Environmental, Natural Resources, & Energy Law
News
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In an Op-Ed in the Oregonian, Professor Michael Blumm argued that the “Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument expansion is a gift to all Americans, the benefits of which will be enjoyed by both the present and future generations, and it warrants continued widespread public support.” -
Lewis & Clark has been ranked the #1 “greenest” law school by National Jurist magazine. -
Earthrise Law Center at Lewis & Clark Law School filed a petition today on behalf of the Northwest Environmental Advocates (NWEA), the Northwest Environmental Defense Center (NEDC), and fish advocate, Bill Bakke, seeking to force Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to address the enormous backlog of administratively continued Clean Water Act permits, known as “Zombie Permits.” DON’T MISS THE VIDEO! -
Prof. Blumm drafted and submitted comments to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke concerning his review of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in southern Oregon/northern California (June 12, 2017). Seven law professors signed the letter, including Prof. Powers and Prof. Rohlf. -
In the ’80s and ’90s, Chuck Barlow started a long string of accomplishments in education. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English at Mississippi College in 1984, a master’s degree in English from the University of Virginia in 1986, a law degree from MC in 1989, and finally, a Master of Laws degree in environmental law from Lewis & Clark College in 1995. The most recent entry on his growing list of accomplishments is earning the title of Mississippi College’s Lawyer of the Year on April 27 at the annual MC Law Alumni Dinner. -
Earthrise Law Center at Lewis & Clark Law School submitted its opening brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of National Association of Manufacturers v. Department of Defense. This case involves the jurisdictional battle over which court(s) should hear challenges to the 2015 Clean Water Rule. Craig Johnston and Jamie Saul took the lead in writing the brief, building on one that Allison LaPlante and Lia Comerford wrote for the Supreme Court on the same issue almost five years ago. -
Samantha Murray describes herself as having an “undeniable, inextricable, lifelong connection to water” that drew her to marine science. That connection means she’ll be in her element with an office footsteps away from the Pacific Ocean on the campus of Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego.
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In the International Environmental Law Project (IELP), students participate directly in international environmental legal processes. IELP prepares documents for meetings of the parties to international conventions, such as the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, and the International Whaling Commission; prepares submissions to international tribunals or to domestic-level agencies to enforce international environmental law; and drafts new international environmental treaties. -
Earthrise Law Center at Lewis & Clark Law School analyzes the impact of President Trump’s February 28th Executive Order instructing the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers to begin rulemaking to rescind or revise the Clean Water Rule. -
Oregon House Bill 2365 would establish a task force to study transferring most of Oregon’s federal land to state control. Places like the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area and the Mount Hood National Forest would move a step closer to being owned by a state already on the brink of selling public land. Prof. Blumm offers his opinion… -
Jenny Loda ’12 is a staff attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity in Oakland, California, where she works to protect rare amphibians and reptiles across the country. -
Professor Craig Johnston has stepped down as director of Earthrise law center, passing on the role to attorneys Allison LaPlante and Tom Buchele. As one of the original founders of the clinic, Craig’s leadership has been a great benefit to Lewis & Clark law school, the students, and the planet.
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Read about Earthrise’s success protecting salmon from lethally hot temperatures in Oregon, our brief to the US Supreme Court regarding Waters of the United States, our legal fellow Ryan Shannon landing a job at Center for Biological Diversity and watch our new video on Zombie Permits, and getting a Forest Service fire break project dropped in southern California.
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Prof. Blumm writes in this High Country News article that the expanded Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument has been a gift to all Americans, and that while the timber lobby may want these lands managed solely for logging, the law, the facts and the opinions of a vast majority of Pacific Northwesterners do not agree. -
On behalf of our clients Waterkeeper Alliance, Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Food Safety, and several other organizations (“Waterkeeper”), Earthrise filed their opening merits brief in the U.S. Supreme Court on April 27, 2017, in the case captioned as National Association of Manufacturers v. Department of Defense, et al. -
Prof. John H. Knox of Wake Forest University School of Law spoke on the intersection of human rights and climate change at Lewis & Clark Law School in January 2017. Climate change has been called the greatest threat to human rights in the twenty-first century. The rapidly warming climate is already contributing to floods in India, droughts in southern Africa, and typhoons in the Philippines, and is threatening to displace communities from the Arctic to the South Pacific. How can a human rights perspective help to combat its worst effects? The title of his talk, “The Implications of Human Rights Law for Addressing Climate Change”, addressed these issues. -
Three of Lewis & Clark Law School’s programs have been recognized among the best in the country by U.S. News & World Report: Environmental Law (#2), Part-Time Program (#11), Legal Writing (#12).
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The Lewis & Clark Law School Environmental Law Moot Court team advanced to the semi-finals of the 2017 national competition for the 12th consecutive year. The team of Kathryn Roberts (3L), Amy Saack (3L), and Rachel Briggs (2L), coached by Prof. Craig Johnston, knocked out Vermont Law School and the University of New Mexico in the quarter finals. Lewis & Clark has won the national competition 7 times. Roberts calls it “the most rewarding experience of my academic career.” -
Lewis & Clark Master of Studies alum, Ellen Gilmer, is a journalist with E & E news. She recently published an article analyzing the issues related to the Dakota Pipeline, and the impact of a memo from the Interior Department’s former top lawyer. -
On January 23, 2017, Lewis & Clark Law School welcomed Professor Marcilynn Burke as the 2017 Martin Luther King, Jr. Lecturer. During her visit at Lewis & Clark Law School, Professor Burke met with students and delivered a lecture titled “This Land is Whose Land?!?” The students appreciated hearing Prof. Burke’s journey as a lawyer, Acting Assistant Secretary for Lands and Mineral Management, and as a Professor. Prof. Burke’s evening lecture highlighted Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speeches, Woody Guthrie’s song “This Land is Your Land”, and analyzed the current conflict over Public Lands. A podcast of the event can be found here.