Yosemite and the Law Today—150 Years Later
Open gallery
Janice Weis, associate dean and director of the law school’s Environmental Law Program, was a featured speaker at the California Bar Environmental Section Annual Yosemite Conference in October. This conference, now in its 23rd year, is nationally recognized as the largest gathering in California of environmental and natural resources practitioners and policymakers and consists of three days of presentations, accompanied by learning opportunities within Yosemite National Park itself.
Weis spoke on the panel Yosemite and the Law Today—150 Years Later. She addressed the legal history of Yosemite (created as a state park in 1864 and later named a national park) and the current laws influencing the park’s management, including the National Park Service Organic Act, the Wilderness Act, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act. Weis also discussed the impact of the Endangered Species Act on park management, focusing on recent species-listing developments that affect areas of the park and on concerns about the impacts of climate change on the habitat and behavior of certain species.
