Description

POTUS, SCOTUS, WOTUS, and Beer: An update on Waters of the United States
Pub Talk and Discussion with Royal Gardner
When: October 18, 2025 @ 5:30-7:30pm
Where: Sanitas Brewing Company, Boulder

The Society of Wetland Scientists Rocky Mountain Chapter invites you to our next wetland pub talk. Join your fellow wetland practitioners, scientists, students, and enthusiasts at Sanitas Brewing Company @ 3550 Frontier Ave Ste A, Boulder, CO 80301.
 

No RSVP is needed. The pub talk is free for SWS members, $5 for non-member students, and $10 for non-members.
**Only cash or checks can be accepted.**

Presentation Overview:

Join Royal Gardner on October 18th when he discusses his new book Waters of the United States: POTUS, SCOTUS, WOTUS, and the Politics of a National Resource, and provides an update on the WOTUS front. In 2023, the Supreme Court made one of its most devastating rulings in environmental history in Sackett v. EPA. By narrowing the legal definition of ‘waters of the United States’ (WOTUS), the court gutted the heart of the Clean Water Act. The decision was the latest in a long series of battles over WOTUS, and which rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, wetlands, and perhaps even farm fields were to be protected by the Clean Water Act of 1972. His book not only examines how bodies of water are legally defined (and therefore protected), but who gets to decide on these definitions. The result is a fascinating look at the ongoing power struggle between the president and federal agencies, the courts, the states, and Congress over water quality.

The evening will include time before and after the presentation for socializing, networking, and thought-provoking discussion. A food truck is available on-site. You will learn something interesting while enjoying refreshments with your peers.

The presentation will begin at 6:00, and open discussion will follow. Royal Gardner's speaker bio information can be found below. Please email the Chapter with any questions - swsrockymtn@gmail.com.

SPEAKER

Royal C. Gardner, the Hugh F. Culverhouse Professor of Law and Director of the Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy at Stetson University College of Law, is an internationally recognized expert in wetland law and policy. He served as lead counsel on amicus briefs on behalf of aquatic scientists and scientific societies in Clean Water Act cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, including in Sackett v. EPA. His recognitions include a National Wetlands Award for Education and Outreach, and his institute is the recipient of the American Bar Association’s Award for Distinguished Achievement in Environmental Law and Policy. He served two terms as Chair of the Scientific and Technical Review Panel of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. 

Please contact the Rocky Mountain Chapter if you are interested in presenting and/or sponsoring a future event in any of our five Chapter states @ swsrockymtn@gmail.com.