Fellows focus on public trust theory and private property tools such as conservation easements and trust acquisitions to achieve landscape conservation and protect natural resources.

Select Presentations 

• Mary Wood, "Securing Ecology 'Capable of Sustaining Human Life: Invoking the Inherent and Inalienable Public Trust Rights of the People," 26 University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law 1 (2024).
• Mary Wood, "Nature's Trust: Protecting an Ecological Endowment for Posterity," Public Interest Environmental Law Conference, Land Air Water, University of Oregon (March 2, 2023).
• Mary Wood, "Confronting the Other Climate Imperative: An Approach to Sky Cleanup Using Natural Climate Solutions (NCS)," Marie Sklodowska-Curie Energy Transition in Law and Governance Annual Lecture, University of Houston Law Center (January 31, 2023).
• Susan Gary, "Fiduciary Duties and Sustainable Investing: What Works and Why," 67th Annual Estate Planning Seminar, Estate Planning Council of Seattle (October 25, 2022).
• Mary Wood, "The Oregon Forest Trust: From Commodity to Commonwealth," North Coast Communities for Watershed Protection and Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition, October 17, 2022.
• Susan Gary, "Charities and Sustainable Investing: Putting Your Mission Where Your Money Is," with Jennifer B. Goode, Heidi Strassburger Masters Program, Northern California Planned Giving Council (August 18, 2022).
• Mary Wood, "The Public Trust and Chilean Constitutional Rights," with Verónica Delgado and Dominique Hervé, Universidad de Concepción and Universidad Diego Portales (August 1, 2022).  SPANISH TRANSLATION: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-u68Unldx0
• Mary Wood, "Nature's Trust: Protecting an Ecological Endowment for Posterity," Thirty-third Annual Environmental Law Distinguished Visitor Lecture, Lewis & Clark Law School (March 16, 2022).
• Susan Gary, "ESG and Tax Policy - Responsible Tax Policies for a Better Future," with Eric Janowak, Janet Milne, and Margaret Peloso, American Bar Association Tax Section Midyear Meeting (February 2, 2022).
• Anne Wolke, 3L Fellow, "Coastal Cultural Resources in the Age of Climate Change: Strengthening the Legal Framework for Historic Preservation," Oregon State of the Coast, October 29, 2021.
• Adell Amos, "Making Public Land Provide Public Benefits: The Biden Approach to Public Land," Fall 2021 Conference, American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources (September 30, 2021)
• Mary Wood, Keynote speech at the Ralph F. Fuchs Lecture, Indiana University, Maurer School of Law October 23, 2020.
• Mary Wood, “Holding Producers Accountable for Natural Resource Damages: PCB, MTBE, PFAS, and Climate Liability as Guidance for Atmospheric Recovery Litigation,” Oregon Law Public Interest Environmental Law Conference on May 8, 2020. 

Recent Publications

• Susan Gary, "The Changing Landscape of Business Succession: How and Why Purpose Trusts Matter," Ohio State Business Law Journal (forthcoming 2024).
• Mary Wood, "The Oregon Forest Trust: An Ecological Endowment for Posterity," 101 Oregon Law Review 515 (Winter 2023).
• Susan N. Gary & Beck Groff, 3L Fellow, "Patagonia, Purpose Trusts, and Stewardship Trusts— Business with a Purpose," 37 Probate & Property 1 (Jan. 2023).
• Mary Wood, "Nature's Trust: Protecting an Ecological Endowment for Posterity" 52 Environmental Law 4 (Jan. 2023)
• Mary Wood, “On the Eve of Destruction”: Courts Confronting the Climate Emergency, 97 Indiana Law Journal 239 (Winter 2022)
• Susan N. Gary, "Conflicts and Opportunities for Pension Fiduciaries in the ESG Environment," 74 Oklahoma Law Review 607 (2022)
• Mary Wood, "The Public Trust Doctrine in Environmental and Natural Resources Law," Third Edition (Textbook) (with Michael C. Blumm) Carolina Academic Press (2020).
• Mary Wood, Joseph Sax, and Gerald Torres, "The Public Trust in Environmental Law," chapter in Pioneers in Environmental Law, Twelve Table Press (2020).
• Mary Wood, “Restoring Democracy: Nature’s Trust, Human Survival, and Constitutional Fiduciary Governance,” chapter in  Democracy Unchained: How to Rebuild Government for the People, The New Press, 2020.
• Susan Gary, "Best Interests in the Long Term: Fiduciary Duties and ESG Integration," 90 University of Colorado Law Review 731 (2019).
• Mary Wood and Michael Blumm, "Climate Change and the Public Trust Doctrine in Oregon: A Law Professors' Amicus Brief" (July 16, 2019).
• Mary Wood, Erin Ryan, et. al., "Juliana v. United States: Debating the Fundamentals of the Fundamental Right to a Sustainable Climate," 45 Florida State Law Review Online 1 (January 2019).
• Mary Wood, "Atmospheric Trust Litigation: Securing a Constitutional Right to a Stable Climate System," 29 Colorado Natural Resources, Energy & Environmental Law Review 101 (2018).
• Mary Wood, Adrian Treves, et. al., "Intergenerational Equity Can Secure the Future of the Atmosphere and Biodiversity," 2 Nature Ecology & Evolution 204 (January 2018). 

Faculty

• Susan Gary
• Mary Wood
• Douglas Quirke (Research Associate)

CTP Fellows 2024-2025

Daniel Billick - 2L

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  Danny was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he developed a love for nature while prowling the shores of Lake Michigan and camping in the northern part of the state. After high school, Danny spent three months at the National Outdoor Leadership School, backpacking through the Himalayas in northern India. Danny the enrolled at Western Washington University (WWU), where he double majored in Spanish and Environmental Studies & Economics. Combined with his longstanding interest in environmental issues, his coursework inspired him to pursue research focused on how social, economic, and political systems intersect with ecological issues. During his junior year, Danny conducted independent research surrounding greenhouse gas emissions from livestock. He presented his findings at the Western Washington Geographers' 2016 Spring Conference, where he was awarded for the best undergraduate research paper. In Danny's last year at WWU, the Washington State Supreme Court issued the monumental Hirst decision, drastically changing the process around granting water rights in his county, and helping Danny see the law as a powerful tool for contributing to environmental causes. Shortly after, he decided to apply to law school. 

  Before attending Oregon Law, Danny worked on a successful state legislative campaign and for two environmental nonprofits. During his 1L summer, he interned for U.S. District Judge Adrienne Nelson in Portland, Oregon. This year, Danny is joining the Conservation Trust Project team as a Fellow, serving as a staff editor on the Journal of Environmental Law and Litigation, working as a tutor in the Legal Research and Writing Program, and competing in moot court. 

  When he is not on campus, Danny spends his time with his partner of ten years, Evelyn, their two cats, Thao and Truman, and their dog, Zelda. 

  Elizabeth Wiggans - 3L

  

  Liz Wiggans is a third-year law student committed to environmental advocacy. After her first year at Oregon Law, Liz interned with the Sierra Club of Hawai'i , focusing on the scope of governmental responsibility for safeguarding pubic trust resources such as Kapūkakī. In summer 2024, she interned with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, helping ensure private and public entities' compliance with environmental law. 

  Prior to attending law school, Liz studied Public Health Science and Biology at Santa Clara University. Then, she taught middle school science. As a public school teacher, Liz saw students continually demonstrating their understanding of the interconnectedness of natural systems and their inherent responsibility to steward these systems. Her students, colleagues, and fellow surfers inspired her to pursue a law degree. 

  Liz is motivated by the desire to reharmonize human relationships with the Earth and hopes to dedicate her career to the spirit of the public trust doctrine so her former students, future generations, and the natural systems that support life can thrive.