Join the Hubbell Environmental Law Initiative in welcoming author and law professor John D. Leshy, emeritus distinguished professor at University of California College of Law San Francisco, to Iowa City for a discussion titled “Our Common Ground: Why America’s Public Lands Are a Political and Conservation Success Story.” Professor Leshy’s talk will highlight the history of America’s public land, and the lessons they offer for dealing with contemporary challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, and the dramatic increase in visitation.
Leshy’s discussion will take place on April 4, 2023 from 12:45pm – 1:45pm in Room 235 of the Boyd Law Building, on the University of Iowa campus. Leshy's talk is based on the main themes of his new book, Our Common Ground: A History of America's Public Lands, which is widely available now.
“John Leshy is one of the most important legal figures in public land and natural resources in the past half century. We are grateful to host him,” said Kevin Washburn, N. William Hines Dean and professor of law, University of Iowa College of Law.
In coordination with this talk, HELI has arranged for copies of Leshy’s book to be available at Prairie Lights Bookstore in Iowa City, as well as at the University of Iowa Library and the Iowa City Public Library. HELI, created by the vision and generosity of Iowa Law alumni Fred Hubbell (76JD) and Charlotte Beyer Hubbell (76JD), provides an active forum for interdisciplinary engagement on important environmental issues and support for law students, faculty and curriculum—ultimately strengthening the environmental law bar in Iowa. Through events like these, HELI also helps to draw together interdisciplinary groups and researchers across the university and the state in dialogue and discussion.
More details and logistics for the event are available on the Events Calendar, here: https://events.uiowa.edu/75593
Interested in attending the event? Lunch will be provided for those who register in advance. Please register here: https://uiowa.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_d1dM5ep9C5sNRfE
More about Our Common Ground
The U.S. government holds nearly one-third of the nation's land-more than 600 million acres of forests, plains, mountains, wetlands, deserts, and shorelines found in every part of the country. In this book, John Leshy, a leading expert in public lands policy, discusses the key political decisions that led to this result, beginning at the very founding of the nation. He traces the emergence of a bipartisan political consensus in favor of the national government managing vast areas of land primarily for recreation, education, science, and conservation of biodiversity and cultural resources. That consensus remains strong and continues to shape American identity. Such a success story of the political system is a bright spot in an era when many doubt whether government can ever produce good results. This book is essential reading for anyone who cares about public lands, and it is particularly timely as the world grapples with the challenges of climate change. - From book jacket.
About Author and Professor John D. Leshy
John D. Leshy is a distinguished professor emeritus at the University of California College of the Law in San Francisco (formerly U.C. Hastings). His political history of America’s public lands, Our Common Ground, was published in 2022 by Yale University Press.
Leshy was Solicitor (General Counsel) of the Interior Department a Senate-confirmed position) throughout the Clinton administration. Earlier, he was counsel to the Chair of the Natural Resources Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, a law professor at Arizona State University, Associate Solicitor of Interior for Energy and Resources in the Carter administration, an attorney-advocate with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and a litigator in the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. He headed the Interior Department transition team for Clinton-Gore in 1992 and was co-lead for Obama-Biden in 2008.
Leshy has been a visiting professor multiple times at Harvard Law School, from which he graduated in 1969, after earning an A.B. at Harvard College. He has served on numerous boards and commissions and his many publications include a book on the Mining Law of 1872 and co-authoring casebooks on public land and resources law (now in its 8th edition 2021) and water law (6th edition, 2018).