The Southeastern Environmental Law Journal and the School of Law will sponsor a symposium on the public trust, an ancient legal term for the marshy area below the high-tide line used by the public, Sept. 7-8.

"Bridging the Divide: Public and Private Interest in Coastal Marshes and Marsh Islands" will feature a range of speakers, including lawyers for developers and environmental groups, top state officials, and environmental law professors.

The symposium will begin with a public talk by Barton H. "Buzz" Thompson Jr., director of the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University, at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 7 in the School of Law Auditorium. Thompson is on the EPA's Science Advisory Board and chairs its Committee on the Valuation of the Protection of Ecological Systems and Services.

Friday also will feature a full day of panel discussions focusing on three topics:
"South Carolina's Marsh Island Debate," "Public Trust: Where Has it Been and Where is it Going?" and "Bridging Marsh Islands, Public Trust and other Contemporary Matters."

Scheduled panelists include Henry McMaster, attorney general of South Carolina, and Carolyn Boltin, head of the S.C. Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management.

"We've got marsh islands, and we've got people who want to develop those islands, but they need bridges to do it," said Kim Diana Connolly, a USC professor of law and faculty editor of the journal. "But many proposed bridges would impede on the public trust."

Private landowners often ask for permission to use public-trust lands not only for bridges but also for projects such as docks and impoundments. These private uses enhance property values but, at the same time, reduce the availability of public-trust resources to the public at large.

The symposium will explore the difficult task of balancing these competing interests, as well as propose solutions from a variety of angles.

All talks are free and open to the public, but registration is encouraged. Go to the symposium web site at www.law.sc.edu/elj/2006symposium/ for registration information.

8/06