Environmental Law is a law review focused on environmental and natural resources law published by students at the Lewis & Clark Law School. Founded in 1969, it is the oldest law review covering natural resources and environmental law in the United States.[1][2] The journal is recognized as a national leader in its field and has featured articles by practitioners, academics, legislators, and justices of the United States Supreme Court.[3][4]
Overview
Environmental Law publishes four issues each year and contains articles, essays, book reviews by lawyers and academics, and student-written notes and comments. Topics of discussion range from in-depth analysis of recent cases to more abstract discussions of the latest pollution prevention theories. The journal also publishes a Ninth Circuit Review on an annual basis as well as a "letters to the editor" section entitled "Clear the Air". Environmental Law is edited entirely by students.[1]
The "Ninth Circuit Review" surveys recent decisions from the Ninth Circuit involving federal environmental statutes, Native American rights, common law environmental protections, procedural aspects of citizen suits, and all other topics exploring environmental issues. "Clear the Air" provides a forum for critics and skeptics to respond to articles published in the journal. The quick publication schedule for these letters enables researchers and practitioners to solicit answers and information from subscribers.
Established in 1969 by Dean Harold G. Wren and Professor Bill Williamson, Environmental Law was Lewis & Clark Law School’s first law review.[8] The journal was launched amid the growing national awareness of environmental issues and was a catalyst behind the law school’s environmental and natural resources program, which is commonly ranked as the best in the nation.[9][10]
Throughout the mid-1960s and 1970s, the United States Congress enacted a series of significant environmental laws, including the Wilderness Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Endangered Species Act. During this time, President Richard Nixon acknowledged the establishment of the nation's first law review dedicated to environmental law by writing a letter to the journal to thank Lewis & Clark Law School for its participation in the national movement. Environmental Law, President Nixon stated, provided "fresh hope" for answering "the great question" of the Seventies. The letter was republished on the first page of the first volume of Environmental Law and followed by articles by Senator Edmund S. Muskie and Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas.[11]
Admissions
Members are selected either by virtue of their grades during their first year of law school or by completing an anonymous writing competition, which is held during the summer months. The general membership of the journal determines the number of applicants that may be admitted. Prospective students are required to have a minimum grade point average.
^Gregory Scott Crespi, Ranking the Environmental Law, Natural Resources Law, and Land Use Planning Journals: A Survey of Expert Opinion, 23 WM. & MARY ENVTL. L. & POL’Y REV. 273 (1998).
