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Pamela Andersen has a degree in biology from Nebraska Wesleyan University and a J.D. from the University of Nebraska College of Law. She began her career at the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality and the United States Water Resources Council. She served as an assistant attorney general advising the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and as deputy general counsel for Missouri Department of Conservation before coming to the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources as legal counsel. She has been general counsel for NDNR since August 2006. |
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Jean E. Angell is legal counsel for the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources. She graduated from the University of Nebraska College of Law and began practice as a Deputy Madison County Attorney. At NDNR she provides legal advice to the Permits and Registrations section; reviewing investigations and bringing administrative actions or referring for criminal prosecution; and representing the agency at administrative hearings. |
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David Barfield, P.E., is Chief Engineer, Division of Water Resources, Kansas Department of Agriculture. He graduated from the University of Kansas with a B.S. in Civil Engineering in 1978. He then worked three years consulting in Minnesota and three years in a developing nation of southern Africa as a water resources engineer. Barfield returned to Kansas in 1984 on the staff of the Division of Water Resources (DWR), Kansas Department of Agriculture. He earned a M.S. in Water Resources Engineering in 1991 from the University of Kansas. At DWR performed special studies to guide water management decisions, served as head of the Dam Safety Unit, and lead technical efforts related to Kansas’ interstate water issues, primarily working on disputes regarding the Republican River, the Arkansas River, and the Missouri River. In June 2007 he was appointed Acting Chief Engineer and in November 2007 was appointed DWR’s fifth Chief Engineer since its inception in 1927. |
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Ron Bishop was born and raised on farms in south central and eastern Nebraska and earned B.S. degrees in Water Resource Management and Geography. He was hired as General Manager of the Central Platte Natural Resources District, Grand Island, when the district was formed in 1972 and has remained in that position since that time. Prior to 1972 he spent four years as manager of the Mid Platte Valley Watershed, an organization dealing with flooding in South Central Nebraska, two years managing the Douglas County Soil and Water Conservation District, Omaha, and seven years with the Soil Conservation Service in South Central and Western Nebraska.
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Don Blankenau graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1983 with a B.S. in Natural Resources Management, Water Specialty. In 1987 he graduated from the UNL College of Law and then served as legal counsel and assistant director to the Nebraska Department of Water Resources until 1991. While there, he briefly served as that agency’s Acting Director. Since 1999 he has been in private practice, focusing exclusively on water, natural resources and environmental issues. Along with other work, he presently provides representation to Florida and Nebraska in interstate river disputes. He has authored numerous articles including the Nebraska section of "Waters and Water Rights," LexisNexis (2007), and "Ecosystem Protection Versus Immigration: The Coming Conflict," Great Plains Natural Resources Journal, Fall 2007.
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Ann Salomon Bleed, Ph.D., P.E. is currently Senior Program Manager for CDR Associates, Boulder, Colo., a facilitation and mediation firm with a major practice area in facilitating planning efforts and resolving conflicts involving the allocation and use of water and other natural systems. Bleed began her career in academe, teaching and doing research on the integrated management of water and natural resources. Eager to be more involved in the real-world management of water resources, she became State Hydrologist for Nebraska Department of Water Resources from 1988 to 2000 and was Deputy Director of the Department of Natural Resources from 2000 to 2005 where she was responsible for overseeing the more complex technical projects related to water rights permitting, water transfers and administration, the development and review of water management plans and technical support for Nebraska in the administration of interstate decrees and compacts. Bleed also served as a representative for the State of Nebraska on numerous interstate compact committees and as a negotiator for the state in three complex interstate water disputes, two of which were before the U. S. Supreme Court. Bleed holds a B.A. from Earlham College (1964), M.S. from Pennsylvania State University (1966), M.S. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (1982) and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1974). |
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James Boyd, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, Resources for the Future, is an economist dedicated to improved conservation and environmental protection. His research emphasizes the need to objectively track and evaluate environmental outcomes and trends. Development of a Green GDP, national indicator systems and ecological assessment endpoints are his current focus. As a policy analyst, Boyd emphasizes the need to better coordinate economic and ecological research to improve the practical performance of green incentives, markets, and investments. Boyd received a Ph.D. in Applied Microeconomics from the Wharton School and has served on National Academy of Science and other advisory panels, including most recently the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Committee on Valuing Ecological Systems and Services. He was a Visiting Professor at Stanford University (2007-2008) and Washington University in St. Louis (1996) and was Director of the Energy and Natural Resources Division at Resources for the Future (2002-2007). |
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David S. Brookshire is a Professor of Economics at the University of New Mexico and Director of the "Science Impact Laboratory for Policy and Economics" at UNM. He serves on the Executive Board of the Sustainability of semi-Arid Hydrologic and Riparian Areas Science and Technology Center at the University of Arizona and is a former Policy Sciences Editor of Water Resources Research. Brookshire has been a contributor to the development of the contingent valuation method for valuing non-market commodities. He specializes in studies pertaining to public policy issues in the natural resource, environmental and natural hazards areas. He has completed studies pertaining to seismic building codes, earthquake prediction impacts, environmental regulations, endangered species, air pollution, the effect of seismic zoning and the value of geologic information and water. Current research interests include ecosystems valuation, seismic risk and natural hazards issues, endangered species, urban hazards, field and laboratory experiments for the estimation of disaggregated demand of industrial and consumer water users, the value of water in non-market settings, western water market structures, modeling for exploring alternative institution and behavioral characteristics of water leasing markets and urban boundary issues relating to the preservation of open space.
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Dave Cozad is Regional Counsel at U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7, Kansas City, where he leads a team of 35 attorneys responsible for enforcement and implementation of federal environmental statutes in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. Prior to becoming Regional Counsel, he served five years as Branch Chief in the Office of Regional Counsel, where his duties included supervising all legal aspects of Clean Water Act matters handled by the Region, including permits, water quality standards, and enforcement. Cozad has been with EPA for 17 years. He received his law degree from the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia. |
| Suzanna Glover-Ettrich is a staff attorney with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). She received a J.D. from Creighton University School of Law, where she was a member of Law Review and International Moot Court Board. She is a member of the Nebraska State Bar Association and has been admitted to practice before the Nebraska Supreme Court, Federal courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Glover-Ettrich’s practice focuses on public health law at DHHS, providing legal support to the Office of Drinking Water and Environmental Health, the Environmental Health Unit, the Lifespan Health Services Unit, the EMS/Trauma System, Minority Health, and Vital Records. She also supports 15 professional licensure boards, including the Advisory Council on Public Water Supply and the Water Well Standards and Contractors board. In addition to her experience with DHHS, Glover-Ettrich was in private practice, with an emphasis on employment law, and was an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Nebraska, representing the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission and the Department of Corrections. |
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Christopher Goemans is an assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Colorado State University. He has served as a management team member for the NOAA-sponsored Western Water Assessment since 2005. Goemans selected past research includes investigating impact of water transfers from agricultural to non-agricultural use; relationship between climatic variability and effectiveness of various water management schemes; optimal demand management strategies during periods of drought; and most recently, how access to information on household water use and rate structures impact decision-making of residential water customers. Recent publications include “Residential Water Demand Management: Lessons from Aurora, Colorado” and “The Simple Analytics of Demand Hardening” both published in the Journal of the American Water Resources Association. Goemans previously served as senior associate with Harvey Economics where he collaborated in a cost-benefit analysis study of a major water pipeline project; evaluated the water demand forecasting techniques used by Denver Water; and conducted a water rights valuation for a large commercial water user. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Colorado. |
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Noel Gollehon has been a Senior Agricultural Economist with the Resource Economics and Social Science Division (RESSD), Natural Resources Conservation Service, since January 2008. At NRCS, he served as Acting Director of RESSD for seven months while working on Farm Bill development and implementation. Prior to moving to NRCS, Gollehon was with the Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, for 21 years. His research at ERS focused on water quantity (national and regional irrigation water efficiency, technology and water use) and water quality (confined livestock waste) issues in agriculture. While at ERS he led award-winning research teams and was called on as a water-use expert for USDA, other government agencies and other groups such as the National Academy of Sciences. Gollehon has a Ph.D. in agricultural economics from the University of Nebraska and B.S. and M.S. degrees from New Mexico State University. |
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Ellen Hanak is Senior Fellow and Director of Research at the Public Policy Institute of California, where she holds the Thomas C. Sutton chair in policy research. Her career has focused on the economics of natural resource management and agricultural development. At PPIC, she has launched a research program on water policy and has published reports and articles on water marketing, water and land use planning, water conservation, and management of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Other areas of expertise include infrastructure finance and climate change. Hanak was a principal investigator of the PPIC study, California 2025: Taking on the Future (2005). Before joining PPIC in 2001, she held positions with the French agricultural research system, the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, and the World Bank. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Maryland. |
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Michael Hanemann is Chancellor’s Professor, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley since 1999. Prior to his current position he was Professor, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California, Berkeley from 1995- 1999. Hanemann has been a UC, Berkeley faculty member since 1976. His research interests include non-market valuation, environmental economics and policy, water pricing and management, demand modeling for market research and policy design, the economics of irreversibility and adaptive management, and welfare economics. Hanemann holds a B.A. Oxford University, England (1965), M.Sc. London School of Economics (1967), M.A. Harvard University (1973) and Ph.D., Harvard University (1978). Among his many personal awards is the Lifetime Award for Outstanding Achieve ment, European Association of Environmental & Resource Economists, 2008; and Honorary Ph.D., Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 2003. |
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Michael J. Hayes is Director, National Drought Mitigation Center and Associate Professor, School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Hayes became Director of the NDMC in August 2007 and has worked at the center since 1995. NDMC currently has 23 faculty and staff working on local, tribal, state, national, and international drought- and water-related issues. Hayes is also an Associate Professor in UNL’s School of Natural Resources where his responsibilities include conducting research on the economic, environmental, and social impacts of drought; developing new drought monitoring and impact assessment methodologies; assisting with the development and review of drought plans; and helping to organize and conduct drought workshops and conferences. Hayes received a Bachelors Degree in Meteorology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Masters and Doctoral Degrees in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Missouri-Columbia. |
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Gary W. Hergert is a Professor of Agronomy and Horticulture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Panhandle Research and Extension Center, Scottsbluff. Hergert joined UNL in1975 as a soil specialist at the West Central Research and Extension Center, North Platte, where he also served as District Director, beginning in1997 before returning to the academic ranks in 2004. The Colorado native received a B.S. from Colorado State University in 1967 and M.S. in 1970. He received a Ph.D. from Cornell University, Ithaca, NY in 1975. Hergert's research area is soil and nutrient management. Past research concentrated on nitrogen management in irrigated and dryland systems (conventional and no-till) and limited irrigation no-till cropping systems. Research and extension efforts focused on improving N management to reduce nitrate-N leaching effects on ground water quality. Current research focuses on soil and fertilizer management to improve crop production efficiency for major and minor crops in western Nebraska and he currently leads a major research and demonstration project on limited irrigation no-till conservation cropping systems for western Nebraska including the Pumpkin Creek Watershed. Hergert is a member and Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy and the Soil Science Society of America. |
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John Holz received his Ph.D. in Aquatic Ecology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and joined UNL’s School of Natural Resources faculty as a Research Assistant Professor in 1999. His research is in the area of surface water quality and management, specifically the development of lake/stream classification methodology, nutrient criteria development, lake restoration, and freshwater algal ecology. Holz established UNL’s Water Quality Extension Program that provides information on common midwestern lake management issues to lake owners, users, and managers. He also teaches classes on lake ecology and management, including courses at UNL’s Cedar Point Biological Station, near Ogallala. |
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Suat Irmak received his Ph.D. from the University of Florida. He joined the faculty of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Biological Systems Engineering Department in 2003 where he has statewide responsibilities in soil and water resources engineering and provides leadership in developing UNL’s South Central Agricultural Laboratory water management research facilities, a premier center pivot, subsurface-drip irrigation, and evapotranspiration research facility. He is the leader of a team effort that established the Nebraska Agricultural Water Management Demonstration Network (NAWMDN) to create an environment for communication and idea exchange on current water resources issues to increase the adoption of new technologies for conservation of water and energy resources. He currently serves as the vice chair of the ASCE Task Committee on Standardization of Reference Evapotranspiration and as a chair of WERA-202 (Western Regional Committee on Use of Climate Information in Irrigation Management). |
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Bruce Johnson is a faculty member in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Department of Agricultural Economics. He teaches courses in natural resource and environmental economics, community economics, and agricultural/environmental ethics. His research interests are in natural resource management and valuation, regional economics, and community development. |
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Michael C. Klein practices with the firm of Anderson, Klein, Swan and Brewster, Holdrege. He is a graduate of the University of Nebraska College of Law (1977). And holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Nebraska at Kearney (1974). Klein’s experience in water law includes serving as Special Assistant Attorney General for purposes of trial preparation and trial of Nebraska vs. Wyoming, #108 original; counsel of record for an Amicus in Nebraska vs. Wyoming; counsel of record for an applicant for Amicus status in Kansas vs. Nebraska; and representation of a party or parties with respect to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission licensing, the Prairie Bend Project, the Twin Valley Project, the construction of Plum Creek Reservoir, the Landmark project, applications U-2 and U-12, the Central Platte NRD instream flow Water Right Applications, Water Right Applications A-17111 and A-17112, the Canaday Steam Plant Water Right Application, the Cooperative Agreement and Platte River Program, transfers of appropriations, Clean Water Act Section 404 permits, Clean Water Act Section 401 permits, the City of Lincoln Water Right Application A-17312, Spear T Ranch v. Knaub et al., In re Complaint of Central Nebraska Public Power, current litigation involving Central and the North Platte Natural Resources District, and other water related administrative proceedings and litigation. |
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Annette Kovar has a B.A. from the University of Nebraska and a J.D. from the University of Nebraska College of Law. She is Legal Counsel and supervises the legal division for the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality. NDEQ is the state agency responsible for administering Nebraska’s water, air and solid waste pollution control laws and federally delegated programs under the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. NDEQ also plays an important role under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act for superfund sites located in the state. She is a long time member of the Natural Resources and Environmental Law Section with the Nebraska State Bar Association and a trustee for the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation. She has been a contributing author of the LexisNexis publications Environmental Law Practice Guide and Brownfields Law and Practice: The Cleanup and Redevelopment of Contaminated Land and to the American Bar Association’s Brownfields: A Comprehensive Guide to Redeveloping Contaminated Property. |
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Anne MacKinnon holds a B.A. from Harvard University (1973) and J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley (1981). She is a consultant in public discussion of natural resource policies, putting on programs for universities, state agencies and other entities. She is a member of the state Water Development Commission, an inactive member of the Wyoming State Bar, and former editor-in-chief of the Casper Star-Tribune. |
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Ari M. Michelsen, Ph.D., is Director of the Texas AgriLife Research Center at El Paso, Texas and Professor of Agricultural Economics, Texas A&M University System. His research focuses on watershed resources management, valuation, conservation effectiveness, water markets and decision support systems for policy analysis in the U.S., China and Chile. He is President-elect of the American Water Resources Association, serves on the Board of Directors and is Past-President of the Universities Council on Water Resources, and serves on the Southwest Hydrology Advisory Board, Paso del Norte Watershed Council and Water Task Force. |
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Jim Schneider received B.S. and M.S. degrees in geology from Northern Illinois University and a Ph.D. in geology from the University of South Florida. He was hired by the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources in 2006 as Senior Groundwater Modeler. In 2008, he was put in charge of the newly formed Integrated Water Management Division. His duties at NDNR include oversight of all groundwater modeling activities and other hydrologic analyses related to integrated management and ensuring the appropriate application of technical information to NDNR’s statutory and interstate obligations. |
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Jeff Schroeder is a 1986 graduate of the University of Nebraska College of Law. He has been a member of the Department of Roads Section of the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office since 1986, and has served for the last nine years as Chief Counsel for the Department of Roads Section. Schroeder has specialized in issues related to the condemnation of land for highway purposes and deals with other legal work and litigation on behalf of the Nebraska Department of Roads, including state highway drainage issues. |
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Anthony Schutz is an assistant profes¬sor in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Law where he teaches courses in agricultural law, agricultural environmental law, environmental and water resources management, land use, and state and local government. He received a J.D., with highest distinction, graduating first in his class from the UNL College of Law and received a B.S. in Criminal Justice, Summa Cum Laude, from the University of Nebraska at Kearney. He is currently involved in discussions on Nebraska water law in terms of the “fences” used to deal with allocation and administration of water, group dynamics developing between agricultural and urban electorates over regula¬tion of water use, and the state constitutionality of using property tax revenue to fund compliance measures under the Republican River Compact. |
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Garth Taylor is an associate professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho. He received his Ph.D. from Colorado State University and has experience at the University of Nebraska, Colorado State University, the Bureau of Land Management and USAID. His expertise is in teaching, extension and research in regional economics, combining natural resource and agricultural economics with regional analysis. Some of his extension projects have included resource and agricultural policy impacts upon Idaho economy and communities, community economics in the areas of housing, regional tourism and agriculture and the financial condition of Idaho agriculture. He has also been involved in the areas of water policy, water management planning, water marketing and teaching in the areas of managerial, capital budgeting and regional economics.
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Richard Totten is District Counsel for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha. The Connecticut native earned a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Connecticut, Storrs, Conn. (1973) and J.D. from Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas (1976). He also holds a Master of Legal Letters equivalent from the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s School, Charlettesville, Va., a Master of Legal Letters in Government Procurement Law from George Washington University, Washington, D.C., and completed the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College program, Fort Leavenworth, Kan. Prior to coming to Omaha in 2008, Totten was District Counsel for the Corps’ Albuquerque District; Depty District Counsel for the Corps’ Honolulu District; and an Attorney Advisor for contracts and fiscal law for the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, Washington, D.C., among other assignments. Totten also served as General Counsel, Army and Air Force Exchange Service-Europe inGermany; legal advisor, and senior trial attorney for the Army Judge Advocate General, Washington, D.C.; as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army. He was commander, Legal Services Activity-Korea; Legal Advisor, United Nations Command/U.S. Forces-Korea/Eighth U. S. Army, Seoul, Republic of Korea; Staff Judge Advocate, 66th Military Intelligence Brigade, Munich, Germany; and had various assignments as an Army Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer at the start of his military service. He is admitted to practice with the U.S. Supreme Court (since1982), the Texas Supreme Court and Texas Bar (since1976), the Colorado Supreme Court and Colorado Bar (since 1979), and the U.S. Court of Military Appeals and the U.S. Court of Military Review (since 1977). |
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Tom R. Wilmoth is a partner in the law firm of Husch Blackwell Sanders LLP, Lincoln. He serves as Special Assistant Attorney General to the State of Nebraska in interstate litigation involving the waters of the Missouri and Republican River Basins and represents the State of Florida in multidistrict, interstate litigation involving the waters of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin (Fla., Ga., Ala.). Wilmoth’s practice areas are in the environment, water and natural resources, Indian law, climate change and sustainability, levee and flood control, and compliance with federal and state environmental laws, including the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act. He also assists municipal and industrial clients in acquiring and protecting long-term water supplies and represents investment interests dedicated to financing and underwriting large-scale water projects. Wilmoth is Counsel for Coalition of Attorneys General in U.S. Supreme Court case National Association of Home Builders v. Defenders of Wildlife, No. 06-340 and Environmental Protection Agency v. Defenders of Wildlife, No. 06-549. Supreme Court Opinion decided June 25, 2007. Wilmoth received his J.D. degree from Lewis and Clark College, (1996) and holds a B.A. from Tufts University (1993). Wilmoth is widely published in the legal community.
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