30th annual Public Land Law Conference

September 25-27, 2006
Missoula , MT

The Law of Ecosystem Restoration: National Policy Implications of the Clark Fork River Basin Natural Resource Damage Program

Keynote Speaker: Lynn Scarlett, Deputy Secretary of the Interior

The Public Land & Resources Law Review proudly presents the 30th annual Public Land Law Conference, held in beautiful Missoula, Montana. The conference will focus on the history, successes, and continuing challenges of implementing this national program in Montana’s Clark Fork River Basin.

Background

In 1983, the State of Montana filed a natural resource damage (NRD) lawsuit against ARCO to recover damages for mining-caused injuries to the Clark Fork River Basin’s water, soils, vegetation, fish and wildlife, and for the public’s lost use and enjoyment of these resources. As part of a 1999 settlement, the state received $215 million, including about $130 million earmarked to restore or replace the injured resources. While the state’s NRD litigation is not fully resolved, major steps are already underway to restore or improve the injured natural resources and the recreation opportunities that accompany them. For example, the NRD program will help fund full restoration at the confluence of the Blackfoot and Clark Fork rivers, where a multi-party consent decree signed in 2005 (pursuant to a separate Superfund enforcement action) will result in the historic removal of the Milltown Dam and the tons of toxic sediments contained in its reservoir.

Focus

Many issues raised in the ongoing Clark Fork River Basin restoration reflect national concerns about natural resource damage assessment and implementation. This conference will provide insights into current NRD law and policy developments nationwide, with a look ahead at possible resolutions in the Clark Fork River Basin and beyond. Starting with keynote speaker Lynn Scarlett, special attention will be paid to issues before the federal advisory committee examining U.S. Department of the Interior NRD programs.

Who Should Attend

This conference offers Continuing Legal Education credits for attorneys. The program will also be of interest for federal, state, tribal, and local policy officials and resource managers; scholars; and representatives of industry, environmental, and community development groups involved in ecosystem restoration. There will be ample opportunity to participate in facilitated discussions with panel members and to speak with them outside of their presentations. Some of the speakers will publish their presentations as articles in the Public Land & Resources Law Review.

Conference Schedule

Lynn Scarlett, Deputy Secretary of the Interior, will deliver the Keynote Address on the evening of Monday, September 27, 2006. Tuesday will include interactive morning talks and panel discussions on national NRD issues; an on-site lunch provided; an afternoon session on Clark Fork River Basin issues; followed by a catered evening reception on the Clark Fork River, for all conference participants. Wednesday morning sessions will focus on lessons learned in the Clark Fork River Basin and in other states’ NRD programs, and will explore implications for national policies and practice; the program will conclude at noon. Plans are also underway for an optional tour of the Milltown Dam restoration site in conjunction with the conference.

Sponsored by the Public Land & Resources Law Review, the Public Policy Research Institute, and the University of Montana School of Law, with additional support from the Clark Fork Coalition, the Montana Natural Resources, Energy and Environmental Law Bar, and the Montana Water Trust