Lewis & Clark Law School and
the Center for Progressive Reform present

Law, Science, and the Environment Forum:
A Meeting of Minds

April 19-20, 2007

What does “sound science” really mean?

Should federal agencies subject their decisions to peer review?

Can scientists also be advocates for a particular policy outcome?

What should we do in the face of uncertainty?

These questions are among the most challenging and contentious that society faces in making decisions about how to manage and protect our environment. Threats such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, and harms caused by pollution underscore that stakes are high. And only one thing is certain: Science or law alone cannot provide the answers to such questions and apply them to solve environmental problems. That task will require people who can integrate scientific and legal knowledge.

Law, Science, and the Environment Forum: A Meeting of Minds, co-sponsored by Lewis and Clark Law School and the Center for Progressive Reform (CPR), will bring together a select group of scientific and legal thinkers and government officials willing to think and speak across disciplines to suggest environmental problem-solving accessible to both scientists and lawyers. Unconstrained by the traditional boundaries between the fields of law and science, our speakers and active participants will have the opportunity to explore together the relationship between science and law in managing and conserving the environment, as well as generate new ideas for better integrating these disciplines.

In addition to making deliberate efforts to break through disciplines barriers, we plan to organize the Forum in an interactive way. Both Forum presenters and participants will be highly regarded environmental law and science professionals. Presenters will spark comments, questions, and discussion among all participants, which in turn will encourage a high level of creative thinking by the group as a whole. Goals of the Forum include facilitating and encouraging interdisciplinary communication and collaboration on environmental and natural resources issues, as well as promoting scholarly investigation of the interaction of law and science in making and implementing environmental and natural resources policy choices.


If you are interested in learning more about the Forum or observing this event, or would like to participate in subsequent efforts to better integrate science and law, please contact either Dan Rohlf, rohlf@lclark.edu or 503-768-6707 or Lin Harmon, lhw@lclark.edu or 503-768-6882.