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.

Projects

• Atmospheric Recovery

Recent Presentations 

• 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 2023-2024

   

  

  Molly Hooks - 3L

  Molly grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and attended college at the University of Iowa. There, she majored in psychology and minored in French and environmental policy and planning—and played rugby! Courses Molly took in environmental justice are what sparked her professional interest in environmental law. At Oregon Law, Molly serves on the board of Student Advocacy and Action for Environmental Justice (SAAEJ) and the Journal of Environmental Law and Litigation (JELL). She recently wrote an article on the environmental justice implications of a new Inflation Reduction Act clean energy program, which will be published in JELL's 2025 edition. Molly worked as a Conservation Trust Project Fellow as a 2L and is keen to put in another great year with the Project. Outside of class, Molly loves to run, cook delicious vegan food, and identify clouds. She is excited to clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit after law school and continue to contribute meaningfully to the environmental justice movement.

  

  Alex Mackay - 3L

  Alex was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. After graduating from the University of Utah with a bachelor's degree in economics, he decided to continue his education in law school. Alex's decision to attend Oregon Law was made easy by the prestigious legal writing program and beautiful environments surrounding campus. As he has worked toward his JD, he has also earned an MBA through Oregon Law's concurrent degree program, completing coursework at UO's Lundquist College of Business. There, Alex also worked in the Warsaw Sports Business Center, helping equip and empower female student-athletes with skills to leverage their name, image, and likeness. 

  Now in his final year at Oregon Law, Alex is energized to tackle challenges surrounding the Earth's climate crisis. He has grown from his experiences in the legal field--probing policy on student-athlete compensation, serving as a judicial extern for Utah Supreme Court Justice, and gaining litigation experience as a clerk to a private firm. He continues to enjoy camping, fishing, and watching sports. After law school, Alex wants to seek an opportunity that will combine his passions for sports, the environment, and social justice. 

  

  Maddie Reese - 3L

  Maddie was born and raised in Northern California near the border of the El Dorado National Forest. She has always had a passion for conservation and enjoying the country's public lands. She even met her husband during a summer working in Glacier National Park!

  Maddie attended the University of Washington in Seattle, where she graduated with an English degree and minor in Environmental Science and Resource Management. She started her professional career as a journalist, working at news outlets across Washington, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada. After covering several impactful environmental stories in her journalism career (and taking a year off to live and teach English in Madrid, Spain), she decided to make the transition to law school. Since starting at Oregon Law, Maddie has worked with both the Civil Liberties Defense Center and Cascadia Wildlands in Eugene. She is excited to join the ENR Center for her second year on the Conservation Trust Project, working to protect our precious landscapes and natural resources. 

  

  Abby Shearer - 3L 

  Abby was born and raised in Colorado where she studied Philosophy at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Her water law and environmental studies coursework made Abby particularly interested in the depletion of freshwater resources around the world. She went on to study global perspectives on water in Italy, where she attended a United Nations Conference focused on sustainability and natural resources. Then, she became a political ambassador with The Borgen Project, advocating for better health and living conditions for people experiencing extreme poverty--without access to clean water and sanitation--around the world.  Abby is currently pursuing a J.D. at the University of Oregon School of Law because she believes that public policy work is necessary for the health and sustainability of our natural resources. She spent this summer working with Tualatin Riverkeepers.