REVIEWS
“Environmental Law for Biologists fills an important niche, providing a solid schooling of environmental law to scientists who desire to apply their knowledge to real world problems—whether combating the global extinction crisis, managing natural resources and ecosystems in a sustainable fashion, or developing adaptations to global climate change. Well written, making very nice use of both key legal and science sources, this book does an excellent job of discussing many key environmental statutes from a scientific point of view, making it useful to students and instructors of ecology, wildlife biology, or natural resource management, as well as to professionals moving into more applied areas.”
— Ross T. Jones, Dartmouth College, coauthor of "Law and Ecology: The Rise of the Ecosystem Regime"
“This is a wonderful book. It will be an invaluable reference not just for biologists, but for all sorts of people who want a lucid, concise introduction to environmental law and to the crucial and pressing public policy issues that arise at the intersection of science and law.”
— Amy Sinden, Temple University Beasley School of Law
“All ecologists are aware that humans are having an enormous impact on the natural environment, and that societally binding measures are urgently needed to keep in check or reduce such impacts. But few ecologists have any sense of the scope of the environmental laws and regulations that modulate how impacts in practice are reduced, and how such laws do—or do not—reflect understanding of the natural processes governing ecological systems. This well-crafted and insightful book will help ecological and environmental scientists and policy makers to navigate through the often murky seas of environmental law, ranging from the protection of endangered species, to the management of land, to the wise use of freshwater and marine resources, to water and air pollution, and the looming problem of global climate change. The book should also help lawyers perceive how the law interdigitates with environmental science. It moreover at many points helps to sketch potentially valuable avenues for future research. This is an enormously valuable contribution to a truly important arena of human endeavor.”
— Robert D. Holt, University of Florida Arthur R. Marshall, Jr., Ecological Sciences Laboratory
“This book differs from the more traditional environmental law primers on the market in some important respects. First, the substantive breadth of Law for Biologists is vast. Whereas a standard text used in undergraduate courses might cover a combined ten statutes and treaties, Kimbrell describes four times that many, touching on topics, such as zoning, that the standard primers do not cover. The advantage of such an approach lies in comprehensiveness. It is unlikely that an ecologist will come across a federal law or international treaty that is not set out in the book. . . . Kimbrell incorporates ecological knowledge throughout the book. He describes relevant research on wetlands restoration and wildlife reintroduction, for example. Perhaps more important, he points out where empirical research is lacking. . . . This is a well-researched and well-written reference book. If an ecologist or wildlife biologist seeks a handy paperback reference, this will prove a valuable resource.”
— James Salzman, Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and UCLA Law School, BioScience
“Any ecologist conducting research in our increasingly human-impacted natural world, whether working within academia or for non-for-profit or other organizations, must deal with environmental law and its mandates. The author of this well-written book, a lawyer, provides a practical guide to help scientists navigate through what often seems like a quagmire of environmental laws that can slow research implementation on public and private lands. Organized around ecosystem types and land tenure, this thorough text systematically examines each law from a working ecologist's perspective.”
— Ecology
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Boxes
Preface
Chapter One: Introduction to Environmental Law
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226333717.003.0001
[environmental statutes, value-judgments, federal agencies, Chevron deference]
Chapter 1 explains how the three branches of government use science when writing, implementing, and interpreting environmental statutes. When writing environmental statutes, Congress often includes a requirement that federal agencies use science when making decisions. While this seems laudable, the requirement to use science is frequently a way for Congress to sidestep having to make difficult value-judgments about how to protect the environment. Federal agencies have considerable scientific expertise, but they may be tempted to use that expertise to make decisions that further agency goals while cloaking those decisions in the language of science. Courts tend to have little scientific expertise. As a consequence, courts often defer to the scientific judgments made by federal agencies, often called Chevron deference. The chapter concludes by arguing that environmental law and science often conflict with each other because science ultimately attempts to understand the environment as an interdependent whole that evolves over long spans of time, while laws attempt to resolve seemingly discrete problems that are occurring in the present. (pages 1 - 22)
I. Species
Chapter Two: Wild Plants and Animals
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226333717.003.0002
[Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Lacey Act, invasive species, Plant Protection Act, public trust doctrine, sport hunting]
This chapter examines the environmental laws meant to regulate the management and protection of wild plant and animal populations that have large viable populations (Chapter 3 explains laws protecting threatened and endangered species). One of the oldest and most important statutes for protecting bird species is the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and its implementation and shortcomings are discussed first. The chapter then turns to how federal statutes, such as the Lacey Act and Plant Protection Act, do and do not help to prevent the spread of invasive species. The chapter finishes by examining the role of the states in managing and protecting wildlife, focusing on the public trust doctrine and the regulation of sport hunting. (pages 25 - 54)
Chapter Three: Threatened and Endangered Species
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226333717.003.0003
[Endangered Species Act, extinction risk, critical habitat, recovery plans, jeopardy, take, habitat conservation plan, conservation banking]
This chapter begins by explaining the process scientists use to determine a species' extinction risk, and compares that to the process used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. If the Fish and Wildlife Service determines a species is in danger of extinction, it may list the species as "endangered" or "threatened," and the species may then receive protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The chapter explains that the ESA protects listed species from being killed or harassed (called take), and prevents federal agencies from undertaking any activity that puts the continued existence of the species in jeopardy. Additionally, the ESA requires the Fish and Wildlife Service to designate critical habitat and to formulate recovery plans for listed species. The chapter continues by describing how landowners may obtain exemptions from some of the requirements of the ESA by obtaining an incidental take permit and creating a habitat conservation plan. The chapter explains how landowners are increasingly fulfilling the obligations of their habitat conservation plans through the use of conservation banking. The chapter concludes with a brief assessment of the success of the ESA in protecting species facing extinction. (pages 55 - 77)
Chapter Four: International Environmental Laws Protecting Biodiversity
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226333717.003.0004
[international law, CITES, International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, Convention on Biological Diversity, Bonn Convention, GATT, WTO, biodiversity hot spots]
This chapter begins with an introduction to international law and a description of how countries enforce international treaties. The chapter then moves on to an examination of international treaties that are primarily concerned with protecting biodiversity and endangered species. CITES is described, and the chapter explains how the treaty places limits on international trade of endangered plant and animal species. The chapter also examines the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, describing how the treaty was used to create a whaling moratorium, but left open large loopholes to that moratorium. The chapter briefly describes two international treaties that the United States is not a party to, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Bonn Convention. The chapter continues with a look at treaties that are primarily concerned with promoting trade between the United States and other countries, but that contain provisions for protecting the environment, such as the GATT and WTO. The chapter concludes with a discussion of whether international law is currently capable of protecting biodiversity hot spots around the world. (pages 78 - 102)
II. Land
Chapter Five: Federal Public Lands
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226333717.003.0005
[property clause, National Park System, National Forest System, BLM lands, National Wildlife Refuge System, National Wilderness Preservation System, multiple-use, NEPA, environmental impact statement]
This chapter begins with an explanation for how the Property Clause of the Constitution gives the federal government authority to manage federal public lands however it sees fit. The chapter then describes the major categories of federal lands, which include the National Park System, National Forest System, BLM Lands, National Wildlife Refuge System, and National Wilderness Preservation System. The statutes and management philosophies regulating each category are described. The chapter explains that Congress requires most federal lands to be managed under the concept of multiple-use, meaning that federal agencies must manage the lands for uses that include human recreation, species and ecosystem protection, and natural resource extraction. The chapter concludes with a description of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA is a statute that requires federal agencies to write environmental impact statements (EISs) for all major federal actions. All of the federal agencies discussed in the chapter are required to write EISs for almost all of the major actions they undertake in managing federal public lands. (pages 105 - 144)
Chapter Six: Private Lands
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226333717.003.0006
[Cropland, urban land, farm bill, Conservation Reserve Program, Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, land use planning, zoning, conservation subdivision, Superfund Act, conservation easements]
This chapter begins by categorizing the different types of land use in the U.S. The chapter focuses on lands that are used for cropland and urban land. A discussion of the laws and ecology of agriculture are presented, including an explanation of the farm bill and the Conservation Reserve Program. The chapter also includes an examination of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act and the Toxic Substances Control Act in the context of farming. The chapter then discusses urban land and land use planning. This includes an explanation of how zoning laws, conservation subdivisions, and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (Superfund Act) all influence the use of urban land. The chapter concludes with a description of conservation easements, which are a popular tool for preserving ecological resources on private lands. (pages 145 - 174)
III. Water
Chapter Seven: Polluting Lakes, Streams, and Rivers
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226333717.003.0007
[Clean Water Act, NPDES, point source, nonpoint source, bioassessment, thermal pollution, dams, aquatic ecosystems, fracking]
This chapter focuses on the provisions of the Clean Water Act (CWA). The CWA makes it illegal to dump pollutants into a waterbody, but such dumping is legal if the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issues a NPDES permit first. The chapter then explores the ecological ramifications of the CWA regulating point sources of water pollution differently than nonpoint sources. The chapter also examines water quality standards set by the states. The means by which the EPA determines the health of waterbodies, called bioassessment, is explained. The chapter then delves into the law and ecology of water withdrawals from streams and lakes, such as for power plant cooling and irrigation of crops. Besides withdrawing water from lakes and rivers, power plant cooling may also result in thermal pollution in those waterbodies, and the ecological ramifications of thermal pollution are examined. The chapter then considers the effects of dams on aquatic ecosystems. The chapter concludes with a brief look at the laws and ecology of hydraulic fracturing (fracking). (pages 177 - 209)
Chaper Eight: Filling In Streams and Wetlands
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226333717.003.0008
[Clean Water Act, wetlands, Rapanos v. United States, section 404, mountaintop removal mining, compensatory mitigation, Ramsar Convention]
This chapter begins with a discussion of the Supreme Court cases that determine whether the Clean Water Act (CWA) applies to a specific waterbody. The most important of these cases is Rapanos v. United States. The chapter then turns to an examination of how the CWA regulates the dredging and filling of waterbodies. A permit is often required to dredge or fill a waterbody, and these permits are called section 404 permits after the section of the CWA establishing them. The chapter then explores the ecological impacts of mountaintop removal mining. The chapter next explains that when a developer destroys a waterbody, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers often requires the developer to compensate for that destruction by restoring a different waterbody. The ecological impacts of compensatory mitigation are discussed. The chapter concludes with a look at the Ramsar Convention, which is an international treaty with the goal of preserving wetlands around the world. (pages 210 - 239)
Chapter Nine: Oceans and Coasts
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226333717.003.0009
[United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Clean Water Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, Magnuson-Stevens Act, marine protected areas, Ocean Dumping Act, Coastal Zone Management Act]
This chapter begins with an explanation of how international law carves up the ocean into different zones through the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Following the discussion of international law is a description of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The statute manages marine mammal populations, but also helps protect them from commercial fishing operations. Next, the chapter explains the laws directly regulating commercial fisheries, the most important being the Magnuson-Stevens Act. This is followed by a discussion of the law and ecology of marine protected areas. The chapter concludes by examining the statutes that regulate the pollutants that enter the ocean, including the Clean Water Act, the Ocean Dumping Act, and the Coastal Zone Management Act. (pages 240 - 274)
IV. Air
Chapter Ten: Air Pollution
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226333717.003.0010
[Clean Air Act, National Ambient Air Quality Standards, criteria pollutants, acid rain, Title IV, transport rule, mercury]
This chapter begins with an overview of the provisions in the Clean Air Act (CAA). The CAA requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to create National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for pollutants that may endanger public health or welfare. The EPA has created NAAQS for six air pollutants: ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and lead. These six pollutants are called criteria pollutants. The remainder of the chapter is concerned with the ecological effects of the six criteria pollutants. The chapter takes a particular focus on acid rain and the resulting acidification of soils and waterbodies. The chapter concludes by describing the federal regulations meant to reduce acid rain, including the Title IV cap-and-trade program, the Transport Rule, and the Mercury and Air Toxic Standards. (pages 277 - 301)
Chapter Eleven: Global Climate Change
DOI: 10.7208/chicago/9780226333717.003.0011
[greenhouse gases, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Kyoto Protocol, Montreal Protocol, CFCs, Clean Air Act, Massachusetts v. EPA, cap-and-trade]
This chapter begins with a brief synopsis of the science of climate change. The chapter then discusses international treaties meant to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the Kyoto Protocol. This discussion also includes an explanation of the Montreal Protocol, which limited the use of CFCs but has also helped to mitigate climate change because CFCs are such potent greenhouse gases. The chapter then turns to the use of the Clean Air Act (CAA) as a tool to limit greenhouse gas emissions. This includes an explanation of the case Massachusetts v. EPA in which the Supreme Court held that greenhouse gases could be classified as pollutants under the CAA. The chapter concludes with an examination of the regional cap-and-trade programs that have been joined by several states to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in those states. (pages 302 - 316)
Appendix
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
