ranger District
10:00 Break
10:15 The Whole Landscape: Managing Beyond Traditional Boundaries: Many land use, natural resource and environmental issues cut across multiple jurisdictions, particularly on mixed ownership landscapes dominated by federal lands, these "transboundary" issues or resources create a gap in governance, a situation where no single agency or entity has the legal authority or power to command a solution. What are alternative models for regional resource management on federal lands in light of this problem? What prescriptions would you offer to the next administration to solve this problem?
Lead Speaker: Robert Keiter, Professor of Law, S.J. Quinney College of Law
Respondents:John Thorson; Special Master for Arizona General Stream Adjudication, Jan Brown
Noon Lunch (provided to paid registrants)
Afternoon:
1:15 Keeping the Public in Public Lands: How can we balance public access with changing values and land use patterns in the new century? How can federal agencies address issues such as hunting/fishing access, wildlife concerns, competing recreational user groups, and private land ownership landlocking public access?
3:00 Healthy Forests: How will climate change affect future forest management? what changes are needed in the National Forest Management Act, federal fire policy, and the Healthy Forests Restoration Act to address climate change?
Lead Speaker:
Panelists:
Martin Nie, Associate Professor of Natural Resource Policy, University of Montana
Thomas DeLuca, Forest Ecologist, The Wilderness Society
5:00 Reception
Wednesday, September 24 - University Center, North Ballroom
8:30 Valuing Species: Is There a Need for Endangered Species Act Reform? What are the major areas of the ESA that should be reformed? How will ESA reform benefit public lands goverance?
Panelists:
Steven Quarles, Partner and Former Chair of the Environment & Natural Resources Group of the Washington, DC law firm of Crowell & Moring LLP
Dale Goble, Professor, University of Idaho
10:00 Mining Law Reform in the 21st Century What is the current status of mining law reform? What needs to be done? How will this affect federal lands governance, attorneys, landowners and industry?
10:50 Break
11:00 The Future of Public Lands: Prof. Raymond Cross, Univ. Montana School of Law
11:30 Realizing the Vision: Next Steps in a Public Lands Agenda for the 21st Century. Discussion of revision, finalization and implementation of the policy report based on feedback received by conference speakers and attendees.
Noon Conference concludes
