Environmental Law Clinic Director Michael Harris leads suit against Christo’s "Over the River" Project

Our very own Professor Michael Harris, Director of the Environmental Law Clinic, is leading several law students in a suit against Christo’s "Over the River" project. Last November, the project was approved by the Bureau of Land Management, which allows the project to hang 5.9 miles of aluminum-coated material over a 42 mile stretch of the Arkansas River in southern Colorado.

On behalf of a grassroots, all-volunteer citizen group, Rags Over the Arkansas River (ROAR), the suit was filed February 1st, 2012 by third-year law students Mason Brown and Justine Shepherd under the supervision of Professor Harris.

According to the suit, the project will be built almost entirely within federally designated Arkansas Canyonlands Area of critical environmental concern that will take 28 months to construct and 12 months to remove. The project will include intensive construction practices to implement, including heavy equipment normally found in mining and road construction (i.e. hydraulic drills, various types of excavators, cranes, grouters, water tanks, grout mixers, support trailers, steel rock anchors, and anchor frames). The group opposes the project due to environmental issues and dangers to the residents and visitors to the area.

For more information please click here.

Nadia B. Ahmad, Denver Law LLM Student, Chosen by Denver Mayor Michael Hancock for Human Rights and Community Relations Advisory Board

Nadia B. Ahmad, who is studying for an LLM in the Environmental and Natural Resources Law (ENRL) Graduate Program at the Sturm College of Law, has been appointed by Denver Mayor Michael Hancock to the city and county of Denver's Human Rights and Community Relations Advisory Board.

The Advisory Board advocates on issues and opportunities of the represented commissions and at-large constituency groups and communicates those to the Agency for Human Rights and Community Relations, which was established in 1948.

The Agency empowers communities to address local issues and strives to promote equal opportunity and protects the rights of all people regardless of race, color, creed, gender, sexual orientation, age or disability as well as works with the Agency regarding policies, goals and objectives that will affect the Agency and the constituents of the Commissions and at large groups.

Among the Commissions that are part of the Agency are: American Indian; African American; Asian Pacific; Aging, GLBT; Latino; People with Disabilities, and Women's.

Don Smith, Director of the ENRL Graduate Program, said, "Mayor Hancock's selection of Ms. Ahmad for this important position reflects his confidence in her judgment and experience. It is quite an honor for Ms. Ahmad. She will do an excellent job."

Ms. Ahmad practiced law in Florida before coming to Denver. She is a JD graduate of the University of Florida School of Law.

Denver Law and Natural Resources and Environmental Law Society to Host Colorado Renewable Energy Society Feb. 16; DU to Have 1st College Chapter

The Natural Resources and Environmental Law Society (NRELS) at Denver Law is excited to announce its alliance with the first college chapter of the Colorado Renewable Energy Society (CRES). The primary goal of the college chapter, known as DUCRES (pronounced “do-cress”), is to connect students and student organizations across the University of Denver’s campus with the growing renewable energy industry in Colorado.

Current CRES members can elect to be included in DUCRES provided they are part of the University of Denver community. This includes University of Denver staff, faculty, administrators, students, and recent alumni. Non-CRES members will have the opportunity to join at the February 16 event.

The event on February 16 will feature the Executive Director of CRES, Tony Frank, who will focus on efforts being made by CRES at the Colorado State Assembly and trends that are occurring in renewable energy incentives across the country. The public is encouraged to attend this event and anybody remotely interested in renewable energy should attend.

The free event, which will take place in room 165 of the Denver Law Ricketson Law Building, is from 6 to 8 p.m. February 16, 2012. Questions about DUCRES can be directed to Scott Thompson, sthompson12@law.du.edu.

Click here for a map to the DU campus and the Ricketson Law Building.