An abbreviated history of natural resources, energy, and environmental law at Iowa Law
The following history was researched and compiled by the HELI team with the assistance of various teams at the Iowa Law Library. The narrative below is abbreviated and summarized from various sources.
The University of Iowa College of Law’s history with academic attention to natural resources, energy, and environmental law is almost as long as the history of the state itself, given the importance of natural resources to the state economy and the livelihood of its people.
Faculty, Research, and Coursework
The Iowa Agricultural Law Center (ALC) at Iowa Law was a pivotal landmark in the history of our institution. Established in the early 1950’s, the ALC quickly became nationally and internationally reputed with their legal-economic research.
The ALC produced a prodigious amount of research touching almost every conceivable aspect of agricultural law, which attracted legal scholars to Iowa Law and led to the growth and expansion of our environmental work. Several of these scholars started in the 1960’s and 1970’s and contributed to natural resources, energy, and environmental law research and course offerings. This included:
N. William Hines (Dean Hines) who quickly took up research and work product devoted to environmental work and water law. Dean Hines would go on to a long career at Iowa as the College’s Dean, which aided in accelerating the natural resources, energy, and environmental law focus for Iowa Law.
Burns Weston who began a long career at Iowa Law focusing on international law, nuclear energy and weapons, climate change, and ecological commons.
Sir Geoffrey Palmer QC who served in various research and teaching activities for decades. In his career, he would return to New Zealand to be a Chair in Law at Victoria University in Wellington, the Member of Parliament for Christchurch Central, the New Zealand Attorney-General, the Minister of Justice, the Leader of the House, Deputy Prime Minister, and ultimately Prime Minister. Sir Palmer returned to Iowa regularly, where he taught courses on international law and global environmental issues.
Professor Robert N. Clinton who began a long career developing Indian Law through coursework, research, and clinical work. His work focused on federal Indian law, tribal law, and Native American history.
Coursework in the 1950’s and 1960’s reflected this faculty growth and the importance of natural resources, energy, and environmental law to our institution. For example, in the 1960’s, Resource Planning was required in the first-year curriculum for all students and would remain a required course for almost 50 years. One of the few elective classes at this time was Natural Resources Law, which continues to be offered at Iowa Law.
Our efforts to provide natural resources and environmental courses did not go unnoticed. In 1972, Francis Irwin, wrote an article detailing a summary of where law schools were teaching about the environment. Irwin noted that “Courses with environmental content are required of all students at only a few law schools including the Universities of Denver, Iowa, Kansas, and the State University of New York at Buffalo." Requiring an environmental course for all students was exceptionally rare then, and Iowa Law surpassed our peers in this regard.
Courses in the 1960's - 1970's
As faculty and student interest in natural resources, energy, and environmental law grew, so did course offerings. A timeline of course offerings is listed here for brevity, along with the first year that course was offered based on records available to the research team. Many of these courses were offered for decades after being introduced.
Resource Planning (Before 1966); | Energy in Contemporary Society (1974) |
Natural Resources Law (Before 1966) | Regulated Industries (1976) |
| Land Use Planning Seminar (1970) | Environmental Law Seminar (emphasis on NEPA) (1976) |
| Environmental Law (Before 1970) | Environmental Law Seminar (New follow up to Resource Planning) (1978); |
| Environmental Law Seminar (1972) | Native American Law (1978) |
Environmental Law Society and Expanded Faculty
With this growth in courses and faculty, the student population became increasingly more interested in natural resources, energy, and environmental law. In 1978, the Environmental Law Society (ELS) was organized by students to enrich the curricular and research offerings. ELS has provided a forum for environmental law topics by sponsoring lectures and hosting symposia in natural resources, energy, and environmental law. These events have increased in frequency since the advent of HELI, who partners on numerous events and programming with ELS.
In the 1980’s and 1990’s, natural resources, energy, and environmental law continued to grow at Iowa Law. During this time, Iowa Law hired Jonathan C. Carlson, John-Mark Stensvaag, and S. James Anaya onto the faculty. Professor Carlson would embark on a decades-long professional relationship with Professor Weston that built a renowned international and comparative law program, which remains strong to this day. Their individual lenses together helped thread the topics of natural resources and environmental law within the international and comparative law program at Iowa Law. Professor Stensvaag, during his successful tenure at Iowa Law, authored work with focuses on hazardous waste, air pollution law, citizen suits, and state environmental audit privileges. Professor Anaya became a renowned expert in Indian Law. Among his numerous publications was his acclaimed book, “Indigenous Peoples in International Law.” Among his noteworthy activities, Professor Anaya participated in the drafting of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and was the lead counsel for the indigenous parties in the case of Awas Tingni v. Nicaragua, in which the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for the first time upheld indigenous land rights as a matter of international law.
Courses in the 1980s - 2000's
The 1980’s, 1990’s and 2000’s saw a continued expansion of natural resources, energy, and environmental coursework at Iowa Law. A timeline of course offerings is listed here for brevity, along with the first year offered. Many of these courses were offered for decades after being introduced.
Energy Policy Issues Seminar (1980) | Federal Indian Law (2005) |
| Federal Agricultural Law (1983) | International Law of the Oceans and Their Resources (2005) |
| Selected Problems in Agricultural Law (1983) | Advanced Problems in International Environmental Law: Trade & Environmental Seminar (2005) |
| International Agricultural Trade (1985) | Energy Law and Regulated Industries (2008) |
Comparative Environmental Law (1988) | Water Law (2011) |
Mass Toxic Disasters (1988) | Advanced Problems in International Environmental Law: Law and Policy of Global Climate Change (2018) |
International Environmental Law (1991) | Energy Law and Policy (2022) |
Selected Problems in Indian Law (offered to supplement the Native American Law course) (1994) | ESG Basics: Understanding the Importance of Environmental, Social, and Governance Impact (2023) |
Citizen Enforcement of Environmental Laws (1994) | Cultural Property and Heritage (2023) |
Agricultural Law (1998) | Environmental Disaster Law and Policy (2023) |
International Environmental Law - Water (2002) | Wildlife and Habitat Conservation Law (2023) |
Citizen Enforcement of Environmental Laws (2004) | Nuclear Energy Law and the Environment (2024) |
Continuing the legacy
Professors Carlson, Weston, Anaya, and Stensvaag would continue the legacy of natural resources, energy and environmental scholarship at Iowa Law. Professor Weston wrote the book, Green Governance: Ecological Survival, Human Rights, and the Law of the Commons, which aimed to change how future generations think about international environmental law and respond to global environmental challenges.
Along with Professor Carlson, Professor Weston would continue to expand their expertise from nuclear energy and weapons, to power and energy, climate change, green governance, ecological commons, and human rights. Professor Carlson, with Sir Geoffrey Palmer and Professor Weston, published various editions International Environmental Law and World Order: A Problem-Oriented Coursebook. Dean Hines has remained active, with publications from The Land Ethic and American Agriculture and CAFOs and U.S. Law.
Writing Program
Outside of traditional coursework, an important area where students have explored themes of natural resources, energy, and environmental law is through our writing program. Iowa Law’s writing program—one of the strongest among law schools nationwide—is integral to all students' academic experience. Among opportunities for completing the writing requirements is to work on one of the law school's four student-run scholarly journals. These journal opportunities offer various ways for students and faculty to broaden or deepen their exposure to natural resources, energy, and environmental scholarship. Some examples from the Iowa Law Review and the Transnational Law & Contemporary Problems (TLCP) Journal are included here.
Iowa Law Review
Since 1933, The Iowa Law Review’s Symposium has hosted a biennial forum for legal scholarship, bringing together the foremost experts on a common topic of current and future importance in the law. The Iowa Law Review has hosted symposia on agricultural legislation, water use and control, regulated industries, local government unites and water quality control, and environmental decision-making.
During the Spring 2024 semester, the Iowa Law Review announced the 17 student notes to be published in Volume 110. Of those 17, four notes are on topics relevant to the subjects in this amendment. This Volume is indicative of the cultivation and growth of the natural resources, energy and environmental program here at Iowa Law. The notes are:
| Erin E. Frith, Subrogation for Decarbonization: Why Suing Carbon Majors Is the Only Way for First-Party Insurers to Remain Solvent | Kegan S. Peters, Iowa Needs (Clean Energy) Farmers |
| Alec T. Goos, The Smell of Money? An Iowa-Focused Impact Analysis of National Pork Producers Council v. Ross | Kyle D. Rustad Estel, Balancing Surveyor Access and Property Rights in the Age of Cedar Point: A Legal Analysis of Iowa’s Evolving Pipeline Troubles |
This upcoming fall 2024 semester, HELI is partnering with the Iowa Law Review and the Classical Liberal Institute at NYU School of Law on a symposium on “The Economic Implications of Climate Change.” This symposium will take place on September 19-20, 2024, at the University of Iowa College of Law. Professor Roesler is a member of the organizing committee for this symposium.
Transnational Law & Contemporary Problems
The Transnational Law & Contemporary Problems (TLCP) Journal, created in 1991, is a multi-disciplinary journal that addresses issues and problems that transcend national political boundaries. Similarly to the Iowa Law Review, TLCP has hosted symposia relevant to the scholarship discussed in this amendment. This has included symposia topics such as:
| Confronting Global Warming | Climate Change and Human Rights |
| Contemporary Perspectives on Self-Determination and Indigenous Peoples' Rights | International Environmental Law, Environmental Justice, and the Global South |
| Preferred Futures for the United Nations: Introduction Reforming the United Nations to Ensure Environmentally Sustainable Development | The Human Rights Conundrum: Climate Change Interventions as Both Problem and Solution |
HELI looks forward to partnering with all Iowa Law programs to support student interest in natural resources, energy, and environmental law by continuing to offer various opportunities to take coursework and conduct research in the fields.
Other co-curricular opportunities
We have now established Iowa’s first environmental moot court team. The three-person Iowa Law team competed in the Jeffrey G. Miller National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition (NELMCC) at Pace University’s The Elisabeth Haub School of Law, led by Professor Gronstal. After a successful inaugural year, we have institutionalized the course, team selection process, and instructor into the larger College’s moot court process, ensuring that students will have this opportunity in the future. Iowa Law looks forward to continuing this course and competition, led by Professor Gronstal.
During the Spring 2024 semester, HELI participated in a project with Iowa Law’s Community Engagement Law Project instructed by Professor Daria Fisher-Page. This project involves a team of students researching “The Future of the Iowa River: Balancing Competing Visions & Fostering Transparent Decision-making.” This project focused on the Iowa River, which flows through the University of Iowa campus, and the complicated network of stakeholders and decision makers involved with planning projects around the river. This clinic project aimed to help HELI and Iowa Law grow and strengthen our engagement with, and voice in, state and national environmental issues.
Looking forward
As evidenced, Iowa Law has had a rich history of faculty, research, and curriculum in the areas of natural resources, energy, and environmental law. The HELI builds on that momentum, has made a tangible impact since its inception, and will continue to deepen and broaden engagement on environmental issues at the College of Law, in Iowa, and beyond.