Judge Carlos Lucero, United States Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge, to Speak at College of Law August 26

U.S. Tenth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals Judge Carlos F. Lucero (third from left in the picture from a recent meeting with representatives from Mexico's Federal Judicial Council) will speak from 12 noon to 1 p.m. on Aug. 26 in room 259 to Sturm College of Law students. Judge Lucero was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 1995 by President Bill Clinton.

Judge Lucero will speak in particular about his experience working with Latin American federal judges on matters related to environmental and natural resources cases. As member of the ABA Rule of Law Initiative Latin America and the Caribbean Division, Judge Lucero has been actively involved with Latin American colleagues. The Latin America and Caribbean Division has conducted a variety of programs, including advancing legal education and legal profession reforms, promoting mediation, and alternative dispute resolution to improve access to justice. It has also provided neutral advice and support to restructure laws in a number of substantive areas, including arbitration and commercial mediation.

Don C. Smith, Director of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program, said, "It will be a great honor for the college of law to host Judge Lucero, one of the most highly respected judges in the United States. His observations about environmental and natural resources law will be of enormous interest to DU students since he has considerable experience working with and understanding the relevant laws not only in the U.S. but in Latin America as well."

All students are invited to hear Judge Lucero. Food will be served.

Antonio La Viña, DU Guest Professor and Key Figure in the Philippines Delegation to Climate Change Talks: "Climate Change: Up Close and Personal"

Dr. Antonio La Viña, dean of the Ateneo School of Government in the Philippines and widely respected expert on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, taught recently at the Sturm College of Law.

Dr. La Viña was part of the teaching team for "Community Expectations in Natural Resource Development Projects," a pioneering one-week short course offered by the Environmental and Natural Resources Law & Policy program at the College of Law.

Recently Dr. La Viña took a thoughtful look at his 20 year involvement in climate change issues. During this period he has served, among other things, as the chief negotiator for the Philippines for what eventually became the Kyoto Protocol.

For those interested in climate change the piece, which was published recently in The Manila Standard Today, is well worth reading. It can be accessed by clicking here.

DU's Environmental Law Clinic Wins Federal Court Order on Behalf of Friends of Animals and WildEarth Guardians

The Sturm College of Law Environmental Law Clinic (ELC) successfully obtained a recent court order that requires Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to determine by Nov. 2011 whether 12 parrots warrant federal protection.

The ELC represented Friends of Animals and WildEarth Guardians in the action.

Lee Hall, Friends of Animals legal vice president expressed appreciation for the work of the ELC. He said, "It's urgent that the United States take these birds' lives and habitats seriously. We're pleased to see this court order in 2010, which the United Nations named the International Year of Biodiversity."

The 12 parrots are:

• Blue-headed macaws
• Crimson shining parrots
• Great green macaws
• Grey-checked parakeets
• Hyacinth macaws
• Military macaws
• Philippine cockatoos
• Red-crowned parrots
• Scarlet macaws
• White cockatoos
• Yellow-billed parrots
• Yellow-crested parrots

Nicole Rosmarino of WildEarth Guardians said, "Sec. Salazar has continued the Bush administration's policies on endangered species, by foot-dragging and obstructing protection for critically imperiled animals and plants. The court order is good news for these parrots, but we will continue to press until they are actually afforded full federal safeguards under the Endangered Species Act."

Autumn Semester 2010 Gets Underway: New Developments in the Environmental and Natural Resources Law & Policy Program Announced

Today marks the first day of the autumn 2010 semester at the Sturm College of Law. And as befits the beginning of the new semester, we in the Environmental and Natural Resources Law & Policy program would like to mention some of the new people, topics and events that will become part of the program this semester.

New Professors
First, we'd like to welcome several new faculty members who will be teaching in the program:

• Tom Romero, who will be teaching Water Law, was a Professor at Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul, MN, before coming to DU. A Denver native and a graduate of DU's undergraduate program, his research examines the legal construction of race relations in the metropolitan American West and Global South. He is currently completing a book-length manuscript on law and race relations in post-World War II Denver.

• William Shutkin, Director of the Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute, has held faculty positions at the University of Colorado at Boulder, MIT, and Boston College Law School. He has founded and/or led four organizations in the sustainable development field.

• Annecoos Wiersema, who will be teaching Environmental Law and Administrative Law, joins the College of Law from The Ohio State University, where she was an Assistant Professor of Law. Her primary research is in international environmental law, focusing on how legal institutions can be developed that effectively protect species and ecosystems in the face of ecological complexity and scientific uncertainty.

Professors Romero, Shutkin, and Wiersema will join the College of Law's outstanding full-time and adjunct faculty in delivering a level of education and experience widely considered to be among the best in the U.S. and the world.

Certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law
The College of Law has recently approved the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Certificate, which is intended to recognize a path of specialized learning within the JD program. All enrolled law students in good standing will be eligible for the ENRL Certificate. The certificate will require students to complete Administrative Law and either Environmental Law or Natural Resources Law and 12 credits in other approved environmental and natural resources courses. More information will be forthcoming shortly about the certificate.

ENRL Speaker Series
This semester will mark the beginning of the Environmental and Natural Resources Speakers Series in which leading individuals in the environmental and natural resources sectors will be speaking at the College of Law. The sessions, which will average one per month in September, October, November, January, February, March, and April, will begin on Sept. 15 from 12 noon to 1 p.m. The first speakers will be two former assistant secretaries of the U.S. Interior Department John Carver and Rebecca Watson. More information about this new series will be posted shortly.

ENRL Program and Activities Calendar
In the next several weeks, the ENRL website will include a calendar to program events and activities.