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ENVIRONMENTAL LAW, 1999
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ENVIRONMENTAL LAW, 1999
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Second Problem Set/Exam
INSTRUCTIONS: The following questions are to be answered by each study group in the class. Print a copy of this Web page. Enter your two letter study group code and each of your names in the table, below. Answer the first ten questions by highlighting with a colored, transparent marker the section of the answer table you think is correct. Answer the last question in an essay, word-processed on a separate piece of white paper in 12 point font. The essay should consist of three or four paragraphs and is not, under any circumstances, to be longer than one page, single-spaced. It should refer in the text to supporting cases but need not have footnotes. Each study group must turn in the exam and the essay, stapled together, at the beginning of the class period on Tuesday, February 16th, 1999 (and Happy Valentine's Day!). Correct answers to questions 1-10 are worth five points. The essay is worth 10 points. If your study group is also publishing its answers on the Web, (a) write in the last row of the table the URL of your study group's Web site and (b) to avoid cheating, DO NOT publish your answers to the Web before Friday evening.
| STUDY GROUP IDENTIFICATION CODE (e.g. HN): __ __ |
| Student Names (in block capitals): |
| 1. |
| 2. |
| 3. |
| URL for Study Group Web Site: |
1. Under what provision of the United States Constitution did the Court in Kleppe v. New Mexico (1976) uphold broad federal authority to manage the public lands?
| a. the Cession Clause | b. the Property Clause | c. the Commerce Clause |
2. Find a copy of Title 16 of the United States Code, either on the Web or in a library. If wildlife and fish uses are counted as separate elements in a listing of the itemized and authorized multiple uses that Congress has recognized for the national forests, how many multiple uses are there, now, according to the Multiple Use and Sustained Yield Act, as amended by 16 U.S.C. 1604(e)(1)?
| a. the same two sanctioned by the original Organic Act | b. the six sanctioned by MUSYA plus one other | c. the nine first sanctioned by the CMUA of 1964 | d. the MUSYA has been repealed by NFMA |
3. Putting together what you learn about clearcutting from the Monogahela case, the Texas Committee case, and the additional information in the text about Sierra Club v. Espy (1994) how would you summarize the law of clearcutting as it stands today?
| a. clear cutting is allowed in national forests, essentially without restrictions or restraints | b. there is a legal presumption against clearcutting that must be overcome in NFMA planning | c. the Forest Service can use clearcutting at its discretion, provided it takes a hard look at the direct and indirect impacts of its decisions |
4. The Bureau of Land Management program described at http://www.adoptahorse.blm.gov/ is operated pursuant to the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.
| a. True | b. False |
5. When the Bureau of Land Management makes decisions about the development of "locatable" minerals Congress has said that the agency must take steps "to prevent unnecessary and undue degradation of the public lands." What statute requires this and is the basis for the Bureau's so-called "3809 Regulations"? Before you answer this question review the legal materials accessible from http://www.blm.gov/nhp/Commercial/SolidMineral/3809/
| a. the 1872 Mining Law | b. the NEPA | c. the FLPMA |
6. There is now statutory authority for the closing of grazing lands that are severely degraded, for the imposition of grazing fees, and for the provision of incentives for better stewardship of range lands. Where is this authority to be found?
| a. the Forest and Rangeland Resources Planning Act | b. the Federal Land Policy and Management Act | c. the Surface Resources Act | d. the Public Rangelands Improvement Act |
7. The lecture on wilderness law was careful to establish that most wilderness areas (excluding the approximately 9 million acres of "instant" wilderness created in 1964) must be managed under the particular provisions of the statutes that created them. Is the same true for units of the national park system?
| a. Yes | b. No |
8. Is it legal to hunt and fish in a designated wilderness area?
| a. Yes | b. No |
9. The text traces the evolution of American wildlife law, noting how the state ownership doctrine has steadily been eroded as Congress has asserted federal jurisdiction over wildlife through the commerce power, the treaty power, and the property clause of the Constitution. State wildlife law is still important, because the states are still regarded as trustees if not owners of the fish and wildlife populations within their borders. State wildlife law is subject, however, to several important constitutional restraints, one of which, illustrated in a federal case with local roots, United States v. Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District (1982), is known as pre-emption analysis. What is the basis for this in the Constitution?
| a. the Fifth Amendment | b. the Fourteenth Amendment | c. Article VI |
10. What is the statutory basis for habitat conservation planning as it is now practised by agencies of the federal government?
| a. ESA, section 7(a)(1) | b. ESA, section 9(a)(1) | c. ESA, section 10 | d. ESA, section 4 |
ESSAY QUESTION: On a separate piece of paper prepared according to the instructions, above, and stapled to your exam when you hand it in, write a short legal memorandum addressing three issues: (1) what is the legal basis under federal law for listing a species as endangered? (2) what legal and practical arguments have agencies offered for failing to list species? and (3) using just one or two specific examples, drawn from the text or Web resources, what legal strategies and arguments have proven successful in forcing listing decisions?
GW-S/January 1999.