Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Publication
Articles 1 - 3 of 3
Full-Text Articles in Law
The Public Trust Doctrine, Private Water Allocation, And Mono Lake: The Historic Saga Of National Audubon Society V. Superior Ct., Erin Ryan
Erin Ryan
This article tells the epic tale of the fall and rise of Mono Lake—the strange and beautiful Dead Sea of California—which fostered some of the most important environmental law developments of the last century, and which has become a platform for some of the most potentially important developments in the new century. It shares the backstory and legacy of the California Supreme Court’s famous decision in National Audubon Society v. Superior Court, 658 P.2d 709 (Cal. 1983), known more widely as “the Mono Lake case.” Inspired by innovative legal scholarship and advocacy, the decision spawned a quiet legal revolution in …
Shifting Sands: A Meta-Theory For Public Access And Private Property Along The Coast, Melissa K. Scanlan
Shifting Sands: A Meta-Theory For Public Access And Private Property Along The Coast, Melissa K. Scanlan
Melissa K. Scanlan
Over half the United States population currently lives near a coast. As shorelines are used by more people, developed by private owners, and altered by extreme weather, competition over access to water and beaches will intensify, as will the need for a clearer legal theory capable of accommodating competing private and public interests. One such public interest is to walk along the beach, which seems simple enough. However, beach walking often occurs on this ambulatory shoreline where public rights grounded in the public trust doctrine and private rights grounded in property ownership intersect. To varying degrees, each state has a …
Public Trust & Distrust: Theoretical Implications Of The Public Trust Doctrine For Natural Resource Management, Erin Ryan
Erin Ryan
This essay reviews the theoretical underpinnings of the public trust doctrine, received at common law and constitutionalized in many states, and explores its contentious reception by green legal theorists. Since Professor Joseph Sax's revival of the ancient common law doctrine as a vehicle for environmental advocacy in the early 1970s, it has been hailed by many environmentalists as the most powerful tool available for protecting natural resource commons. At the same time, however, it has been attacked by others who argue that use of the property rights-based doctrine reifies an ownership approach to natural resources and obstructs the development of …