Exploring how public land conflicts, such as the historic road "rights-of-way" debate in Colorado's Moffat County, are fought and resolved in the political arena will be the focus of the University of Colorado at Boulder School of Law's 11th annual Ira C. Rothgerber Jr. Conference.
Titled "Constitutional Conflicts on Public Lands," the two-day conference will take place in the Fleming Law Building Jan. 30 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. and Jan. 31 from 8:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. All presentations are open to the public, and continuing legal education credit is available.
Prominent scholars, political leaders, lawyers and public administrators will gather at the conference to discuss current events and the history and theory behind them.
"Much of the constitutional law of public lands is made in Congress, state capitals and administrative agencies," said Richard Collins, CU law professor and director of the Byron R. White Center for the Study of American Constitutional Law. "The courts' role is enforcement of policy, not crafting it, so this conference will be a change from the usual focus on decisions made by the United States Supreme Court," Collins said.
Along with the Moffat County rights-of-way debate, participants also will discuss a controversial federal proposal to store nuclear waste at Nevada's Yucca Mountain, constitutional federalism as it relates to public lands, new environmental laws in the 21st century and other issues.
The conference is co-sponsored by the White Center and the University of Colorado Law Review. The Byron White Center was founded in 1990 and is funded by generous donations from law school Alumnus Ira C. Rothgerber, for whom the conference is named.
For more information call the Byron White Center at (303) 492-8049 or visit the Center's Web site at the following: .