In 1969, Environmental Law was founded as America's first law review dedicated entirely to environmental issues. The journal has been published by Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland since it's first issue in 1970. Still printed on recycled paper with soy ink the publication remains a leading publication in environmental law.
In the following issue the journal published a article from U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas discussing the degradation of the ocean environment.
Residents of the American northwest will not be surprised by Justice Douglas' commitment to environmentalism. He grew up in Yakima, Washington where he observed first had police brutality towards workers in the Northwest. According to Justice Douglas this motivated him to seek a legal education. He soon headed east to attend Yale law school.
Even after moving east Douglas remained a frequent visitor to the Mt. Saint Helen's Lodge at Spirit Lake in Washington State.
[Bob Karm - http://pdxretro.com/2012/05/he-refused-to-leave-his-mountain/]
He advocated for the environment on and off the court. He argued that inanimate objects in the environment should have standing in his dissent in Sierra Club v. Morton 405 U.S. 727 (1972). He also published a influential review of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. In 1984 in honor of his commitment to the wilderness area adjacent to Mount Rainier National Park was renamed the William O. Douglas Wilderness Area.
["Old Scab Mountain 16969" by Walter Siegmund (talk) - Own work. Licensed under CC BY 2.5 via Commons]
Richard Nixon was also a significant supporter of environmental issues. He signed the National Environmental Policy Act in 1969 creating the EPA.
Here on the shelves of the State of Oregon Law Library in one volume of the Environmental Law journal is a example of the Northwest's long national influence on environmental law.
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