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'Go West Young Environmentalist'
The 2004 NAELS Annual Conference
By Dave Campbell, NAELS Co-chair

"Conservation, then, is keeping the resource in working order, as well as preventing overuse. Resources may get out of order before they are exhausted, sometimes while they are still abundant. Conservation, therefore, is a positive exercise of skill and insight, not merely a negative exercise of abstinence or caution." - Aldo Leopold

Annual Conference

On March 26-28, 2004, approximately 60 students representing nearly 20 member ELSs gathered at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon, site of this year's Annual Conference. The topic of the conference was "Public Lands Management at the Crossroads: Balancing Interests in the 21st Century." Dr. Michael Dombeck, Pioneer Professor of Global Environmental Management and System Fellow of Global Conservation at the University of Wisconsin, gave the keynote address. Dr. Dombeck has dedicated a quarter of a century to managing federal lands and natural resources through his leadership in the Bureau of Land Management and as former chief of the Forest Service. His legacy is one of steadfast stewardship for the land, and he has earned widespread praise for his efforts concerning watershed health and restoration, sustainable forest ecosystem management, sound forest roads and roadless area protection. Signifying the capstone to a life-long career in public service, Dr. Dombeck is
a recipient of the highest award in federal service, the Presidential Rank - Distinguished Executive Award. Dr. Dombeck's thoughtful, well-received remarks set the stage for a weekend of stirring presentations and lively debate.

On Friday and Saturday a plethora of papers were presented by a variety of leading scholars including Rob Glicksman, University of Kansas School of Law, Joe Feller, College of Law at Arizona State University, Michael Blumm, Lewis & Clark Law School, among others.

There were also several engaging round-table sessions:

While it was NAELS' first official visit to Lewis & Clark, we won't wait another fifteen years to come again. Thanks to all, especially the law school and conference planning committee, for planning and hosting a great event.

Annual Meeting
The two-day Annual Meeting was also a tremendous success. I am particularly grateful for the efforts of my former Co-Chair, Jeff Orrell, and the able assistance of last year's Governing Board. Jeff and I set three primary objectives for the meeting: optimize the group setting by preparing a focused agenda, encourage more students to get involved with NAELS, and listen to members' comments to improve NAELS' programs and events.

I don't know whether we achieved our goals but I was particularly impressed by the high level of engagement present at the group sessions: everyone seemed enthused, energized and engaged. Some intimated the free flowing, locally brewed beer played a part in that, but I disagree. Let me touch on some of the highlights.

Mr. Ed Yoon, Field Director for Oregon, The League of Conversation Voters, made a brief presentation, offering NAELS members the opportunity to work with his organization in several states (Wisconsin, New Mexico, Oregon, and Florida) during the summer. Chuck Munson, Region 10 Rep., took advantage of the offer and worked with LCV in Portland. Chuck has generously agreed to share his experience in this newsletter. I think you'll enjoy reading about his exploits.

Mr. Yoon's offer stands. Anyone interested to know more may contact him at: Edward_Yoon@LCV.org, (213) 503-5455. Visit LCV. NAELS appreciates LCV's willingness to work with us to advance worthy causes.

To bring everybody, especially the first-time members, up to speed, Jeff and I detailed the organization's current structure and discussed ways to improve it. We received great comments: you'll read about one of them below. We also recapped our efforts as National Co-Chairs, summarized the activities of the various committees, and passed a hat around to cover Jeff's bar review expenses. Surfing doesn't pay like it used to.
Dan Worth, our tireless and fearless Executive Director, spoke next. He highlighted his efforts over the past year, which included a lot of travel, numerous group meetings with students, faculty and attorneys, frequent correspondence with foundations, inspiring strategy sessions with the Governing Board and the Board of Directors, and significant doses of personal initiative and commitment.

Dan's update was important, to ensure student members understand the ways in which Dan is moving NAELS forward, and to ensure they agree with his efforts. Based on the positive feedback, during the formal sessions as well the "after-hour" gatherings, it is clear Dan is on the right track.

As always, selecting the host for next year's conference was a blast. Vermont Law School and PACE Law School submitted strong bids. The presentations were classy, comprehensive and clever. Eat your heart out, Hollywood. NAELS would like to thank everyone involved with the bids for their effort and commitment to the organization.

PACE won the group vote and thus will host the 2005 Conference March 17-20. Please record the dates on your calendar: you won't want to miss this convention. It's going to be huge.

Selecting the 2004-05 Governing Board was exciting also. Once again, NAELS is blessed with a cadre of talented individuals passionate about the environment and committed to serving the interests of the members. The Governing Board would love to hear from you so don't be shy about sharing comments and insights. In fact, the Governing Board has room for a few more brave souls. Please contact Elana or me if you are interested.

I am excited about Elana's election as Co-Chair. Her weekend was especially busy; she arrived in Portland as head of PACE's conference bid team and left as one of your leaders. Elana is poised, professional and dedicated: NAELS is going to flourish under her leadership.

As noted, there were a host of great suggestions. Valeria Gheorghin's recommendation was one of the best. To enhance accountability, Valeria, an At Large Rep., proposed that NAELS publish semi-annual status updates in the form of annual reports. Her proposal was enthusiastically adopted. Consequently, toward the end of September, you can expect to receive a formal reporting of NAELS' activities since the conference. A more comprehensive report will be distributed at the 2005 Conference.

In what seemed the blink of an eye, Sunday rolled around and everybody went their separate ways but not before reaffirming old bonds, forging new ones and rededicating the group's ardor for the environment.
Thus: in sync with the circle of life that governs all things, we bid fond farewell to the Class of NAELS 2003-04 and say hello to the Class of 2004-05. This is your time to shine.

Site last updated: September, 2004
Copyright: National Association of Environmental Law Societies, 2002, 2003, 2004
Webmaster: Dan Worth