As part of continuing efforts to provide Tribes legal assistance, CILS is developing and publishing summaries of important federal environmental and natural resource laws with specific information pertaining to the rights and responsibilities of Tribes and individual Indians. In this way, a Tribe, individual Indian, or attorney will be able to obtain a summary of these laws and how they could affect Native American communities. The summaries are intended to provide Tribes, individual Indians, and attorneys with a brief introduction to the various statutes and sufficient working knowledge to initially participate in tribal, federal, state, and local decision-making forums. However, a detailed analysis of these environmental laws are beyond the scope of the summaries. As always, an attorney should be consulted to fully protect legal rights.

This summer, CILS received funding from the National Association of Public Interest Lawyers (NAPIL) for a law clerk to complete these summaries. Lisa Marie Williams, the NAPIL summer law clerk in the Eureka office, is researching and writing summaries on the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), and the Endangered Species Act (ESA).