Environmental Policy and Natural Resources Law LAW-597

This course provides an introduction to environmental policy and natural resources law, with an emphasis on living resources.  In a mixed seminar format, we’ll survey the legal treatment of wildlife and biodiversity, fisheries and marine resources, water resources, forests and rangelands, National Parks and Monuments, and other topics as time allows.  We’ll draw lessons from these fields to understand the themes and conflicts of environmental law generally, and the unique qualities of natural resources that render management efforts so difficult.  Throughout the course, we will probe the interplay between scientific, economic, cultural, and political factors that complicate environmental decision-making—especially in a resource-rich state like California, where each of the surveyed resources plays a foundational role.

Instructor: Erin Ryan