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.

Associate Administrative Director 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."

ENRGP Students Soon to Graduate

Denver Law's Spring Commencement ceremony is just around the corner!

The ceremony will be this Saturday, the 18th from 10-12 PM and is open to all who wish to celebrate the graduates' success. There will be a reception immediately following the ceremony on the lawn in front of the law school or, if there is rain, it will be held inside the law school. (For more information, visit this website.)

The Spring 2013 Commencement ceremony will feature U.S. Senator Michael Bennet. Bennet has been a member of the U.S. Senate since 2009 and serves on the committees of agriculture; nutrition and forestry, health, education, labor and pensions; banking, housing and urban affairs; and the Special Committee on Aging. Bennet has pushed for increased investment into clean energy with the goal of creating jobs and reducing our reliance on foreign oil supplies.

Students celebrate graduation at Director Smith's house.

Students celebrated their accomplishment with Director Don Smith and Administrative Director Lucy Daberkow during a brunch held at Smith's house. The students congratulated each other on their accomplishment and shared their plans for the future. Each graduate was given a commemorative mug with "DU Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program" written on it.

This year's graduating class has been a joy! Every student demonstrated an incredible work ethic and a powerful sense of personal  motivation! The ENRGP Program is sure that each and every one of them will go on to accomplish great things with their lives. We wish them all the best in their future endeavors.

Denver Ranked As Third Top Oil and Gas City in the World

A derrick-man services an oil rig.
Photo Courtesy: NIOSH

Rigzone, a popular oil and gas industry news source, has created a list of the world’s top oil and gas cities and listed Denver third in the world. The top ten cities were chosen based on the city’s degree of importance for oil and gas development and the amount of career opportunities created within the area. Denver was the only U.S. city that made the top 10. (To read the article, click here.)

Oil and gas operations have grown in Colorado due to advanced oil and gas technology namely, hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. These technologies make unconventional resources, such as shale and tight sands economically viable. Colorado’s Niobrara Play is the most active in the west and contains approximately 2 billion barrels of recoverable oil reserves (says the Colorado Oil and Gas Association). Denver has a number of large oil and gas companies including Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Noble Energy Inc., and Halliburton, to name a few.

The expansion of oil and gas activities in Colorado has created a burgeoning job market. The Institute for 21st Century Energy reported that oil and gas activity in 2012 created 77,600 jobs in Colorado. It is expected that these numbers will grow to 121,398 in 2020 and 175,363 by 2035. The Rigzone ranking signals a promising prospect for students in Denver Law’s Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Policy Program. Students in the program are able to specialize their studies in oil and gas law and policy and will be able to fill these new job market demands.

Angelica Oman

Graduate Program Assistant

Energy Law Students Host Interactive, Educational Event at Denver Law

Brad Neagos, Dan Leppert, Darracott Osawe and Ayman AlGhamdi
Presenting at the event Photo Courtesy of Professor K.K. DuVivier

Students in Professor K.K. DuVivier's Energy Law class hosted an event on campus to inform attendees about energy.

The events began at 3 PM on April 25th. A panel of students set the stage for the energy discussion of the evening. These students discussed energy footprints and shared Colorado's energy sources and uses. The event then featured a free screening of the documentary "Switch." The film "explores the world's premier sites for all energies; coal to solar, oil to bio-fuels.  It talks to the people driving energy today; international leaders of government, industry and academia. In the end, it cuts through the confusion to discover a path to our energy future as surprising as it is practical.”

Students provided a panel discussion immediately following the movie. The students lead the audience on a thought provoking discussion regarding the following sources of energy: coal, natural gas, nuclear power, and renewable energy sources such as solar, hydroelectric and wind. The students discussed each source; the associated benefits and negative aspects. They then discussed legal issues that frequently arise particular to each source.

The students engaged the audience through discussion questions and allowed the audience to ask questions directly. The event highlighted the Energy Law student's knowledge of energy issues. The event was free to the public and we hope to see more of Professor DuVivier's Energy Law students  share their knowledge with the public; stay tuned for more information!

Kimberly Jackson Accepts Colorado Oil and Gas Planner Position

Kimberly Jackson, LLM'13 recently accepted a position in the CO Department of Public Health and Environment. She will be serving as the state's Oil and Gas Planner. Congratulations to Ms. Jackson for obtaining an exciting and demanding new position!




Ms. Jackson shared the following with Administrative Director, Lucy Daberkow:

"I recently accepted a position with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment as the state’s Oil and Gas Planner. Colorado currently has in excess of 50,000 active oil and gas wells, with many more anticipated to become operational over the next few years. My primary responsibility is to collaboratively engage with local and federal governmental entities, community groups, operators, and other interested stakeholders to ensure that oil and gas operations are conducted in a way that allows for the safe exploration and production of oil and gas while simultaneously ensuring the protection of our environmental resources as well as the health and safety of everyone that lives, works, and recreates in our beautiful state.

My LL.M. studies have afforded me the opportunity to learn so much about the laws, policies, regulations, and administrative aspects that govern the work that I will engage in on behalf of the state. From natural resource and environmental law to principles of sustainable development, land use, petroleum transactions, and—most importantly for me right now—oil & gas law and mining law, the wide array of course offerings that I took as a student were invaluable in allowing me to gain a comprehensive understanding of not only the law, but the manner in which these laws influence the way we think about natural resources and the environment on a local, regional, national, and international scale.

Now that my role has evolved from a student of natural resources and environmental law to a practitioner, I realize just how much benefit I gained from the incredible course offerings and first-class instruction that I received during my time in the Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Policy Program. I know without question that what I have learned during my time in the program as both a J.D. and an LL.M. student will serve me well as I begin to engage with numerous others in our state and in our region about the emerging issues of energy development, environmental protections, and public health. "

Congratulations to Ms. Jackson from the Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Policy Program! We are sure that she will experience great success in her new position!