Wildlife, Renewable Energy and Climate Change: Critical Legal Issues Thursday, October 25, 2012 Co-Sponsored by: Illinois State Bar Association IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law Continuing Legal Education
The Conference Overall climate change and an increasingly rapid rise in temperature over the last 100 years are forcing major reconsideration of the aims and standards of natural resource management. By 2050, it is expected that up to two thirds of species will need to migrate or be moved to new habitats to survive. The courts have already been called upon to evaluate how well adaptation management strategies selected by various agencies meet legal requirements, with thirty-one federal court decisions to date. Renewable energy development adds another dynamic as wind energy development in the Great Plains and the Midwest have resulted in the initiation of multi-state, multi-species Habitat Conservation Plans under the federal Endangered Species Act. The objective of this symposium is to provide lawyers practicing in all areas of natural resources and land use with an important update on the science, policy, and legal issues these recent developments present. Co-Sponsors Illinois State Bar Association Environmental Law Section Council Illinois State Bar Association Animal Law Section Council IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, Certificate Program in Energy and Environmental Law
Program Schedule 8:00 8:45 Registration and Coffee 8:45 a.m. 9:00a.m. Welcome Peter Canalia, Chair, ISBA Animal Law Section Council Matthew Cohn, Chair, ISBA Environmental Law Section Council A. Dan Tarlock, Distinguished Professor of Law, and Director of the Program in Environmental and Energy Law, IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law 9:00a.m. 10:00a.m. What the Polar Bear and Whitebark Pine ESA Cases Have Taught Us Rebecca Riley, an attorney with the Chicago office of the Natural Resource Defense Council, was involved with both the polar bear and whitebark pine listing litigation. The basis of the litigation was the impact of climate change. Ms. Riley will discuss the evidence presented in the Polar Bear case, including climate impact modeling both its strengths and shortcomings. She will also discuss climate change factors that now must be included in any analysis conducted under the federal ESA and NEPA. Moderator: Keith Harley, IIT Chicago- Kent College of Law Rebecca J. Riley, Natural Resources Defense Council, Chicago 10:00a.m. 10:15a.m. Break 10:15 a.m. 11:45a.m. Lake Michigan Offshore Wind Energy Development: The Advisory Council Report is In; Unanswered Questions as to Impacts to Wildlife Remain In 2011, the Legislature created the Lake Michigan Offshore Wind Energy Advisory Council to assist the Illinois Department of Natural Resources in the preparation of a report that develops criteria for the Department to use to review applications for offshore wind development in Lake Michigan. This panel will discuss the report as well as anticipated specific legislation regarding the process by which the state will lease the lake bed. Moderator and Speaker: Todd F. Rettig, Esq., Acting Director, Office of Realty and Environmental Planning, IDNR, Springfield, IL Bob Fisher, President, Illinois Ornithological Society; Bird Conservation Network representative to Advisory Council Jeffrey P. Smith, Attorney at Law, Evanston, IL (speaking for State Representative Robyn Gabel, Evanston, IL, sponsor of the legislation) 11:45a.m. 12:45p.m. Buffet Luncheon 12:45p.m. 2:00p.m. Wind Power and Incidental Take: The Multi-Species Midwest Habitat Conservation Plan A coalition of eight states, including Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota, which together comprise Region 3 of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have proposed to develop and are working on a multispecies habitat conservation plan and incidental take permitting program. Thirty federally listed species may be impacted by future wind energy development in Region 3. This presentation will provide a status report on the work underway on the Midwest plan. Moderator: A. Dan Tarlock, Distinguished Professor of Law, and Director of the Program in Environmental and Energy Law, IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law Joseph A. Kath, Director, Endangered Species, Illinois Department of Natural Resources
TJ Miller, Endangered Species Chief, Region 3, US Fish and Wildlife Service Erin Wiedower, AKUO Energy 2:00p.m. 3:30p.m. A Primer For the Practitioner: Natural Resource Law Meets Uncertainty, Interjurisdictional Collaboration and the Public Debate Regarding Adaptation Management Tradeoffs Accelerated climate change is the single biggest threat to wildlife. It is impacting all ecosystems, habitats and species not just those identified as imperiled. When advising clients, handling land use transactions or mounting advocacy initiatives, practitioners must anticipate the ramifications of policy and regulatory modifications made to accommodate these changes. Professor John Nagle has written and collaborated with other academics who, in the context of climate change, are evaluating the utility of the country s current regulatory framework. Professor Nagle will provide an introduction to current thought that the law itself must be adapted. He will then moderate a panel of three scientists who are working with climate impacts in wildlife science and resource management to discuss the current capability to anticipate and manage change. Moderator and Speaker: John Nagle, John N. Matthews Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame Law School, Notre Dame, Indiana Kimberly Hall, The Nature Conservancy, Lansing, MI Stacy Small-Lorenz, Environmental Defense Fund, Silver Spring, MD Glen Salmon, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Eastern Tallgrass Prairie & Big Rivers Landscape Conservation Cooperative Coordinator, Bloomington, Indiana 3:30 p.m. 3:45 p.m. Break 3:45 p.m. 5:00p.m. A Look at Critical Legal Issues When Climate Change is Incorporated into State and Greater Chicago Resource Management Planning What legal issues may be anticipated when state regulation and state and regional strategic planning and policy fully incorporate climate change considerations? The state s management of wildlife and aquatic life is governed by a planning document known as the Wildlife Action Plan. The panel will discuss the state s and Chicago Wilderness efforts to incorporate climate change into their planning efforts. The Field Museum has provided technical expertise in developing the Chicago Wilderness plan. The science of vulnerability assessments has come into being to help states incorporate climate change into their wildlife action plans. Moderator and Speaker: Mitchell Cohen, General Counsel, IDNR, Springfield, IL Ann Marie Holtrop, Watershed Protection Section, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Springfield Abigail Derby Lewis, Conservation Ecologist, The Field Museum, Chicago, IL Jeff Walk, Science Director, The Nature Conservancy Illinois, Peoria
For Lawyers with all levels of experience who practice in the areas of environmental and energy law, land use and real estate, animal law, and for those practitioners who advise corporations and units of government Program at a Glance 9:00a.m.-10:00a.m. 10:15a.m.-11:45p.m. 11:45a.m.-12:45p.m. 12:45p.m.-2:00p.m. 2:00p.m.-3:30p.m. 3:45p.m.-5:00p.m. What the Polar Bear and Whitebark Pine ESA Cases Have Taught Us Lake Michigan Offshore Wind Energy Development: The Advisory Council Report is In; Unanswered Questions as to Impacts to Wildlife Remain Buffet Lunch Wind Power and Incidental Take: The Multi- Species Midwest Habitat Conservation Plan A Primer for the Practitioner: Natural Resource Law Meets Uncertainty, Interjurisdictional Collaboration and the Public Debate Regarding Adaptation Management Tradeoffs A Look at Critical Legal Issues When Climate Change is Incorporated into State and Greater Chicago Resource Management Planning IL MCLE Credit 6.5 hours Program Location The conference will be held at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, 565 West Adams Street in Chicago, in Ogilve Auditorium. For More Information and to Register (click link) Illinois State Bar Association Member Rate: $150.00 IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law Alumni Rate: $150.00 For Parking Information (click link)