The Roger Tory Peterson Institute (RTPI) and the Robert H. Jackson Center (RHJC) both promote the legacy of men who cared deeply about the environment. We are pleased to offer a panel discussion on the impact of environmental laws on the conservation and protection of species as part of RTPI’s The Art of the Osprey exhibition. The discussion will take place on Thursday, June 24, 7 pm EST, both online and in-person at RTPI, located at 311 Curtis Street, Jamestown, NY. Participation via Zoom is free. There is a suggested donation of $10 for those attending in person, which will include a guided tour of the exhibition, The Art of the Osprey.
To participate virtually, click here to register. To register to attend in person, email events@rtpi.org.
Roger Tory Peterson was among the first to identify DDT as the cause for the catastrophic population crash of ospreys, bald eagles, and other bird species. But it took strong legislative and legal action to get DDT banned in the United States. Although ospreys are no longer considered “Endangered” in New York State, they are still included in the “Special Concern” category and the use of various pesticides continues to be an area of concern in the environmental and legal worlds.
RHJC President Kristan McMahon will lead the panel discussion among three leading experts in the field: Polly Hampton, Amanda Rodewald, and Freedom Smith.
Polly Hampton
Environmental and natural resources attorney Polly Hampton offers practical guidance to help clients better understand how environmental complexities affect their companies and how to mitigate associated risks. Focused on contaminated site cleanups, brownfield redevelopment and environmental risk management in mergers and acquisitions, Polly counsels a wide range of businesses—from mining, manufacturing and energy to real estate and project developers—on remediation, permitting, compliance and enforcement matters under federal and state environmental laws.
Amanda Rodewald
As both a professor in DNR and the Director of Conservation Science at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Amanda Rodewald works to generate, apply, and communicate science in ways that advance understanding of ecology and also support conservation. Her research seeks to understand how global change impacts ecosystems across multiple spatiotemporal scales and levels of biological organization and, as such, touches on a variety of sub-disciplines, including conservation biology, community ecology, landscape ecology, population demography, behavioral ecology, and ecological restoration. She tightly integrates her research and outreach efforts to inform policy and management, and as such, regularly interacts with government agencies, conservation organizations, and private landowners. Among her national leadership activities, she has served on the Science Advisory Board of US EPA.
Freedom Smith
Freedom S.N. Smith is a partner in the Ice Miller Environmental group and works in the areas of regulatory compliance and risk management, environmental law, natural resources and sustainability law, agricultural law, environmental and toxic tort litigation, procurement, and general litigation. Her clients are involved in a variety of industries, including manufacturing, agriculture, energy, real estate, and construction. Freedom also advises and represents entities and individuals with regard to regulatory and compliance matters; managing environmental liability in business transactions, including the transfer of operations may be contaminated or potentially regulated by environmental laws; business certifications, and procurement. She works with numerous corporations, municipalities and utilities on all aspects of environmental compliance, air and water permitting, wastewater discharges, responding to local, state and federal agencies, dealing with citizen complaints, Brownfields redevelopment, and policy issues.