Water resources management has added ecosystem restoration to its traditional supply augmentation and pollution prevention programs. Within the United States, restoration projects are underway in regions as diverse as the Great Lakes, the Columbia Basin and California’s Sacramento and San Joaquin Delta. Around the world, similar efforts are underway.

Lawyers play critical roles in the impetus, the design, and the implementation of these efforts and the judicial, legislative, administrative and collaborative processes which shape them.

But what happens when an ecosystem in need of restoration crosses an international boundary? What peculiar challenges do transboundary freshwater ecosystem restoration programs face? What is the role of lawyers in shaping these programs?

The conference will explore these issues. Day one will generally explore ecosystem restoration law and process issues, using both domestic and transboundary examples. Day two will look specifically at California's largest transnational ecosystem restoration challenge: the Lower Colorado River. In particular, it will explore the interrelationship between the rehabilitation of the Salton Sea and the (potential for) restoration of the Colorado River delta.

MCLE Credits

This program has been approved for Minimum Continuing Legal Education credit by The State Bar of California in the amount of 6.5 hours for Day 1 and 6.5 hours for Day 2. The McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific certifies that this activity conforms to the standards for approved educational activities prescribed by the rules and regulations of The State Bar of California governing minimum continuing legal education.

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Schedule
2004
Friday, February 20th
9:00 AM

Ecosystem Restoration: An Ecologist’s Field Notes on Law, Policy and Ecology

Gregory Anderson, University of the Pacific

McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, Sacramento

9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

9:00 AM

Special Challenges of Transboundary Coordination in Restoring Aquatic Ecosystems

Lee Breckenridge, Northeastern University Law

McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, Sacramento

9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

9:00 AM

The Role of Law, Science, and the Public Process in Managing Transboundary Waters: Lake Champlain and Lake Ohrid (Macedonia and Albania)

Mary Watzin, University of Vermont Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Center

McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, Sacramento

9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

9:00 AM

Transboundary Ecosystem Governance: Taking Stock

Bradley Karkkainen, University of Minnesota Law

McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, Sacramento

9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

12:00 PM

Ecosystem Restoration – Challenges and Opportunities

Peter Gleick, Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment and Security

McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, Sacramento

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM

1:30 PM

Cross Cultural Issues in Settlement & Representation of Clients: The Rio Jemez, a Video Case Study

Marilyn O'Leary

McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, Sacramento

1:30 PM - 5:00 PM

1:30 PM

Ecosystem Restoration in the Columbia River Basin: A Canadian Perspective

Arlene Kwasniak, University of Calgary Law

McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, Sacramento

1:30 PM - 5:00 PM

1:30 PM

Lessons from the Columbia River Basin: Follow the Blueprint, But Avoid the Barriers

Dan Rohlf, Lewis & Clark Law

McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, Sacramento

1:30 PM - 5:00 PM

1:30 PM

Rethinking the Columbia River Treaty

John Shurts, NW Power Planning Council

McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, Sacramento

1:30 PM - 5:00 PM

1:30 PM

The Shrinking Dead Sea and Efforts to Restore It

Stephen McCaffrey, University of the Pacific

McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, Sacramento

1:30 PM - 5:00 PM

Saturday, February 21st
9:00 AM

Assessing the Opportunities for a Collaborative Approach to Colorado River Delta Ecosystem Restoration

Gregory Weber, University of the Pacific

McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, Sacramento

9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

9:00 AM

Colorado River Delta

Dean David Getches, University of Colorado Law

McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, Sacramento

9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

9:00 AM

Salton Sea Restoration: Can There Be Salvation for the Sea?

Kim Delfino, Defenders of Wildlife

McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, Sacramento

9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

9:00 AM

The Binational Colorado River Delta Advisory Committee

Carlos Pena, USIBWC

McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, Sacramento

9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

9:00 AM

The Delta’s Perennial Drought: Instream Flows for an Over-allocated River

Michael Cohen, Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment and Security

McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, Sacramento

9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

9:00 AM

The Lower Colorado River MSCP: What It Mean for the River

Jeffrey Kightlinger, Met Water District of Southern California

McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, Sacramento

9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

9:00 AM

Transboundary Ecosystem Restoration: A Comparison of the Colorado River Delta and the Danube Delta

Dan Tarlock, Chicago-Kent Law

McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, Sacramento

9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

12:00 PM

Saving Our Transboundary Basins: What Can Be Realistically Expected from the U.S. and Mexican Governments?

Alberto Szekely, Mexico

McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, Sacramento

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM

1:30 PM

Applying CALVIN Water Resources Economic Optimization Model to the Lower Colorado River

Josue Medellin-Azuara, University of California Davis

McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, Sacramento

1:30 PM - 5:00 PM

1:30 PM

Colorado River Delta – A Mexican Legislator’s Perspective

Jamie Palafox, Baja California Legislature

McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, Sacramento

1:30 PM - 5:00 PM

1:30 PM

Dredging for Diplomacy: Flood Control, the International Boundary and Water Commission, and the Colorado River Delta

Jennifer Pitt, Environmental Defense

McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, Sacramento

1:30 PM - 5:00 PM

1:30 PM

Environmental and Other Implications of Operating the Yuma Desalting Plant

Kara Gillon, Defenders of Wildlife

McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, Sacramento

1:30 PM - 5:00 PM

1:30 PM

The Impact of U.S. Diversions from the Colorado on Mexican Species

Diana Ponce Nava, CITES

McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, Sacramento

1:30 PM - 5:00 PM