In Sacrifice Zones, author Johnathan D. Rosenbloom (Albany Law School) proposes a new way to address issues present at the intersection of climate change and land zoning laws.

Join the Rural Reconciliation Project and friends for a discussion of rural futures on March 4, 2025, inspired by an upcoming premier of the Angels Theatre Company’s new play, Eminent Domain.

In Re-Placing Property, Jessica A. Shoemaker (Nebraska Law) explores how property law shapes our attachments to place and considers the consequences of the property system prioritizing the first possessor regardless of an increasing disconnect between place-based relationships. Shoemaker focuses on understanding the historical impact of property systems and the continuous reshaping of property ownership while proposing ways to promote more equitable relationships to property that focus on personal relationships to land.

In Land for Whom? Diversity, Land Trusts, and Farmers and Gardeners from Marginalized Backgrounds in New England, Julie C. Keller (Sociology and Anthropology, University of Rhode Island), Blake Harrison (Political Science, University of Rhode Island), and Corey Lang (Environmental and Natural Resource Economics, University of Rhode Island) explores the extent to which land trusts in New England have been able to meet the needs of farmers and gardeners of marginalized backgrounds.

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) made headlines in early 2024 as many major American museums closed exhibits and entire wings in order to comply with new regulations governing the possession and display of Native American cultural artifacts and funerary objects. But the recent regulatory changes have the potential to affect more than museum displays—they may give reservation residents a stronger say in what the government does on their land.

In Geographies of Land Ownership Change in the Rural United States: Challenges, Methods, and Possibilities, Lindsay Shade (Community and Leadership Development, University of Kentucky) and Levi Van Sant (Integrative Studies, George Mason University) outline the challenges and potential solutions to researching geographies of land ownership in rural United States. Their research draws on their experiences with a participatory action research project, the Appalachian Land Study.

Event announcement. Join Dana Fritz, Hixson-Lied Professor of Art, Art History and Design, for an important reflection on how humans make, shape, and understand landscapes. Like a virtual fieldtrip to the Nebraska Sandhills, but through the lens of the most thoughtful and introspective of guides, visual artist Fritz will discuss and share photographs from her new book, “Field Guide to a Hybrid Landscape.” The book examines, in provocative ways, the unique hand-planted forest of the Bessey Ranger District and now includes some of the last images captured before the 2022 wildfires near Halsey. Event on February 21, 2024, at 4pm at the University of Nebraska College of Law.

Event details for a May 2024 spring prairie walk through the tallgrass hosted by the Project and Theo Michaels. RSVP required.

Event announcement. Join Dana Fritz, Hixson-Lied Professor of Art, Art History and Design, for an important reflection on how humans make, shape, and understand landscapes. Like a virtual fieldtrip to the Nebraska Sandhills, but through the lens of the most thoughtful and introspective of guides, visual artist Fritz will discuss and share photographs from her new book, “Field Guide to a Hybrid Landscape.” The book examines, in provocative ways, the unique hand-planted forest of the Bessey Ranger District and now includes some of the last images captured before the 2022 wildfires near Halsey. Event on February 21, 2024, at 4pm at the University of Nebraska College of Law.