Environmental Law Symposium; 'Saving a Bug’s Life'

On Friday, March 6, a beautiful almost-spring day, the UC Davis School of Law, UC Davis’s Environmental Law Society, and the John Muir Institute on the Environment hosted the symposium “Saving a Bug’s Life: Legal Solutions to Combat Insect Biodiversity Decline and the Sixth Mass Extinction.” The symposium brought together scientists, law professors, policy-makers and others to discuss the current threat to insects, including essential pollinator species.

We are proud that King Hall has a long history of excellence in environmental law. Professor Harrison “Hap” Dunning founded the program, brought speakers and conferences to King Hall, and established the law school’s first environmental law course. Homer Angelo also contributed a lot in the early days of King Hall, teaching International Environmental Law many times.

In 1979, students founded the Environs Environmental Law & Policy Journal.  In 1980, Professor Dunning organized a pathbreaking UC Davis Law Review Symposium on the public trust doctrine. Over the years, Professor Holly Doremus (now at Berkeley Law), Al Lin, Chris Elmendorf, Karrigan Börk, Richard Frank (director of the California Environmental Law & Policy Center), and the late Lesley McAllister, along with others, joined in teaching environmental law. Scores of King Hall alumni have practiced environmental law in government, with nonprofit organizations, law firms, and in other capacities.

The symposium featured leading attorneys, lawmakers, and policy experts. We all are indebted to our amazing students, Kelly Beskin '21, Peter Jansen '20 and Vivienne Pismarov, Danielle Rosenduft, Lauren Murvihill, and Kathrine Schulze, all from the class of 2022, for organizing the event.

Professor Lin and Dr. Benjamin Houlton, director of the John Muir Institute, welcomed the full house of conference participants. The conference began in earnest with an insightful keynote by Charlton Bonham, director, California Department of Fish and Game. Four panel discussions followed, including panels moderated by Professors Börk and Lin. The day ended with a keynote by Professor Doremus.