Public Lands

The federal government owns and manages 28% of all land in the United States, and 48% in California, the third-highest percentage in the nation. How the federal government manages public lands therefore has profound implications for countless constituencies and users, affecting everything from recreation to conservation to more intensive uses such as mining, timber production, and cattle grazing. This seminar will explore the history, operation, power, and limits of America's federal public-land laws. We will focus on four specific types of public lands--national forests, BLM lands, national parks, and wildlife refuges, learning about the governing laws of each and using modern-day controversies to examine how those laws work in practice and whether (and how) they need changing. We will also devote attention to the historic and present-day exclusion of (and injustices toward) Indigenous peoples and tribes in our public-lands system and opportunities for repair and inclusion moving forward. Readings and discussion, which together will form the backbone of this small seminar, will range from case law to policy papers to pleadings in litigated cases, and throughout the seminar students will complete short assignments tied to the subjects we cover. This course complements, but does not cover, the material in Natural Resources Law and Policy (Law 2506) or Federal Indian Law (Law 7030). Elements used in grading: Class attendance and participation, short assignments, and final take-home exam (open book).