SYMPOSIUM
ON THE
SETTLEMENT OF INDIAN RESERVED WATER RIGHTS CLAIMS
AGENDA
MONDAY, AUGUST 12, 2013
5:00 – 7:00 pm Early Registration
TUESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2013
7:00 am Registration
8:30 am WELCOME
Introductory Remarks
John Echohawk, Executive Director, Native American Rights Fund
Tony Willardson, Executive Director, Western States Water Council
Invocation – by invitation
9:00 am Navigating the Federal Process and Budget
Melanie Stansbury, Program Examiner, Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President
10:00 am Break
NEGOTIATION OF INDIAN WATER RIGHTS CLAIMS: THE BASICS
10:30 am Gathering Background Information and the Role of Technicians in Negotiations
Moderator – Greg Ridgley, Deputy Chief Counsel, New Mexico Office of the State Engineer
Cynthia Chandley, Partner, Snell & Wilmer
Oliver Page, CEO/CFO, Stetson Engineers
Christopher Banet, Trust Resources and Protection Manager, Southwest Region, Bureau of Indian Affairs
Peggy Barroll, Hydrologist, New Mexico Office of the State Engineer
Noon Luncheon Presentation – Indian Water Rights Settlement Database
Barbara Cosens, Professor, University of Idaho College of Law
Darcy Bushnell, Director, Joe M. Stell Water Ombudsman Program, University of New Mexico School of Law
1:30 pm Identifying Parties and Issues and How Negotiations Bind Larger Groups
Moderator – Bill Staudenmaier, Partner, Snell & Wilmer
Nelson Cordova,Taos Pueblo Water Administration Office
DL Sanders, Chief Counsel and Director, Litigation and Adjudication Program, New Mexico Office of the State Engineer
Duane Mecham, Attorney, Office of the Solicitor, U.S. Department of the Interior
Maria O’Brien, Shareholder, Modrall Sperling
3:00 pm Break
3:30 pm A RETROSPECTIVE DISCUSSION ON SETTLEMENTS
Moderator – Susan Cottingham, Former Director, Montana Reserved Compact Commission
Bidtah Becker, Assistant Attorney General, Navajo Nation Department of Justice
Chris Tweeten, Chairman, Montana Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission
Pam Williams, Director, Secretary of the Interior’s Indian Water Rights Office
5:00 pm Adjourn
6:00 pm Reception
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2013
8:30 am KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Estevan López, Director, New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission
THE ADMINISTRATION’S SETTLEMENT POLICY
9:15 am Presentation
Kevin Washburn, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior
Anne Castle, Assistant Secretary for Water and Science, U.S. Department of the Interior
10:45 am Break
11:00 am Response Panel
Moderator – Matt Campbell, Staff Attorney, Native American Rights Fund
Jeanne Whiteing, Water Rights Counsel, Blackfeet Nation
Gerald Lunak, Natural Resources Director, Blackfeet Nation
Phillip Ward, Director, Oregon Water Resources Department
Noon Lunch Break
1:00 pm DESCRIPTION OF THE AAMODT WATER RIGHTS SETTLEMENT
Moderator – Sue Noe, Staff Attorney, Native American Rights Fund
Remarks
Governor George Rivera, Pojoaque Pueblo
Governor Phillip Perez, Nambé Pueblo
Governor Mark Mitchell, Tesuque Pueblo
Governor Terry Aguilar, San Ildefonso
Former Governor James S. Hena, Tesuque Pueblo
Former Governor Ernest Mirabal, Nambé Pueblo
Panel Presentation – Aamodt Settlement
Charles Dorame, Chairman, Northern Pueblos Tributary Water Rights Association
Arianne Singer, Managing Attorney, Northern New Mexico Adjudication Bureau, New Mexico Office of the State Engineer
Christopher Banet, Trust Resources and Protection Manager, Southwest Region, Bureau of Indian Affairs
John Utton, Partner, Shareholder/Director, Sheehan & Sheehan
2:30 pm FIELD TRIP
6:00 pm DINNER AND CULTURAL PRESENTATION
THURSDAY, AUGUST 15, 2013
SETTLEMENT LEGISLATION: GETTING BILLS THROUGH CONGRESS
8:30 am Congressional Outlook for Indian Water Rights Settlements
Moderator – Joel Williams, Staff Attorney, Native American Rights Fund
Camille Calimlim Touton, Minority Professional Staff, House Natural Resources Committee (via phone)
David Mullon, Jr., Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel, Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
Aaron Trujillo, Senior Legislative Assistant, Rep. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico
Cisco Minthorn, Counsel for the Majority, Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
10:15 am Break
10:30 am Response Panel
Moderator – Nathan Bracken, Legal Counsel, Western States Water Council
Jay Weiner, Assistant Attorney General, Montana Attorney General’s Office
David Gover, Staff Attorney, Native American Rights Fund
11:45 am WRAP-UP/SUMMARY
Stanley Pollack, Assistant Attorney General, Navajo Nation Department of Justice
12:15 pm Adjourn