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The Conservation Law Center at Michigan State University College of Law (CLC) is a dedicated course of study in the field of conservation law designed to train participants interested in working with state and federal land use, wildlife and fisheries management, timber management, energy and mining regulation, and similar fields of natural resource management.

The CLC includes two primary components. First, participants engage a recommended field of study consisting of courses designed to expose participants to (1) substantive law in the field, (2) conservationist ethical models such as the North American Model for Wildlife Conservation, and (3) practical study in a field of natural sciences, including a recommended quantitative methods component. This recommended course of study responds to the needs of state agencies involved in the field. Members of those agencies have expressed a strong interest in having attorneys who have the ability to understand the science and quantitative methods involved in natural resource management.

Second, the CLC is developing partnerships with a range of natural resource management agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to provide externship and internship opportunities for participants in the program. Past participants have worked closely with the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (AFWA), as well as individual state agencies. The Michigan-based Hal & Jean Glassen Memorial Foundation has endowed a scholarship fund with additional generous assistance from Safari Club International to provide living expenses for program-related externships.

Students interested in the Conservation Law Center should contact Prof. Daniel Barnhizer at daniel.barnhizer@law.msu.edu, or at his office: 426 Law College Bldg. / 517.432.6901 .