The Water Law Scholarship of Jim Huffman and Janet Neuman: Prologue to the Festschrift

Abstract:     
This prologue to a festschrift in Environmental Law for the retiring Jim Huffman and Janet Neuman - who collectively taught water law at Lewis and Clark Law School for nearly forty years - discusses the highlights of their water law scholarship. Huffman was a persistent advocate for private rights’ allocation under the prior appropriation doctrine, a devoted defender of water right transfers, and a critic - probably the principal academic critic - of efforts to temper the appropriation doctrine with public trust doctrine. Neuman, on the other hand, argued for curbs on appropriative water rights through vigorous interpretation of the beneficial use requirement, implementation of comprehensive river-basin planning, and recognition of Indian reserved water rights. She also advocated water conservation, including largely forgotten traditional measures, and championed private water purchases to increase instream flows, something her long-time colleague, Huffman - the quintessential free-market environmentalist - surely supported.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 14

Keywords: water law, natural resources law, environmental law, public trust doctrine, legal history, takings law

JEL Classification: K11, K32, N52, O13, Q25, Q28

Accepted Paper Series