The seminar will begin with an overview of the development of American wildlife law and policy, including early English precedents, cases recognizing state “ownership” and control of wildlife, the early hunting and fishing laws, regulation of commercial exploitation, and federal treaties dealing with particular species. It will then emphasize the present framework of extensive statutory regulation, especially the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
During the first half of the semester the students will read and discuss materials ranging from the philosophical bases of wildlife protection to different legal approaches to wildlife management, with examples drawn from among several past and present contentious issues. Cross-cutting themes ranging from animal rights to biodiversity, constitutional issues of federalism and takings, analytical approaches such as the public trust doctrine and market economics, and proposals for law reform will also be discussed in the context of these subjects.
Each student will prepare a research paper (30-50 pages) of publishable quality on an unresolved, current conflict or issue. During the second half of the semester each student will submit at least one draft of the paper for the professor’s review and comments and then will present a revised draft orally for discussion and critique by the other students. Students will have the option of revising their papers further until the last day of classes.
Possible paper topics include: restoration of the Florida Everglades, Indian treaty fishing rights in the Great Lakes, reintroduction of wolves in Minnesota, oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the international application of the Endangered Species Act in the Colorado River Delta, federal contract rights to irrigation water in conflict with federal protection of fish in the Klamath Basin, tribal management of Columbia River salmon, limits on trade in wildlife vs. GATT and NAFTA (tuna-dolphin, shrimp-sea turtles, etc.), Eskimo whaling and international law, Inuit governance of the vast Nunavut Territory in Canada, and attempts to prevent collapse of the Atlantic salmon fisheries.