CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY

Mission

The Center for Environmental Law & Policy was co-founded by University of Washington Law School Professor Ralph W. Johnson and NGO public interest lawyer Rachael Paschal Osborn in 1993. Their shared vision was to create an organization to serve as a voice for the public interest in water resource management and preservation throughout Washington State. They recognized that water belongs to all of us, and that the Public Trust Doctrine should be used to protect this precious resource for humans, wildlife, and life itself.

To this day, Professor Johnson’s scholarship on the Public Trust Doctrine and Federal Indian Law informs every aspect of the way we work. His invaluable expertise and insight provided the foundation for innumerable legal actions and policy initiatives to protect each citizen’s right to abundant, clean, and flowing waterways. His close relationships with many Indigenous Tribes of the Pacific Northwest established a deference to Tribal leadership in water resource management and ongoing legacy of commitment to environmental justice.

Organization Information