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Read more about Wetlands Law: A Course Source - 4th Edition

Wetlands Law: A Course Source - 4th Edition

(3 reviews)

Stephen M. Johnson, Mercer University School of Law

Copyright Year: 2015

Last Update: 2018

Publisher: CALI's eLangdell® Press

Language: English

Formats Available

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Reviews

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Reviewed by Achinthi Vithanage, Professorial Lecturer in Law, The George Washington University on 4/23/21

The text is a comprehensive product on the legal aspects of wetlands. It does a good job of covering the science pertaining to wetlands and different value streams. The historical account is well drafted and makes for interesting reading. However,... read more

Reviewed by William Kleindl, Assistant Research Professor, Montana State University - Bozeman on 1/10/21

This is, of course, a wetland law text. However, I would like to have seen a little more depth on wetland science. That is my bias, but I do see these two aspects of wetland studies to be tightly linked. read more

Reviewed by Anthony Snider, Associate Professor, University of North Carolina Wilmington on 5/21/18

The text has neither an index nor a glossary. The text is searchable, however, and provides a good background on the cases relevant to wetlands jurisdiction in the United States. It covers Leslie Salt Co., the Bayview Decision, SWANCC, and... read more

Table of Contents

  • Chapter 1 The Science
  • Chapter 2 The History of Regulation
  • Chapter 3 Administrative Law
  • Chapter 4 Regulation of Wetlands and Waters of the United States
  • Chapter 5 Additions and Discharges
  • Chapter 6 Section 404 Permits
  • Chapter 7 Mitigation
  • Chapter 8 EPA's Role in Permitting and EPA's Veto Authority
  • Chapter 9 States' Roles and State Programs
  • Chapter 10 Administrative Appeals, Judicial Review and Enforcement
  • Chapter 11 Regulatory Takings

Ancillary Material

  • CALI's eLangdell® Press
  • About the Book

    This is the revised, fourth edition of The Wetlands Law Course Source. It can be used as the primary text for a two credit seminar or as a supplemental text to cover wetlands material in an environmental law, natural resources law, or water law course. In addition, the administrative law chapter can be used as a supplement in a range of administrative law-related courses, such as environmental law, health law, labor law, immigration law, and others, to introduce basic administrative law concepts.

    Unlike traditional casebooks or coursebooks, a “course source” includes resources to train students in all three apprenticeships identified by the Carnegie Foundation in its influential report on legal education, Educating Lawyers: Preparation for the Profession of Law. To address the knowledge apprenticeship, the Wetlands Law Course Source includes all of the traditional elements of a casebook or coursebook (cases, commentary, notes and questions) and includes several hypotheticals and problem exercises that focus on reinforcing wetlands law. In addition, as one of the many forms of summative and formative assessment included in the book, every chapter includes one or more CALI exercise as a “quiz” to reinforce the material covered in the chapter.  To address the skills apprenticeship, the Wetlands Law Course Source includes sixteen separate legal research exercises, several drafting exercises, a negotiation exercise, and an interviewing and counseling exercise. To address the values apprenticeship, the Course Source includes several professionalism scenarios, with questions related to the scenarios.

    The Course Source also incorporates a wealth of audio/video materials and external links to bring the cases, disputes and materials in the book to life, including the audio for the oral arguments in most of the principal cases excerpted in the book, a Google map identifying the location of the properties involved in all of the principal cases excerpted in the book, decision documents, administrative orders, property maps, pictures, local media coverage and other background materials for the principal cases. While the principal cases have been edited, the book includes links to the full unedited versions of almost all of the cases in the book. Throughout each chapter, there are several “Resource” sections that identify reports, databases, audio or video materials, government documents, and other materials that are relevant to the topics covered in the chapter.  In addition, the book contains links to interviews that the author conducted regarding wetlands issues with attorneys who work with local communities and with the Department of Justice, the National Wildlife Federation, and the Environmental Council of the States. The links in the book have also been re-purposed as a web-based library of wetlands teaching resources, which is accessible at: https://www.envirolawteachers.com/wetlands-law-a-course-source.html  

    About the Contributors

    Author

    Stephen M. Johnson is the W.F.G. Professor of Law at Mercer University Law School in Macon, Georgia.  He received his J.D. from Villanova University School of Law and an LL.M. in environmental law from the George Washington University Law School.   Prior to teaching, he served as an attorney for the Bureau of Regulatory Counsel in the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources (now DEP) and as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Division, Environmental Defense Section, where he worked on environmental litigation.

    He joined the Mercer faculty in 1993 and served as the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs from 2002-2012.  He specializes in Environmental Law, but has also taught Torts, Statutory Law, Administrative Law, and Dispute Resolution.   His scholarship focuses on wetlands, environmental justice, economics and the environment, technology and the law, and administrative law.  He has authored several CALI exercises on environmental law and has served on the Board of Directors of CALI since 1998.   

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