Verde Valley AZ (April 8, 2015) – A free presentation titled, “Adventures in Groundwater Management: Stories from around the West” will be offered in Prescott on Wednesday, April 15th at 10:30 a.m. at the Yavapai County Administrative Building, in Board Chambers, 1015 Fair Street. The Verde River Basin Partnership (Partnership) is sponsoring this talk as part of their ongoing monthly educational program series. No RSVP is necessary.
Jocelyn Gibbon, an Arizona lawyer and policy consultant, will speak about legal approaches to management and regulation of groundwater in states across the Western U.S. After a brief summary for context of Arizona’s management and regulation, she will share stories of challenges, opportunities, and the evolution of law and management from states including Texas, Montana, Nebraska, and California.
How does the law differ in different states? What has worked and what hasn’t? How have various states handled some of the challenges associated with groundwater management and regulation? Through a sampling of stories from around the West, Ms. Gibbon’s presentation will explore a range of experiences with some common challenges.
Jocelyn Gibbon is the principal of Freshwater Policy Consulting, LLC, which provides policy analysis, strategic guidance, and project support to organizations interested in natural resource and water policy change. Jocelyn previously worked as an environmental and water law attorney for Squire Sanders, LLP, and on Arizona and Colorado River water policy issues as a member of Environmental Defense Fund’s Colorado River team. Before practicing law, she started and ran a freelance editing business; she also works as a whitewater guide in the Grand Canyon.
Ms. Gibbon received her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law with high honors, studied natural resources policy and Colorado River law and development at Northern Arizona University, and earned her B.A. in English from Williams College (summa cum laude). In 2012, she and her husband Sam worked with two friends to produce and direct Postcards from the Parks, a short documentary about Arizona’s state parks.
The Partnership is a scientific and educational resource raising awareness among citizens and community leaders about the workings of Verde River Basin’s interconnected groundwater and surface water systems, and the life they support. To find out more about their events and to see other educational materials relating to regional water resources visit www.vrbp.org.