My next article "Spurious Subspecies" is now forthcoming in the Northwestern University Law Review! It deals with the tricky problem of legally defining ESA terms like "subspecies" and "distinct population segment" in the face of novel science and changing administrative law. Draft ⬇️:

I have officially crossed the Rubicon into out-of-touch middle age. I posted this gif yesterday while teaching the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and was met by blank stares ...

Slow to report, but our 2nd Annual Early Environmental Law Scholars Conference at @uflaw.bsky.social was a massive success! Thanks to everyone that attended or played a part in organizing. #EELS law.ufl.edu/news/uf-law-...

For anyone that happens to be in Gainesville this afternoon, I'm giving a seminar to the UF Genetics Institute.

Predator management litigation in the wild! While I'm sympathetic to some of the claims the bear advocates are making, I think it will be a tough case for them to win. I wrote about this phenomenon in my recent Utah Law Review article (see ⬇️) apnews.com/article/bear...

A week late, but I am nevertheless thrilled to now work at @uflaw.bsky.social. The move even came with a promotion to Associate Professor! We've got a great group - check out all the other new folks too: www.law.ufl.edu/new-faculty

To learn more about what works and doesn’t in litigating predator management, check out @alexerwin.bsky.social’s paper: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Sharing my draft article, Protecting Wild Animal Abundance, forthcoming in Utah Law Review, @sjquinney.bsky.social. It highlights loss of relatively common wild #animals as distinct from the #biodiversity crisis, and discusses why US #environmental #law failed to stop such losses.

For junior environmental law folks, we’re hosting our 2nd Annual Early Environmental Law Scholars (EELS) Conference at @uflaw.bsky.social this Nov 6-8. We’ve got it all: paper talks, teaching workshops, a field trip into nature, and more! Register here: www.law.ufl.edu/events-feed/...

The use of biotechnology for conservation, whether for de-extinction or genetic augmentation of existing species, promises solutions to otherwise intractable problems in protecting endangered animals. A law professor explains: buff.ly/MfRdVg3 By @alexerwin.bsky.social @fiu.bsky.social

The use of biotechnology for conservation, whether for de-extinction or genetic augmentation of existing species, promises solutions to otherwise intractable problems in protecting endangered animals. A law professor explains: buff.ly/MfRdVg3 By @alexerwin.bsky.social @fiu.bsky.social

I wrote this, so you should totally read it!

Beyond de-extinction and dire wolves, gene editing can help today’s endangered species buff.ly/MfRdVg3

More of my thoughts on dire wolves, red wolves, and biotech for conservation. Thanks to @us.theconversation.com for editing and publishing. theconversation.com/beyond-de-ex...

Congrats to the FIU Law @fiu.bsky.social Class of 2025 graduates! This was the first group I taught as 1L’s, so I feel like I’m graduating with y’all this year!

Some big (personal) Earth Day news. I am deeply honored to be named as the first holder of the Oliver Houck Chair in Environmental Law at Tulane. Excited to join the fabulous faculty there law.tulane.edu/news/rebecca...

Taught my final class at FIU this morning. My natural resources law students made it extra-special with a UF-themed goodbye care package. It’s been a wonderful 3 years, and the students are what I will miss the most.

The administration today announced it's rescinding the regulatory definition of "harm" under the #ESA, which includes destroying endangered species' habitat. public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2025-06746.pdf

The moral hazard issue is so dumb. True de-extinction will likely always be impossible. Functional de-extinction can maybe help restore ecosystems. But it is not real de-extinction and does not absolve humanity for its role in extinction. 1/5 www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

@alexerwin.bsky.social You might enjoy this:

Huge congrats to @uflaw.bsky.social on getting a wonderful scholar and great human being to join them!

After that comeback, now feels like a great time to officially announce that I’m joining the faculty at @uflaw.bsky.social in the Fall! 🐊🐊🐊 I’ll miss my students and colleagues at FIU, but I’m ready for the next chapter (which hopefully involves more national championships)!

The science behind the dire wolf “de-extinction” is soooo cool, but imo not directly useful for conservation. The real conservation benefits of this work are buried in the article. Colossal has also been cloning red wolves to reintroduce lost genetic diversity. time.com/7274542/colo...

The targeting of @profrrothschild.bsky.social is yet another example of shameful efforts to mobilize the law against those who are fighting for this planet's future and in the process degrade academic freedom.

I’m assuming this is also a place for shameless self-promotion so … “Litigating Predator Management” is now out online and in print! Cite it liberally! dc.law.utah.edu/ulr/vol2025/...

In honor of #305Day, I am thrilled to announce I am moving back home!! Beginning this summer, I will be an Assistant Professor of Law at FIU Law in Miami, Florida. I am ready for this new transition and the many, many cafecitos y pastelitos.