Using the Federal Public Trust Doctrine to Fill Gaps in the Legal Systems Protecting Migrating Wildlife from the Effects of Climate Change

Authors

Hope M. Babcock, Georgetown University Law CenterFollow

Abstract

I. Introduction

II. The Impact of Global Climate Change on Wildlife ... A. General Impact of Climate Change ... B. The Impact of Global Climate Change on Wildlife … 1. Wildlife Migration ... 2. Assisted Migration and Protecting Migratory Corridors

III. Rigid Federal Laws and Inadequate Private Conservation Mechanisms ... A. Federal Lands and Federal Laws ... B. Inadequate Private Conservation Mechanisms

IV. The Public Trust Doctrine and a Federal Trust in Wildlife ... A. The Public Trust Doctrine ... B. Strong Federal Interest in Wildlife

V. Three Theories Supporting the Existence of a Federal Public Trust Doctrine and Why It Has Not Been Displaced by Statutory Law ... A. A Federal Doctrine of Public Trust ... B. Objections to a Federal Public Trust Doctrine ... 1. Statutory Law Displaces Common Law Doctrines Like the Public Trust Doctrine ... 2. The Public Trust Doctrine Invites Courts to Intrude in Policy Making by the Political Branches

VI. Proposal

VII. Conclusion

Recommended Citation

Hope M. Babcock, Using the Federal Public Trust Doctrine to Fill Gaps in the Legal Systems Protecting Migrating Wildlife from the Effects of Climate Change, 95 Neb. L. Rev. 649 (2016)
Available at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nlr/vol95/iss3/3