Natural Resources Law

Natural resource management presents extremely difficult and contentious issues of law and public policy. Major debates continue to rage over offshore drilling, the protection for biodiversity, and the management of commercial fisheries. This course provides an overview of the way in which our society allocates and regulates the use of several natural resources, including fisheries, wildlife, wetlands, petroleum, and lands of aesthetic beauty such as Yellowstone or Louisiana’s fabled swamps. Students will examine the major federal environmental statutes directed toward conserving natural resources, including the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. The historical, constitutional, and economic underpinnings of natural resource law will also be addressed.