NEWS ADVISORY for May 21-22, 2004 - Portland, Oregon

PHONE INTERVIEWS/TALK SHOWS arranged by request

CONTACT: Sharon Pickett 301-365-9307 sharonp@igc.org or
Jennifer Druliner 202-464-9700 ext. 228 jdruliner@ACRnet.org

ENVIRONMENTAL MEDIATION CONFERENCE TO BE
HELD IN PORTLAND MAY 21-22, 2004

Keynote Address by Former Governor John Kitzhaber, M.D.

The conflict resolution profession is rapidly expanding, and nowhere is this trend more prevalent than in the area of environmental dispute resolution. Mediators, arbitrators, and other conflict resolution professionals are increasingly in demand to help resolve tough environmental struggles involving multiple stakeholders. The skills that they bring to their jobs have an enormous impact on both communities and the ecosystem.

From May 21-22, environmental mediators from across the country will gather at the Heathman Hotel in downtown Portland to share lessons learned and discuss ways to improve and expand the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). Participants are members of the Environment and Public Policy Section of the Association for Conflict Resolution, a nonprofit organization representing more than 6500 conflict resolution professionals. The conference is sponsored in partnership with the US Institute for Environmental Resolution, the Oregon Mediation Association and the Policy Consensus Initiative.

Keynote Address: May 21 at noon – 21st Century Democracy, Governance, Leadership and Consensus Building. Former Gov. Kitzhaber is Co-Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Policy Consensus Center and the Policy Consensus Initiative at Portland State University. Media are invited to attend.

Available for Interviews

Donna Silverberg is the President of the Oregon Mediation Association and a practicing mediator in Portland. She has extensive experience mediating policy and environmental issues regarding Columbia River salmon recovery, native fish policies and protection in Oregon, endangered species, land-use, conservation incentives for private land owners and police-citizen relations in Portland. Her cases involve complex issues and representatives from state, local, federal and tribal governments and the public.

Rosemary Romero is a mediator in Santa Fe and President of the Association for Conflict Resolution. She has extensive experience in negotiating forest management, land use, and watershed management issues with a special focus on disputes which have a cultural component to them.

Topics for Discussion

• What environmental issues in Oregon have been mediated? Have agreements produced through mediation been implemented? Are they working?
  

• What do various stakeholders (agencies, environmental advocates, community members, etc.) see as the pros and cons of negotiated settlements?
  

• People from different cultures often hold very different values and views about their relationship to the environment. Are there strategies that can help different groups find common ground?
  

• What factors should be considered when deciding whether or not to mediate an environmental dispute? How does the process of mediation affect decision-making? What is the role of the mediator?
  

Examples of Recent or Current Environmental Mediation in Oregon

• Columbia River Bi-State Salmon Recovery Effort—Thousands of people and groups throughout the Northwest are working to protect and recover endangered salmon in the Columbia River. The states of Oregon and Washington are coordinating with local, federal and tribal agencies to ensure that fish that reach the lower Columbia River are protected by their joint efforts. Given the number of stakeholders, the breadth of issues, and the multiple jurisdictions involved, the group hired a team of professional mediators (Donna Silverberg and Robin Harkless) to help them address issues and conflicts as they arise. Time will tell if their on-going efforts will lead to recovery for the salmon. But in the meantime, the joint efforts of the group are leading new approaches to what has been a vexing regional problem (Note: This project will be highlighted at the mediation conference).
  
  

• Lower Columbia Solutions Group—dredging the Columbia River continues to be a hot-spot for many Oregonians, environmental groups and others. One of the problems identified is the lack of sustainable disposal of dredge materials. This group, facilitated by Susan Brody of the Oregon Solutions Program at PSU, has drafted a Declaration of Cooperation between its members: environmentalists, fisherman, crabbers, developers, as well as state, local and federal agencies. The group is working to identify and implement sustainable dredge material disposal projects that will ultimately reduce the footprint and impact of dredge disposal sites in the Lower Columbia.
  
  

• Division Street Revitalization (“Division Vision”)—After many months of discussions and negotiations, a neighborhood coalition of businesses, residents and community based organizations and the City of Portland reached agreement on the scope of a transportation and land use plan for Division Street in Southeast Portland. The group was assisted through its deliberations by a skilled facilitation team provided by the Oregon Dispute Resolution Commission and the Oregon Solutions program at PSU who helped the group focus on their joint interests and concerns. As a result, the group has formed strong relationships that are leading to new partnerships and improved vision for the neighborhood.
  
  

• Native Fish Conservation Policy—After acrimonious debate at the legislature about how to treat native fish in Oregon, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission convened a diverse task force of interested parties to debate and collaboratively develop a policy and plan to protect Oregon’s native fish populations, many of which are threatened or endangered, while also balancing the needs of private land owners and others. After four months of discussions lead by a professional mediation team from DS Consulting, the group recommended a policy to OFWC. With minor changes, the Commission accepted the policy--which ODFW has been implementing with great success.

  
  

• Newburg/Dundee Bypass—finding transportation solutions that satisfy neighbors, drivers, environmental groups, developers and regulators can be problematic at best! Finding a means of providing access while diverting thousands of cars from the middle of downtown and neighborhoods has proved both challenging—and uplifting—for Dundee and Newberg. Working with a team of mediators from Cogan Owens Cogan, interest groups and members of the public have been meeting with transportation planners to collaboratively develop an exciting plan for improving traffic patterns in the area.

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(5/12/04)