Conservation Clinic students work on water quality issues with a woods restoration consultant and an Adventure Outfitters guide along the springs coast at the Florida Chassahowitzka River during a fall 2012 field trip.

By Francie Weinberg
Student writer

Looking for a chance to work with clients and make a difference in the world? Housed at the law school’s Center for Governmental Responsibility, the University of Florida Levin College of Law Conservation Clinic offers both law and graduate students the opportunity to work on cutting-edge environmental and land use law and policy issues.

The Conservation Clinic provides upper-level environmental law students and graduate students in conservation-related fields with exposure to environmental and land use professional practice, applied research and public policy analysis under the supervision of Professor Thomas Ankersen, the clinic’s faculty adviser.

Interested students need to have completed three semesters and can earn up to six credits in two semesters. Of the students who apply, Ankersen accepts between nine to 12 students per semester. While most accepted students are involved in the Environmental and Land Use Law Program, students in other areas can apply and can benefit from the clinic. The clinic emphasizes applied research and writing as well as speaking skills, and the ability to work with Ph.D. and other graduate students is a unique aspect of the Conservation Clinic.

After graduating from UF Law in 1986, Ankersen practiced in an environmental law firm in Miami for five years. He then spent a year with the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund where he developed an interest in international law that brought him back to UF Law and a series of projects in Latin America, India and Africa.

Ankersen started the clinic in 2002 when faculty saw the need to expand its Environmental and Land Use curriculum and students were seeking skills training in the area. Over the past 10 years, the program has grown exponentially and the clinic is an essential part. The program is now fifth among public colleges and ninth overall, according to the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings.

“Anything that you can do to demonstrate that you have real world experience is going to help you get a job,” Ankersen said. “If you’re working on projects that require you to understand an area of law Florida’s water law and do an analysis for a client that leads to a change in the law, or even an internal decision that client makes, that’s something you’ll do when you’re practicing law. That’ll definitely be recognized by a potential employer – in addition to providing a public service.”

So many people are interested in the clinic’s services that Ankersen said they’ve had to turn projects away. He picks projects based on what he thinks students will get value out of, whether their work will have an impact, and if the client would be able to accomplish its goals without the help of the clinic.

Past projects have included drafting local ordinances and comprehensive plan amendments, obtaining environmental permits for coastal restoration and preparing contracts for environmental service payments. Clinic clients include the Sea Turtle Conservancy, the Belize Foundation for Research and Environmental Education and the Blue Water Initiative. Occasionally students have opportunities to work on international law projects or with local governments.

Chelsea Sims (3L) began her work in the Conservation Clinic while studying abroad in Costa Rica. Her first project was for The Nature Conservancy, where she worked to help ensure that environmental service concessions benefit indigenous communities.

Sims then took on the Blue Water Intitiative, Inc., a reef restoration and conservation nonprofit, whose main project is removing tires from the Osborne Reef off the coast of Ft. Lauderdale. This reef was home to more than 1 million tires that were dumped in the 1970s in an attempt to create an artificial reef. Years of currents and hurricanes have become dislodged tires from the main tire field and they are destroying real reefs by bumping into and crushing them.

Sims helped the Blue Water Initiative obtain the necessary state and federal permits to remove the loose tires and dispose of them. She went with Blue Water Initiative members on their first dive to remove about 100 tires. The group no longer needs the clinic’s services, but asked Sims to remain on its board of directors to help with future legal issues.

“The clinic taught me real-world skills that cannot be learned through lectures and books,” Sims said. “It introduced me to a great network of people in the field I want to work in when I graduate, and it allowed me to work on a range of projects so I could discover what areas I would like to work in when I have my own career.”

The Environmental and Land Use Law Program, the Conservation Clinic and the Public Interest Environmental Conference all represent the College of Law’s commitment to developing the skills of tomorrow’s environmental lawyers to face tomorrow’s environmental problems.

The UF Law Communications Office is seeking a photographer. This fun and flexible OPS position requires superb photography and good Photoshop skills, strong organizational and photo editing abilities, reliability, and the ability to work quickly and well as a member of a productive team. Good writing skills a plus. Students encouraged to apply. Up to 20 hours/week, flexible scheduling. Send resume, references and photo samples to Rick Goldstein at Goldstein@law.ufl.edu or 244 Bruton-Geer Hall, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611.

Enrollment deadline for Environmental & Land Use Law Certificate Program

Students interested in enrolling in the Environmental & Land Use Law Certificate Program for this semester are encouraged to do so before Monday, Oct. 15, 2012. Through the Environmental and Land Use Law Certificate Program, students can graduate from law school with a valuable credential that indicates both concentration and accomplishment in these two fields. If you have recently enrolled, or plan to do so, contact Lena Hinson at Hinson@law.ufl.edu to set up an appointment with Professor Mary Jane Angelo, director of the Environmental & Land Use Law Program, to discuss your course of study for Spring and Summer 2013. For more information on the ELUL Certificate Program, visit http://www.law.ufl.edu/academics/concentration/elul/elul-certificate. Enrollment forms are available online. Students enrolled in the certificate program will receive email notification regarding priority pre-registration for certificate core courses.

Antoinette Vanterpool, left, and Jenn Allen, right, have been named the 2011 J.D. Conservation Law Fellows. Danisa M. Gonzalez, center, is this year's J.D. Minority Fellow. (Photo by Nicole Safker)

By Heather Judd
Special to FlaLaw

The University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Environmental and Land Use Law Program is proud to announce its 2011 J.D. Conservation Law Fellows and its Minority Fellowship recipient. From a strong applicant pool, Jenn Allen and Antoinette Vanterpool were selected as this year’s Conservation Law Fellows.

The Conservation Law Fellowship consists of a $2,500 grant for work in a summer placement focusing on environmental and land use projects of relevance to the Conservation Clinic. Candidates must demonstrate exceptional commitment to and achievement in environmental and land use law through both academic accomplishment and leadership in student or civic activities related to environmental or land use law.

This year’s Environmental and Land Use Law J.D. Minority Fellow is Danisa Gonzalez. Gonzalez will receive a $2,000 grant toward completion of her externship working with the Conservation Clinic in Costa Rica this summer.

Gonzalez’s summer placement and project also involves traveling to Costa Rica where she will extern with the Inter-American Institute for Human Rights, which provides support to the International Court for Human Rights located in Costa Rica.

Jenn Allen (2L) plans to use her fellowship grant to participate in the Costa Rica summer study abroad program. She intends to work closely with the Center for Environmental and Natural Resource (CEDARENA). This project will likely involve development of strategies for small-scale community associates that administer rural water to secure protection of their water sources. Allen has had other study abroad experiences, which have enriched her experience including traveling to South Africa and Tanzania during her law school career.

Allen is a dual-degree student in UF’s Masters in Sustainable Development Practice (MDP) program and hopes to combine her training in law and development policy to “discover ways and means for developing countries to protect their fragile environmental resources while addressing the needs of their populations.” After law school, she would like to build a career centered on her interests in human rights, the environment and development to help communities protect their citizens’ rights.

Antoinette Vanterpool (2L) will use her fellowship grant toward her internship with the Jamaica Environment Trust, where she will advocate for communities facing environmental issues, and assist with the Trust’s general projects whose goals consist of the protection of Jamaica’s unique and valuable natural resources.

As a native of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, Vanterpool has a continuing interest in Caribbean and international environmental policy. Her specific interests include natural resource conservation and management and sustainable energy issues. She would like to pursue a career after law school involving “work on public policy issues dealing with natural resource law as well as international and Caribbean environmental policy.”