Description

Overview

In November 2022, the Washington state Commissioner of Public Lands, Hilary Franz, stunned the aquaculture world by declaring that Washington’s public aquatic lands “will not longer be home to commercial finfish aquaculture.”

In response, the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, a sovereign Indian tribe with plans to engage in net pen aquaculture, filed suit in Thurston County (WA) Superior Court against the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Hilary Franz, alleging that the Commissioner’s Order dated November 17, 2022, was “a step beyond legislative intent.”

Five months later, the Northwest Aquaculture Alliance filed a Motion to Intervene, which (despite significant pushback from DNR) the Court granted.

Recently, the Wild Fish Conservancy (WFC) announced that they seek to intervene on behalf of DNR and Hilary Franz—a move that will assuredly pit peer-reviewed aquaculture science against anti-aquaculture science fiction.

In the first of NAA’s new online webinars, the legal team for NWAA and the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe will discuss the key issues in the litigation, including a potential precedent-setting outcome. We hope you will join us for an industry-only discussion of what’s at stake, and what it could mean for the entire aquaculture industry.

Speaker Information

Doug Steding, Ph.D., J.D.

Doug Steding is Managing Partner of Northwest Resource Law, where he represents businesses that form the core of the Pacific Northwest economy, including aquaculture, marine transportation and ship building, oil and gas companies, and other natural resource-based businesses.

His litigation practice includes appearances before Federal and state courts including the Washington State Supreme Court. He holds a Ph.D. degree in Earth Sciences/Geochemistry from UC Santa Cruz, and a J.D. degree from the University of Washington.

Greg A. Hibbard, J.D.

Greg Hibbard’s practice focuses on seeking solutions where the environment, science, and business intersect with the law. He earned his J.D. degree at the University of Washington and a Master of Laws degree from Portland, Oregon-based Northwestern School of Law, Lewis and Clark College, in Environmental, Natural Resources, and Energy Law.

Lauren Rasmussen, J.D. 

Lauren Rasmussen is the owner of her own law firm and who has for the last 20 years dedicated her practice to serving northwest Tribes in appellate, state, federal, and county litigation, and representation in the areas of treaty rights, environmental , land-use, natural resources law, and legislative issues. She also serves as General Counsel to the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe. Lauren graduated Magna Cum Laude from Seattle University School of Law and is currently pursuing her LLM Health Law Degree from University of Washington. She is admitted before the U.S. Supreme Court, Western and Eastern District of Washington Federal Courts, and all Washington State Courts.

Sponsor the Webinar! 

For $100, sponsors will have their business logo and website link advertised on the Event Page and Registration Page, in all Event Emails and during the live webinar. 

Contact Charlie to sponsor this webinar or a future one!