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   from the issue of February 19, 2004

     
 
UNL to host first water law conference

 BY STEVE RESS, UNL WATER CENTER

National and international water law experts will discuss ideas for resolving complex water conflicts at UNL’s first Water Law, Policy and Science Conference.

“Finding Solutions to Multi-jurisdictional Water Conflicts” is the theme of the March 4 and 5 conference at UNL’s College of Law on East Campus. The conference is open to the public and is of special interest to attorneys, policy-makers, natural resources managers and others across the nation who are interested in water issues and resolutions.

The conference will explore how best to reach sustainable water management decisions that satisfy the needs of people, fish and wildlife. Topics include alternative dispute resolution, water marketing through sales, leases or other transfers, and using the best available science to help resolve legal conflicts. These issues will be explored through discussions and placed in the context of recent controversies over water resources allocations in the Platte and Missouri Rivers, said Sandi Zellmer, an associate professor of law and conference organizer.

“From endangered species to groundwater and surface water use and management, Nebraska is at the crossroads of many of the most vexing and contentious legal battles over scarce water resources,” Zellmer said. “We hope to foster ongoing dialogue and research among legal experts, scientists, engineers, economists and other water-related disciplines to better understand the often competing ecological and human needs for water and to reach sustainable management solutions.”

The Nebraska Law Review will publish conference outcomes.

Sandra Postel, director of the Global Water Policy Project based in Amherst, Mass., will open the conference March 4 with a keynote address, “Water for Life: Rethinking Management in an Age of Scarcity,” which will focus on security, agriculture and the value of water.

Joseph Sax, a water and environmental law author and professor at the University of California-Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law, will examine the future of western water law in a noon keynote address March 5.

Panelists and presenters include:

• Roger Patterson, director, Nebraska Department of Natural Resources

• Betsy Rieke, area manager, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Carson City, Nev.

• John Davidson, University of South Dakota Law School

• Jay Stein, chair, committee on water resources, American Bar Association Section on Energy and Natural Resources (2002-2003), Santa Fe, N.M.

• Gerald E. Galloway, former U.S. Section Secretary, International Joint Commission, Washington, D.C.

UNL organizers will host the Water Law, Policy and Science Conference annually as a venue for leading experts to discuss different aspects of current water issues. While this year’s conference focuses on legal issues, future conferences will explore science and policy issues.

The conference is also an inaugural event for UNL’s new Water Resources Research Initiative. The initiative supports a broad spectrum of interdisciplinary water-related research.

“Water is one of Nebraska’s most valuable resources and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is advantageously positioned in having a wealth of experience and interdisciplinary faculty and staff expertise for examining a wide range of water-related issues of importance both to Nebraska and to the nation,” said Kyle Hoagland, director of UNL’s Water Center and a co-leader of the Water Resources Research Initiative. “That makes it a natural for UNL to host conferences that facilitate important discussions about key water-related issues.”

Conference registration is $200 for those who register by Feb. 23 and $275 after Feb. 23. Students can attend conference sessions free. A banquet registration of $30 is required by Feb. 23 because seating for that event is limited.

For more information or to register, call Jacki Vogel, UNL School of Natural Resources, at 472-7550, e-mail jvogel2@unl.edu, or go to http://snr.unl.edu/waterconference2004.

Conference sponsors at UNL are the Water Resources Research Initiative, College of Law, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, School of Natural Resources and Water Center, as well as the Nebraska Water Conference Council, Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation and Nebraska Bar Association-Natural Resources Section.


GO TO: ISSUE OF FEBRUARY 19

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