Hi! My name is Lucy Newell, and I am a senior at Indiana University studying Law and Public Policy at the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. This past semester, I have been the Undergraduate Intern at the Conservation Law Center.
Read MoreThe Conservation Law Center is excited to announce the creation of a new position—the Nancy C. Ralston Conservation Law Fellowship. Through a nation-wide search, Megan Freveletti has been selected to start in May 2022. The fellowship will cover a broad spectrum of responsibilities including litigation-related research, land protection transactions, advising conservation clients, policy analysis, and outreach.
Read MoreConservation Law Center is excited to announce the creation of a new position for the organization—the Constance and Terry Marbach Conservation Attorney. Connie and Terry Marbach have been conservation vanguards for decades, with a long history funding the conservation of important natural areas for wildlife habitat, water quality, and biological diversity in Indiana and across the country. This support has resulted in thousands of protected acres, including some of Indiana’s most biologically important areas. Their work with the Pacific Crest Trail Association and other important initiatives to connect people with nature have been invaluable to the successes of those projects.
Read MoreConservation Law Center is excited to announce a $10,000 grant from the Duke Energy Foundation to establish a new student fellowship program. The Duke Energy “Grass Roots” Conservation Fellowship will offer students at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law a paid internship to gain hands-on experience advocating for water conservation and improved water quality in the state of Indiana.
Read MoreIU Well's Scholar, Amangul Hydyrova, wrote a guest column on the Indiana University - Maurer School of Law homepage highlighting the work of the Conservation Law Center and Clinic from the student perspective.
In the article, Kacey Cook said of her clinic experience, “Having peers at the same stage of the learning process can be a comfort and the real source of encouragement. We were all learning together.”
Read MoreThis report, requested by the Macaw Recovery Network (MRN), details the ways in which the rapidly growing pineapple industry in Costa Rica threatens the survival of the Great Green Macaw, an already endangered species. It specifically examines the impacts of the pineapple industry on the environment, labor rights, and public health. It also provides overviews of several initiatives aimed at amending the pineapple industry and offers suggestions for enhancing Great Green Macaw conservation efforts. Finally, the report outlines potential next steps for continued research that may be helpful to MRN’s conservation efforts.
Read MoreWomen throughout the world and throughout time have assisted in shaping conservation into what it is today. Our world would not be the same if it wasn’t for their research, hard work, and powerful voices.
Below is a timeline of just a few of the many women who have fought for conservation in their lifetimes. They fought for causes dear to their hearts and we want to celebrate the impact they have made on the field of conservation. These women were scientists, conservationists, activists, and more.
Read MoreI know what you’re probably thinking, how is already the middle of March? Well, we are feeling the same way. Since Spring is going to be here before we know it, we wanted to talk about the bumblebee!
Bumblebees are in great danger due to loss of habitat, disease, pesticides, and climate change. As a result of these problems, the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee, known as Bombus affinis by scientists, has been classified as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. These insects call grasslands and prairies their home, but much of this land has lost, degraded, or fragmented in recent years. Climate change is one of the biggest, most salient issues regarding the declining population of these fuzzy insects.
Read MoreHere are some great events happening throughout the state for World Wetlands Day.
Read MoreHow do we help land trusts? We give pro bono advice on matters of conservation easement drafting and enforcement, complex real estate transactions, property liabilities, and countless other matters related to running a nonprofit organization.
Read MoreWe continue to work on solutions to Indiana’s water quality problems thanks to a generous gift of $40,000 from the Herbert Simon Family Foundation.
Read MoreIt has become clear to us that the case was not just about the Gundersons and a single beach. Nor was it just about Indiana or even just about Lake Michigan. Rather, the Gunderson case was a strategically important battle in a nationwide war over the sanctity and future of public lands in this country.
Read MoreMacaws are some of the most beautiful birds in the world, and among the most threatened. Great Green Macaws are a particular concern to conservationists right now, due to pressures from habitat loss and the pet trade in Central America.
Read MoreThe Duke Energy Foundation recently awarded Conservation Law Center a grant for $20,000 to help improve water monitoring and management of Lake Monroe. The grant will help establish a water monitoring station on the South Fork of Salt Creek, one of the main feeder creeks for the lake. The monitoring station will provide valuable information on the inputs affecting water quantity and quality, while helping inform public officials and citizens on the challenges facing this important resource.
Read MoreGeorge Rogers Clark Land Trust and the Center made history with the closing on Indiana’s first farmland easement under the USDA’s Agricultural Conservation Easement Program.
Read MoreIn Essroc Cement Corp. v. Clark County Bd. of Zoning Appeals & Sierra Club, the Center has been working to fight hazardous waste pollution from contaminating the air of neighborhoods and schools in southern Indiana. So far, the latest decision remains in favor of Clark County.
Read MoreMass production in Industry has revolutionised the way that we live and work, but like all good things, it comes at a cost. Water pollution can be caused by both legal and illegal discharges from factories and proccessong plants. Incorrect disposal of dangerous chemicals can permanently damage a watershed.
Read MoreMining, whether it is for coal, oil, aluminium, uranium, silver, or gold, is notoriously damaging to the environment. Often when we think of these impacts, we think of the adverse health conditions that many miners experience, or the loss of wildlife habitat due to strip mining. Unfortunately, those aren't the only negative effects of mining. Mining of resources and their subsequent refinement, often near or at the same site, pollutes tremendous amounts of water.
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