Recent LLM Graduate Roger Maier Boing Presents at AIPN Model Contracts Workshop in Amsterdam

The Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN) 2013 Model Contracts Workshop, held in Amsterdam from June 16-19, featured a presentation by Brazilian attorney Roger Maier Boing about "Civil Law Issues in AIPN Model Contracts."

Roger, a December 2012 Denver Law Environmental & Natural Resources Law LLM graduate, is a partner at the Rio de Janeiro-based firm of L.O. Baptista-Schmidt, Valois, Miranda, Ferreira & Agel Advogados.  Roger's practice includes representing foreign firms that are investing in Brazil's oil and gas sector.

Also attending the workshop was Don Smith, Director of the ENRL program.  He is the 2013 AIPN "Professor in Residence."

The annual workshop provides attendees an excellent overview of the AIPN's numerous model contracts for oil and gas projects. Presenters include the foremost international oil and gas experts.

2010 Marine Preserve Decision Still Controversial for the UK

In 2010, the United Kingdom government decided to create the largest marine reserve in the world and set aside the Chagos Islands as a protected area. The Chagos Islands are located in the central Indian Ocean, near the tip of India. The area is comprised of an archipelago of 55 islands.

Diego Garcia Island, U.S. Air Force Base in the Indian Ocean
Photo Courtesy of Serendigity Photography

The controversial history of the Chagos Islands begins in the 1960's. The local populations were evicted so that the U.S. could establish an Air Force base on the largest island, Diego Garcia. The islanders have been fighting for their right to return to their native lands ever since.

The 2010 decision to create the Chagos marine park delivered aqblow to the island people. The islanders challenged the decision in court, claiming it was another tactic to prevent them from returning. The controversial preserve decision banned commercial fishing in some areas and denied the Islanders an integral part of their livelihoods.

Colin Roberts, British diplomat and creator of the park, denied that the park was created for the "improper purpose of keeping the Chagossians out, as the U.S. wanted" and said that it was for environmental and conservation purposes.

Lawyers for the islanders attempted to introduce a WikiLeaks document supporting the accusation. However, the High Court judges ruled that the documents were inadmissible under the Diplomatic Privileges Act of 1964.

The judges further ruled that the marine protected area was "compatible with EU law." The Chagos island people will continue to struggle for access to their homelands.

Angelica Oman

Graduate Program Assistant

New Trend Sweeping Law Schools, DU Ahead of the Curve

The National Law Journal and the Wall Street Journal have recently published articles highlighting a new trend in law degrees sweeping the nation: Master of Laws and Master of Science in Legal Studies. However, this isn’t a new trend for the Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Policy (ENRLP) program at DU College of Law in Denver, CO.

The articles identify new programs designed to offer students an abbreviated law school education, typically taking one third the time of a full Juris Doctorate degree (J.D.). The degrees aim to arm professionals with a more sophisticated understanding of their profession in society and help them to navigate the many areas where law becomes a part of their work.

The ENRL program has been offering these degrees to students for the past 20 years in the form of a Master of Laws in Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Policy degree- for those entering the program with a Juris Doctorate or foreign equivalent and a Masters of Resources Law Studies degree. The Master of Resources Law Studies degree is designed for students with an undergraduate or graduate degree who wishes to broaden their understanding of environmental and natural resources law and policy issues.

The Director of the ENRLP program, Don Smith stated, “We recognize a vital need for advanced graduate studies in this complex legal field and offer a comprehensive, multilevel program to help attorneys, natural resources professionals, and government regulators increase their knowledge of the issues, policies, and laws that affect resources and the environment worldwide.”

Students enrolled in the ENRLP program have the option of further specializing their studies in up to two of the following areas: oil and gas, environmental law, land use, mineral law, energy law, water law, sustainable development and renewable energy law, and finally, international resources transactions. These options allow students to fully develop their understanding in a particular area of environmental law.

For more information about the ENRLP program, visit our website, or email us directly at ldaberkow@law.du.edu. 

Aspen Announces Collaborative, Online City Planning Process

Aspen, CO volunteers demonstrate their commitment to the
environment at an event in October, 2010. Photo Courtesy 350.org

Aspen City Council wants to create a more environmentally sustainable community. In an effort to do so, the City Council recently asked residents to participate in an online questionnaire designed to create a working definition of a sustainable Aspen.

The website references a lack of consensus regarding what sustainability is and how to measure it. The City Council’s questionnaire process hopes to flesh out what sustainability means and will look like in each of the following areas: energy, water, air, waste and parks, and trails and open space. Focus groups recently met to question underlying assumptions regarding the availability, quality and relevance of data.

For each of the five topics, an outcome statement will be created which will detail the end results and benefits of a sustainable Aspen. The outcome statement will include quantifiable measurement standards which will encourage active, adaptive management of the program.

The online questionnaire ultimately seeks to ensure that the planners' ideas mesh with the needs and desires of the broader Aspen community. The online forum allows decision makers to engage in dialogue with a larger constituent base. In addition, studies have shown that management plans are more effective when the local populations have been involved in the planning process.

Computer mediated communication between natural resource managers, city planners, etc. and stakeholders is on the rise and most likely not to end soon. This topic warranted a full hour and a half of discussion at the Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute’s 2013 conference, Land Use for a Lifetime; Changing Demographics and Shifting Priorities. (To access the conference session handouts, visit: Using Social Media to Advance Ethical Planning)

Angelica Oman

Graduate Program Assistant

Graduation and Student Award Ceremony

Students at Commencement Ceremony Reception:
Manuel Santiago Mattos, Victoria Okwese, Claire Chen, Brendan Browne,
Annie Oman, Jason Gould, Brad Neagos, Caleb Harrison, Darracott Osawe

Congratulations to the 2013 Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Policy graduates! The Commencement Ceremony took place on May 18th on the University of Denver Campus.

In addition to graduation, several Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Policy (ENRLP) students were honored at the DU College of Law, Student Awards Ceremony on May 17th. Dean Martin Katz offered the welcoming remarks to the students, faculty, friends and family in attendance.

Administrative Assistant Lucy Daberkow presented the Outstanding Natural Resources and Environmental Law Graduate awards. This particular award is presented to student within the ENRLP program for outstanding academic achievement and mastery of the subject. This year's winners included: LLM'13 Jeremy Scott, LLM'13 Matias Lewin Urzua, and MRLS'13 Allen Wilson.

Wilson also received the Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute Annual Prize for earning the highest grade in Land Use Planning during the academic year. Joint degree student within the ENRLP program, Teresa M. Abel, received recognition under the Order of St. Ives. The Order of St. Ives is an honorary scholastic legal society that provides recognition for students who have attained a grade point average ranking in the top ten percent of their class.

The ENRLP program is proud to have been represented by these students during the past academic school year. Congratulations to the award winners and graduates!

Rocky Mountain National Park Creates Management Learning Opportunity

Rocky Mountain National Park is one of Colorado's most popular locations for fishing, hiking, climbing, horse back riding and a variety of outdoor recreation. Visitors will flock to Estes Park to admire the scenery and visit the annual Art Market and Antique Fair this weekend. However, the area was hit hard by wildfires in 2012 which continue to burn.

National Park Service policy dictates that every fire must be suppressed in order to protect people's lives and homes. Fire Management Chief, Mike Lewelling said that until public safety is guaranteed "we would never have the luxury of managing a fire for the ecological benefits."

Many are beginning to question the suppression policy. The park service has faced a sharp increase in the costs associated with wildfire prevention as the fire season has lengthened. In addition, the suppression of wildfires creates even more dense forests, resulting in an even bigger risk of a large, uncontrollable wildfire occurring in the future.

Park managers are gearing up for the busy Memorial Day weekend and are checking each affected area. The Fern Lake fire is becoming an area of particular attention. Fern Lake is about 10 miles into the Rocky Mountain National Park. In October of 2012, an illegal campfire caused the wildfire in the area which spread 3 miles in 35 minutes and came within half a mile of Estes Park.

The 3,498-acre fire area is a showcase and a case-study of the regenerative benefits of wildfires. Park managers are impressed with the rapid and diverse regeneration occurring within the blackened remains of pines. The Fern Lake area is a demonstration of the the vital role wildfire plays in the health of the Rocky Mountain National Park.

As you enter Rocky Mountain National Park this weekend, you will see signs of the wildfire, but also, you will notice the persistence of nature to rebound from disaster. Last year, the western states saw more wildfires than in the 50 years of fire records. The National Park Service's wildfire policy may be about to change in response to lessons learned from the Fern Lake fire.

For more information about wildfires and conditions in Rocky Mountain National Park, visit the National Park Service website.

Angelica Oman

Graduate Program Assistant

Program Director Don Smith Receives Presitgious Award

The Association for International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN) has named Director Don Smith as this year's Professor in Residence. AIPN is an independent, non-profit association that supports international energy negotiators around the world. AIPN enhances professionalism and effectiveness within the international energy community.

The Professor in Residence appointment was created to encourage greater participation by Education Advisory Board members at AIPN. Smith will receive funding to cover travel and attendance costs to AIPN education events for the year 2013.

Smith has served as the Director of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Policy JD and Graduate Programs since 2007.Smith served as Assistant Press Secretary for Kansas Governor, John W. Carlin. He then worked as the governor's apppointee to the Kansas Water Commission.

Smith also practiced natural resources law before joining McGraw-Hill as an Associate Publisher. Smith went on to serve as Publisher for Reed-Elsevierwhere he was responsible for a series of publications relating to U.S. environmental law.

Smith has continuously pushed for excellence in the Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Policy Program. He offers support and encouragement to students both inside and outside the classroom. The honor of being awarded AIPN's Professor in Residence will enable him to enhance the focus of the program through his attendance of world class education events.

Administrative Director Lucy Daberkow said, "Professor Smith is committed to providing relevant course content to the students in the Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Policy Program. Being named AIPN's Professor in Residence will serve to further the interests of our students and program. Congratulations to Professor Smith for his well-deserved accomplishment."