Today we are all Japanese

Japan has suffered an enormous tragedy as a result of a tsunami that has caused hundreds (and perhaps more) deaths and untold devastation, especially in the northern part of the country.

The University of Denver Sturm College of Law Environmental and Natural Resources Law & Policy Program has benefited from students, including a current student, from Japan. These individuals are respected and loved members of our larger community. As a community our combined hearts go out to the many thousands of Japanese who are faced with difficult days ahead.

We grieve for our friends and colleagues who have uncertain days ahead.

Today we are all Japanese.

Don C. Smith
Director
Environmnental and Natural Resources Law & Policy

Former Adjunct Professor and Mining Law Expert Mark T. Nesbitt Joins Fognani & Faught, PLLC in Denver

Mark T. Nesbitt, a Denver attorney and long-time friend of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, has joined the firm of Fognani & Faught, PLLC. Mr. Nesbitt, who taught Negotiating Natural Resources Law Agreements from 2001 to 2007 as an adjunct professor in the Environmental and Natural Resources Law (ENRL) Program, will continue to emphasize domestic and international mining law, BLM and Forest Service Public Land Law, corporate law, and real property law.

Mr. Nesbitt is a frequent speaker for the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, and is one of the most knowledgeable U.S. lawyers when it comes to international mining. Before entering private practice, he worked for Homestake Mining Company, Amoco Minerals Company, Cyprus Minerals Company, and Minatome Corporation, a uranium exploration subsidiary of Total Petroleum.

Don Smith, Director of the ENRL program, said, "Mark Nesbitt has been and continues to be a great friend of DU's environmental and natural resources law efforts. He has been involved in many important efforts including writing a new mining code for a developing African nation and is recognized by the World Bank as qualified to draft such laws. Our students have benefited enormously from Mark's wisdom and advice. We look forward to continuing our strong relationship with him as he joins his new firm."

The University of Denver Water Law Review Volume 15 Board is Announced

Volume 15 of The University of Denver Water Law Review will be lead by Editor-in-Chief Matt Brodahl and Managing Editors Raven Adams and Francis Yi.

The Water Law Review is an internationally circulated, semi-annual publication that serves as a high-quality forum for the exchange of ideas, information, and legal and policy analyses concerning water law.

First published in 1997, the Water Law Review is a practical resource for lawyers, policy makers, and students. Law Professor and Faculty Advisor George (Rock) Pring, has said, "Our continued involvement in the water law community allows the Review to stay current on developing water issues. Every issue includes up to date articles on developing water law issues, as well as several other useful and interesting resources such as biographies of water practitioners, book notes, conference reports, and coverage of water cases from all U.S. federal and state courts."

The Water Law Review is a student run journal. Students are responsible for the production of the journal, from the solicitation of articles to the final content editing and publishing. Students gain valuable experience in legal research, writing, management, and water law from their involvement on the Water Law Review.

Other members of the volume 15 board are:

Business Editor
Emily Lande

Production Editor
Myra Gottl

Symposium Editor
Justine Shepherd

Article Editors
Dustin Charapata
Mark Phillips
Colin Zundel
Jamie Luckenbill
John Hedges

Court Report Editors
Kelly Miller
Alison Altaras

Former Colorado Governor Bill Ritter Jr. to Visit Sturm College of Law; Will Discuss Renewable Energy Policies and Results

On Saturday March 12, former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter Jr. will visit the Sturm College of Law (SCOL) at the University of Denver where he will be interviewed about how his administration approached energy issues during his term as governor.

Of special focus will be the renewable energy policies he promoted and helped enact into Colorado law. His views about regional energy issues -- including transmission -- as well as federal issues will also be explored.

The SCOL Environmental and Natural Resources Law & Policy Program is sponsoring the program. Don Smith, the program's director, will conduct the interview, which will begin at 9 a.m. in the Hughes Rare Books room in the Westminster Library (the room is located on the second floor of the Sturm College of Law; enter the Westminster Law Library, turn left, walk by the staircase, and then turn left into the Hughes room.) The interview is open to the public.

Mr. Smith is seeking ideas for questions and would welcome ideas from any members of the DU community. He asks that your question be specific and include any background information that will be useful to provide context for the question. While he will make his best effort to ask submitted questions, the questions will be reviewed to avoid redundancy. Please submit your questions (and background materials) by 5 p.m. Thursday (tomorrow) to his e-mail address dcsmith@law.du.edu.

The full interview will be available on the Sturm College of Law website next week.

"The Next West: 20th Anniversary Land Use Conference" Successfully Concludes: "The Largest Gathering of its Kind in the U.S. West"

The 20th Anniversary Land Use Conference organized by the Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute (RMLUI), the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy took place last Thursday and Friday.

This year's conference, entitled "The Next West," explored "both change and continuity in the region's communities and landscapes over the past two decades while beginning to look ahead to the next 20 years," according to Bill Shutkin, Director of the RMLUI.

The program included presentations by the nation's leading land use practitioners as well as some of the leading figures in developing land use policies including Ralph Becker, Mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah, and Jim Mazzocco, Planning and Development Services, City of Tucson, Arizona.

Among the most thought provoking panels (and there were many) were:

• Water: Beyond Dams and Diversions
• Embracing Sustainability in Community Plans
• Living Outside the City: Designing for Rural Communities
• Public Rail Transit in the Rocky Mountain West: The Potential of Regional Transit for Smart Growth in the 21st Century
• Federal Agency Planning and Initiatives for Sustainability in the Rocky Mountain West

Fred Cheever, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Law, pointed to the important of the conference and its wide appeal in the land use planning field when he described the event as "the largest gathering of land use lawyers, planners, and other professionals in the western United States and probably the whole country."