The 21st annual Stegner Center Symposium, held March 31 to April 1, 2016, was only one of the highlights of an exciting year for the College of Law’s environmental law and natural resources program. The symposium, “Green Infrastructure and Resilient Cities: New Challenges and New Solutions,” was held in the College of Law’s new building and provided an opportunity to highlight the green features of the College’s new LEED Platinum building. The symposium brought together 21 speakers from around the country, including representatives from the sciences and social sciences, academia, government, industry, and the legal profession.
On March 30, the Wallace Stegner Lecture by Lawrence Susskind, Ford Professor of Urban and Environmental Planning, MIT Vice-Chair, Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, laid the groundwork for the coming symposium. In his presentation, Professor Susskind discussed how to build consensus in communities so that they can prepare for the impacts of climate change.
On Thursday, the symposium explored a variety of issues through panel discussions. Topics included “Rethinking Buildings,” “Rethinking Urban Design,” “Rethinking Water in Cities,” and “Rethinking Energy for Cities.” Sheila Martin, Director of the Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies and the Population Research Center at Portland State University, delivered the keynote address on “Community Food Systems and Regional Resilience.”
On Friday, panels discussed “Rethinking the Urban-Suburban Interface” and “Incorporating Resilience—To Drought, Disaster, and Climate Change.” Hillary Brown, FAIA, Principal, New Civic Works and Professor, Spitzer School of Architecture at the City College of New York, delivered the keynote talk on “‘Future-Proofing’ Infrastructure: Action Items for the Anthropocene.”
The Stegner Symposium was only one highlight of an eventful year. Dave Owen, a Professor of Law at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, joined the Stegner Center as the eleventh annual Stegner Center Young Scholar on October 8 and 9, 2015. During his residency, Professor Owen delivered a Young Scholar Lecture entitled “Headwater Streams and the Hidden Histories of Environmental Law” at the College of Law on October 8 and a Downtown CLE presentation on “The Evolving Law of Headwater Streams” on October 9 at Holland & Hart.
The Stegner Center hosted Krista Schlyer, Conservation Photographer and Writer, for a noon hour talk on January 28 on “Continental Divide: Wildlife, People and the Border Wall” as part of the Stegner Center Lecture Series. Krista Schlyer is an award-winning photographer and writer focusing on conservation, biodiversity and public lands. She is a Senior Fellow in the International League of Conservation Photographers and winner of the Ansel Adams Award for Conservation Photography, National Outdoor Book Award, and Vision Award from the North American Nature Photographers Association.
Joe Riis, National Geographic Wildlife Photographer, and Arthur Middleton, Research Scientist, Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, joined the Stegner Center to deliver a presentation on their work on the “Greater Yellowstone Migrations Project.” Through photographs and research, they shared share the story behind their traverse of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, following one of the most iconic creatures of Yellowstone National Park—the elk—on its annual migration from Wyoming’s ranchlands into America’s deepest wilderness.
The Stegner Center’s popular noon hour Green Bag Series included the following speakers:
- October 22, “India’s Environmental Challenges and New Judicial Solutions,” Ritwick Dutta, Advocate, Supreme Court and state High Courts of India, including the “National Green Tribunal”
- November 17, “Finding Accord,” Laynee G. Jones, Program Manager, Mountain Accord; Carl Fisher, Executive Director, Save Our Canyons; and Nathan Rafferty, President, Ski Utah
- December 3, “Recent Developments in Utah Stream Access Law—Log Drives and Navigability,” Cullen Battle, Fabian & Clendenin
- January 19, “Restoring the Colorado River—Challenges and Opportunities,” John (Jack) Schmidt, Department of Watershed Sciences, Quinney College of Natural Resources, Utah State University
- February 16,“From Particles to People: Why Utah Struggles With Air Quality and How This Affects Human Health,” Kerry Kelly, Research Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering and Associate Director, Program for Air Quality, Health and Society, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Utah; Robert Paine, Chief, Division of Pulmonary, University of Utah Healthcare
- March 1, “America’s National Parks Centennial: Are the Parks in Peril?” David Nimkin, Senior Managing Director. National Parks Conservation Association
- April 14, “RS 2477 Update: The Quiet Title Act and Utah’s Biggest Lawsuit,” Joe Bushyhead, Staff Attorney, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance