Ryan P. Steen

Experience

Ryan Steen is an attorney in the Environment, Land Use and Natural Resources group. He focuses his practice on environmental, natural resources, fisheries, and wildlife law, and represents clients in both litigation and regulatory matters. Ryan has extensive litigation experience involving the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Management and Conservation Act (MSA), and related federal statutes and regulations. Ryan has also worked with public and private entities on a variety of regulatory issues involving the ESA, NEPA, MMPA, MSA, the Washington State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), and the Clean Water Act (CWA), particularly with respect to federal agency rulemaking procedures, ESA § 7 consultation, incidental take authorization, and habitat conservation planning.

Before starting his legal career, Ryan worked as a fisheries scientist at the University of Washington. In that position, he researched salmon ecology and advised the commercial fishing industry on the population dynamics and management of the Bristol Bay, Alaska sockeye salmon fishery.

Representative Work

Regulatory Advice and Complex Permitting

• Advise a Hawaiian tuna and swordfish commercial fishing association regarding ESA compliance, consultation and listing petitions, MSA, MMPA, Migratory Bird Treaty Act and NEPA compliance, and compliance with U.S. law and international treaties regarding Pacific fisheries conservation and management.
• Serve as a member, on behalf of a Hawaii commercial fishing association, on the federal False Killer Whale Take Reduction Team (TRT). This TRT was initiated by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to address the interactions between Hawaii commercial longline fisheries and false killer whales.
• Counsel to ConocoPhillips and the Alaska Oil & Gas Association on matters involving the leasing and permitting of exploration and development activities on the North Slope of Alaska, in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, and in Cook Inlet, pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, NEPA, CWA, ESA, and the MMPA, as well as ESA listing petitions, critical habitat designations, climate change and other regulatory issues, and MMPA incidental take regulations.
• Represent utility in development and implementation of ESA permitting strategy as it relates to hydropower projects' habitat conservation plans (HCPs) and associated hatchery mitigation programs. This work includes the successful development of Hatchery Genetic and Management Plans for each of the utility's hatchery programs, counseling the client through the process of obtaining ESA Section 10 incidental take permits from NMFS, and ongoing advice on HCP issues related to hatcheries and ongoing compliance.
• Advised Washington port regarding the federal, state and local environmental permitting requirements for potential development of a 500-acre port terminal and industrial facility. Project included preparation of a NEPA/SEPA Draft Environmental Impact Statement, ESA Section 7 consultation and CWA Section 404 permitting.
• Advised Washington port regarding the federal, state and local environmental permitting requirements for development of a rail alignment for commercial and industrial use. Project included preparation of a NEPA Documented Categorical Exclusion, SEPA compliance, ESA Section 7 consultation and CWA Section 404 permitting.
• Counseled Washington port regarding development and application of a SEPA lead agency program.
• Assisted a major forest products company with the development and implementation of a compliance system to satisfy the FSC certification requirements for controlled wood.
• Prepared a fisheries management plan on behalf of an Oregon irrigation district in consultation with federal, state and local agencies.

Recent or Pending Litigation

• Turtle Island Restoration Network v. NMFS, No. 09-00598 (D.Hawaii) – Counsel to the Hawaii Longline Association in pending litigation challenging Amendment 18 to the Western Pacific Fisheries Management Plan on ESA, MMPA, and APA grounds.
• In re Polar Bear ESA Listing and 4(d) Rule Litigation, MDL Docket No. 1993 (D.D.C.) – Counsel to the Alaska Oil & Gas Association regarding pending litigation challenging the polar bear listing under the ESA, and the related ESA 4(d) rule.
• Native Village of Point Hope v. Salazar, No. 08-00004 (D.Alaska) – Counsel to ConocoPhillips Company in pending litigation challenging Lease Sale 193 in the Chukchi Sea on NEPA and ESA grounds.
• Hui Malama I Kohola v. NMFS, No. 09-00112 (D.Hawaii) – Counsel to the Hawaii Longline Association regarding pending litigation concerning formation of a take reduction team under the MMPA to address fisheries interactions with marine mammals.
• Center for Biological Diversity v. Salazar, No. 08-35402 (9th Circuit) – Counsel to the Alaska Oil and Gas Association in pending appeal from favorable district court decision sustaining MMPA regulations for the incidental take of polar bear and Pacific walrus during routine oil and gas activities in and near the Beaufort Sea against MMPA and NEPA claims.
• Native Village of Point Hope v. Minerals Management Service, 564 F. Supp. 2d 1077 (D. Alaska 2008) – Counsel to BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. in successful defense of NEPA and MMPA challenges to federally authorized seismic activity in the Beaufort Sea.

Professional Honors & Activities

• Vice Chair, American Bar Association, Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, 2009-present
• Member, Washington Water Resources Association, 2008-present
• Co-chair, Multnomah County Bar Association Dropout Prevention Program, 2006-2008
• Contributing editor, Western Water Law & Policy Reporter, 2006-2008

Presentations

• "Water Rights," American Cheese Society Annual Meeting, Aug. 2010
• Moderator, "The Role of Hatcheries" and "Looking Ahead: Trends & Predictions," Fisheries & Hatcheries - Legal and Regulatory Frameworks, The Seminar Group, May 2010
• "ESA and Climate Change," ESA: Emerging Issues in Alaska, Law Seminars International, Feb. 2010
• "Repercussions of a New Administration," Permitting Strategies in Alaska, The Seminar Group, Jan. 2010
• "Oil and Gas in Alaska: Legal Developments and the Ongoing OCS Debate," Alaska Oil and Gas Congress, Anchorage, AK, 2009
• "Permit Tools," Project Permitting Strategies, The Seminar Group, May 2009
• "Hatcheries: Overview and Recent Developments," Fisheries and Hatcheries, The Seminar Group, 2009
• "Integrating NEPA and SEPA into the Permitting Process," Project Permitting, The Seminar Group, 2009
• Guest Lecturer, Seattle University School of Law, ESA and Climate Change, 2009
• "Planning for Future Water Needs and Protecting Your Rights – Water Rights Master Planning Strategies," Water Rights Sales and Transfers in Oregon, Lorman Education Services, Oct. 2007
• "Water Rights 101," Natural Resources Law for Foresters, Western Forestry and Conservation Association, Feb. 2007

Civic Activities

• Volunteer attorney, East County Legal Clinic, 2004 2008
• Mentor, Lewis & Clark Law School 1L Mentor Program

Publications

• "The Polar Bear Listing Story: Efforts to Regulate GHG Emissions Using the Endangered Species Act," (co-author Jeffrey Leppo) presented at the 38th Annual American Bar Association Conference on Environmental Law, Keystone, Colorado, March 12-15, 2009
• "Legal developments and the Ongoing OCS Debate," Alaska Oil and Gas Congress, Anchorage, AK (2009)
• "An Important Federal Court Victory for Oregon Irrigation Districts and Water Conservation," 12 Western Water Law & Policy Reporter 184, 2008
• "Oregon Department of State Lands Issues Amendments to Removal-Fill Rules," 12 Western Water Law & Policy Reporter 110, 2008
• "District Court Upholds Listing of Coastal Coho Salmon Under the Endangered Species Act," 12 Western Water Law & Policy Reporter 21, 2007
• "EPA's New Aquatic Pesticide Rule Leaves Wake of Uncertainty," 11 Western Water Law & Policy Reporter 147, 2007
• "Paying for Employment Dispute Resolution: Dilemmas Confronting Arbitration Cost Allocation Throw the Arbitration Machine into Low Gear," 7 Journal of Small & Emerging Business Law 181, 2003
• "Egg Burial Depth by Sockeye Salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka): Implications for Survival of Embryos and Natural Selection on Female Body Size," coauthor, Canadian Journal of Zoology, 1999

Education

• Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College, J.D., 2003, magna cum laude
• University of Washington, B.S. fisheries, 1998

Admissions

• Washington
• Oregon
• Alaska
• U.S. District Court for the Districts of Oregon, Alaska and the Western District of Washington
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

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