When the Endangered Species Act was passed in 1973, it proved to be a great step forward in showing the United States’ and Congress’ commitment to preserving our nation’s natural heritage and protecting native plants and animals from becoming extinct.

In honor of the 40th anniversary of the ESA, the 19th annual Public Interest Environmental Law Conference at the University of Florida Levin College of Law will focus on the evolution of endangered species protection over the past four decades. “The Endangered Species Act at 40: Polishing the Crown Jewel,” will be held Feb. 21-23 at UF Law.

“I’m very excited about this year’s conference,” said UF Law Professor and Director of the Environmental and Land Use Law Program Mary Jane Angelo. “We are bringing in experts from around the U.S. to discuss the act’s many successes, such as the recovery of our national symbol, the bald eagle, as well as significant challenges we face in the future such as addressing impacts from habitat loss and climate change.”

Keynote speakers for this year’s conference include Carl Safina, founding president of the Blue Ocean Institute and award winning author of Song for the Blue Ocean and Eye of the Albatross, and Zygmunt Plater and Patrick Parenteau, attorneys in the landmark decision of Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill et al. – temporarily halting the completion of the Tellico Dam on the Little Tennessee River in order to protect the snail darter, an endangered species of fish.

The conference will also include multiple panel discussions, a workshop sponsored by The Florida Bar, and training opportunities for both attorneys and those outside the legal field.

UF Law student and PIEC co-chair Chelsea Sims said the PIEC is one of the largest student-run conferences in the nation.

“It’s a great opportunity for UF students to engage with cutting edge issues surrounding endangered species such as the Florida panther, corals, sea turtles, manatees and more,” Sims said.

To view the agenda and register for the conference, visit http://www.law.ufl.edu/academics/concentration/elul/public-interest-environmental-conference. UF Law students and faculty attend free-of-charge. Select “student” when registering.

“Any student that is interested in learning about the status of endangered species, the role of climate change, or the interface of science and policy regulating endangered species will enjoy this free event at the law school campus,” said Rachael Bruce, UF Law student and PIEC co-chair. “Please come out and join us.”

Yee Huang, policy Aanalyst with the Center for Progressive Reform, spoke during a special lunch presentation at the PIEC.

The idea of environmental protection often conjures up thoughts of faraway places, most of which we’ve never seen. Whether it’s ice caps, rainforests, or the middle of the ocean, we don’t think of the issue as being close by or tangible. Even the Everglades are hundreds of miles away. But there is much to be done for the environment, and much happening, in our own neighborhoods. This created the focus of the 16th annual Public Interest Environmental Conference, titled “Bringing It All Back Home: Leadership, Land Use, and Locanomics.”

The conference, held Feb. 25-27, kicked off with an opening speech by Julian Juergensmeyer, a professor at Georgia State University College of Law, and professor emeritus at UF.

On Friday, several conferences were held, each covering a different subject, and each chaired with a panel of noted experts from around the country. Each panel not only discussed current challenges, but also ways to address them.

Critics of environmental advocates sometimes argue that these attempted solutions are impractical, but conference co-chair Zach Broome said that special attention was paid to ensure that these were realistic measures that were being discussed. “This year, especially, we wanted to go with very practical solutions,” Broome said. “While some of the ideas may be a little novel or unusual, they’re definitely not merely idealistic.”

By Saturday, conference-goers had been privy to a wealth of information of the problems facing the environment, methods that are being used to solve those problems, and some innovative ideas that have yet to be implemented. But for any change to take place, people need to step up and take the reins. With that in mind, the last event before the closing remarks was a workshop on the next generation of environmental leadership.

Mother Nature wasn’t being very cooperative, making Saturday a rainy and cool day, but that did not keep conference-goers away. Every seat was filled as the workshop began with a video of UF Law students asking questions to former Senator and Governor Bob Graham. Graham didn’t mince words about what he thinks Florida needs. “From the tip of the panhandle to the Florida Keys, we need leadership,” he said.

Not only does the state need leadership, he said, but it needs participation in government and society, especially from young adults. Voting and other signs of participation have been declining in worrying numbers, Graham said. “One of the keys to the future of our robust democracy is for your generation to reverse this.”

After the video concluded, the conference attendees were introduced to a panel of experts, who ranged from members of public boards to those who worked in the private sector. Discussion ranged from the confines imparted by the Sunshine open records laws to Florida’s place as 47th in terms of active citizenship. But throughout the workshop the message was clear: the solutions to our problems are out there, but Florida needs leadership.

And while the conference was attended by a crowd that devotes much of their personal and/or professional life to dealing with matters that confront the environment, Broome said that those credentials aren’t a requirement to bettering your surroundings or getting involved. “You don’t have to be a public interest environmental advocate to do things that are environmentally practical or beneficial.”

Julian Juergensmeyer

UF students, faculty and staff who want to be part of the solution to Florida’s environmental challenges but don’t know where to begin can start by attending the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s 16th Annual Public Interest Environmental Conference Feb. 25-27.

New and longtime environmental advocates and legal professionals are invited to attend the two-day conference titled, “Bringing it All Back Home: Leadership, Land Use and Local-nomics.” The event, to be held in UF Law’s Holland Hall, will emphasize the power of local environmental leadership, the potential of innovative local land-use tools and the promise of place-based economics and agriculture. Paid participants can earn CLEs while interacting with legal experts, environmental writers, and wildlife and ecology scientists during panel discussions and two workshops.

“With this conference, we wanted to bring environmental responsibility back to the local scale while incorporating the realities of modern society,” said Zach Broome, a second-year UF law student and co-chair of PIEC 2010. “We also wanted to make environmental responsibility something viable for attorneys outside the land use or environmental fields, which is why we have a panel on professional responsibility and two workshops on the ethical and legal approach to development.”

The first workshop on Saturday, Feb. 27, is titled, “The Rezoning and Development Order Approval Process.” This workshop will benefit those interested in learning how Florida’s land-use laws are applied and how to effectively participate in the process from a citizen and public-interest perspective. The following workshop, “Cultivating the Next Generation of Environmental Leadership,” will provide tips and advice on how to be an effective board member and how to assume leadership roles. This workshop will also address the impact of technology and the generational differences in leading effectively.

In addition to the panel discussions and workshops, there will be two distinguished keynote speakers. Julian Juergensmeyer, the Ben F. Johnson Jr. Chair in Law at Georgia State University College of Law and co-director of the GSU Center for the Comparative Study of Metropolitan Growth, will give the keynote address Thursday night during the opening reception. The title of his presentation is, “Bringing It All Back Home: Where the Wild Things Are!”

“During my presentation, I will outline two main ideas,” Juergensmeyer said. “First, that current problems (energy and resource shortages, climate change and economic uncertainties) require land-use planners and regulators to consider wild ideas. Second, that wild ideas are best tried and tested on a small scale at the local level. After developing these ideas I will attempt examples of some of the wild ideas that may not be so wild after all.”

Bill Belleville, a Sanford, Fla., resident who is a documentary filmmaker and award-winning environmental author, will give the keynote address during the Friday night banquet. Bellville’s books include River of Lakes: A Journey on Florida’s St. John’s River and Losing it all to Sprawl: How Progress Ate My Cracker Landscape.

The conference is free for UF students, faculty and staff. A discounted registration of $15 is available for non-UF students.

To view the agenda, speakers, room assignments and registration form, visit www.law.ufl.edu/piec.

On the evening of Wednesday, Feb. 27, the PIEC opens with a pre-conference keynote speech by Sheila Watt-Cloutier, an Inuit climate change and human rights activist and 2007 Nobel Peace Prize nominee. The speech will be held at the Reitz Union Ballroom and is free and open to the public. Doors open at 7 p.m. Co-sponsored by UF Office of Sustainability, the conference is free for all UF students, faculty and staff. The PIEC pre-registration fee is $85, and the on-site registration is $100. Both fees include all program activities except the banquet, which is an additional $35 for all Conference attendees. The post-mark deadline for pre-registration is Feb. 22.

The opening reception will be held at the President’s House, 6-9 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 28, with with welcoming remarks by UF Law Dean Robert H. Jerry, II, as well as a keynote speech by Shannon Estonez, governing member, South Florida Water Management District.

The conference resumes at the Levin College of Law Friday, Feb. 29, with an entire day of panel discussions involving dozens of participants on such topics as sea-level rise, climate change, agricultural challenges, water resources, community land management, carbon markets, the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, the impact of war on the environment, and Florida’s needs for sustainable energy. The conference banquet, 7-10 p.m., will feature keynote speaker David Hunter, assistant professor of law and director, program on International and Comparative Law at American University Washington College of Law.

Saturday’s schedule starts at 9 a.m. with a workshop on “Walking Small: Reducing Your Personal Footprint,” featuring Michelle Adamski, sustainability extension agent, Wakulla County, UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS). The day’s panels begin at 10:30 a.m. and cover such topics as environmental injustices and dams, biodiversity loss, and communication between scientists and policymakers. A two-hour closing plenary, entitled “The Focus on Florida,” begins at 1:30 p.m.

Since its inception in 1994, this student-organized conference has attracted top practitioners, legal scholars and scientists from around the state and beyond to discuss Florida’s most pressing environmental issues. Now in its fourteenth year, the PIEC has enjoyed a continual increase in reputation, attendance and popularity. Contact Andrew Beckington (abeck82@ufl.edu) or Yee Huang (lyh@ufl.edu) or visit www.ufpiec.org.