Description

Monthly webinars are offered as a benefit of SWS membership. Each quarter (Mar, Jul, Sep, Dec) a SWS webinar is open for non-members to attend at no cost.

 SWS Sackett Symposium

                         THIS WEBINAR WILL BE 90 MINUTES IN LENGTH, SO                                PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND 12-1:30 PM CDT. THANK YOU!

Our Panelists suggest reading this information prior to the webinar:

1. SACKETT ET UX. v. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ET AL.

2. United States of America v. Ace Black Ranches, LLP Case No. 1:24-cv-00113-DCN

3. The US Supreme Court has gutted federal protection for wetlands — now what?           By Royal C. Gardner

4. Gardner Nature by Royal C. Gardner

Speakers: Royal Gardner, Bob Kerr, James Thomas, Leandra Cleveland

Royal Gardner is Professor of Law and Director of the Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy at Stetson University College of Law. He has worked on wetland law and policy issues for more than three decades, beginning in the Pentagon. Recent projects include coauthoring amicus briefs on behalf of environmental scientists and scientific societies. He was lead counsel for an amicus brief filed on behalf of twelve scientific societies, including SWS, in Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as well as for the amicus brief filed for aquatic scientists and scientific societies (again including SWS) that the U.S. Supreme Court cited in the case of County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund. He is also the author of Lawyers, Swamps, and Money: U.S. Wetland Law, Policy, and Politics, which has a small cult following. His book Waters of the United States: POTUS, SCOTUS, WOTUS, and the Politics of a National Resource will be published by Island Press in December 2024.

                                                                                                                  Law students in Big Cypress

Bob Kerr has more than three decades of experience providing environmental services in Virginia. He has led environmental services for a variety of complex and high-profile projects in the Commonwealth and has served on state-level policy committees for topics regarding stormwater regulations, wetland regulation and coastal resilience. 

Mr. Kerr’s clients include local governments and commercial and residential developers needing regulatory assistance with roadway, stormwater and resilience projects. His responsibilities include overseeing WSSI’s work in the Hampton Roads region: including wetland delineations and permitting, mitigation planning and design, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) document preparation, Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs), and permit compliance during construction.    

James Thomas manages HDR's Environmental Regulatory Practice in the South Central Region and also serves as the firm’s Clean Water Act Permitting Practice lead, focusing on monitoring regulatory changes to help our clients understand the potential impacts to their business. He is a Sr. Professional Wetland Scientist with 30 years of experience, with an emphasis on State/Federal permitting and mitigation planning expertise in Clean Water Act (CWA) - Section 404 regulatory matters. James has led and supported wetland permitting and mitigation projects for a variety of infrastructure types, including restoration, in 12 USACE Districts.

James attended Texas A&M University and completed a M.S. researching wetland restoration methods on post-mined lands. Prior to joining HDR in 2000, James enjoyed roles with a smaller, regional consulting firm conducting wetland delineations and environmental studies on federal lands throughout the southern U.S., Panama, and Puerto Rico; and as a wildlife / wetlands biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department on the Upper Coast Wetland Ecosystem Project based in Orange, Texas.

Leandra Cleveland is a PWS that has been delineating and permitting Waters of the US for over 24 years. 

She has spent her career working in the private sector as a scientist and project manager across numerous geographies and project types. Leandra is an active member of SWS and SWS-PCP having serviced in numerous roles through the year.