The concept of ecosystem management is sweeping through federal and state resource agencies, altering their orientation toward resource use and conservation issues, but what is the law of ecosystem management? This course explores that question beginning with an introduction to the concept of ecosystem management-its history, principles, and current state of play in concrete policy settings. The course then explores laws and regulations relating to the six types of ecosystems often described in ecosystem management literature-forests, grasslands, freshwater, coastal and marine, fragile and human dominated. Perspectives of agencies, resource users, environmental groups and other interest groups will be explored.