Conservation of Florida's Remaining Natural Resources the Theme for University of Florida’s 9th Annual Public Interest Environmental Conference
GAINESVILLE, FL--Dozens of national and state experts will be featured as panelists and speakers at the University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law’s Ninth Annual Public Interest Environmental Conference.
"Florida's Final Frontiers: Saving What's Left," is the theme of the event, scheduled for Feb. 27 - March 1, 2003. The conference is sponsored by the law school's Environmental and Land Use Society and the Center for Governmental Responsibility in cooperation with Public Interest Committee of the Environmental and Land Use Law Section of the Florida Bar.
The PIEC will begin with a reception at the Florida Museum of Natural History on the evening of Thursday, February 27. Panel events will commence Friday morning, February 28 at the University of Florida J. Wayne Reitz Union and will continue on Saturday, March 1.
Panel topics will focus on Florida resources with sessions on land and development; water; wildlife and habitat; and policy and procedure. Plenary sessions will be held to give an overview of the different subjects covered in the conference panels and to discuss toxic tort litigation, including cases currently under review in Florida. The keynote address at the PIEC’s Friday, February 28th evening banquet will be delivered by Mr. Jan Schlichtmann, one of the country's leading civil litigators in the fields of environmental protection, product safety, and toxic torts.
Event sponsors include the Public Interest Committee of the Environmental and Land Use Section of the Florida Bar; the Center for Governmental Responsibility; Hopping, Green & Sams, P.A.; the Jelks Family Foundation; as well as UF Student Government and Law College Council. For lawyers attending the conference, Continuing Legal Education credit will be available.
Featured Panel:
Navigating the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) Through Uncharted Waters
After drafting an initial proposal for programmatic regulations and holding a period for public comments as required by the Water Resources Development Act of 2000, the Army Corps of Engineers and South Florida Water Management District, along with a multiplicity of state and local stakeholders, are now charged with the task of working with the federal and state law to ensure that restoration is achieved. Initial plans at reserving water for the natural system are to be implemented under state and federal law. Concerned stakeholders will now need to cultivate an ongoing dialogue in order to ensure the success of such a pioneering venture; an unprecedented public works undertaking whose aim is to restore an entire ecosystem.
Panelists: TBA. Moderator: Erin Deady, Environmental Counsel, Audubon of Florida. Student Assistant: Drew Melville. PIC Liaison: Erin Deady. Faculty Advisor: Richard Hamann.
For registration and additional information, visit the 9th Public Interest Environmental Conference web site at http://grove.ufl.edu/~els, or call the Center for Governmental Responsibility at (352) 392-2237.
Related links,
9th Public Interest Environmental ConferenceThe University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law