Heirs' property ownership is increasingly unstable and fragmented. In this blog, 3L Senior Staffer Ben Bertram argues for the implementation of the Uniform Partition of Heirs' Property Act to protect family-owned farms and ancestral land from forced sales and speculative exploitation. Bertram contends that the procedural adjustments required by the UPHPA are outweighed by the preservation of rural land ownership.

In this blog, 2L staffer Aaron Withers examines Kentucky’s emerging shift from a coal-based economy to advanced nuclear and critical-mineral projects on retired mine sites. He argues that this transition is welcome only if implemented through a community-centered legal framework with strict siting requirements, enforceable local-benefit obligations, and long-term accountability to prevent repeating past harms.

In this blog, 2L staffer Alexander Bowman tackles the issue of whether new equine inspection laws for racehorses should be extended to apply to show horses as well. Bowman discusses the new inspection laws and analyzes the benefits of them. Next, he discusses the potentially injurious effects on show horses without these inspection laws. Bowman recommends that these laws should be applied to show horses in a uniform manner through the creation of a similar independent agency like the KHRGC. 

The Animal Welfare Act (AWA) remains outdated in excluding invertebrates such as hermit crabs and shrimp, despite mounting scientific evidence of their sentience. To address this gap, 2L staffer Calvin Scott Bailey believes Congress should amend the AWA or direct the USDA to develop welfare standards for decapod crustaceans, aligning U.S. animal welfare law with contemporary science and global reforms.

In this blog, 2L staffer Emma Carlo explains how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently attempting to rescind newly implemented drinking water regulations regarding chemicals known as PFAs. Carlo argues that this deregulation action is indicative of corporate favoritism and proves that water utility companies and the EPA believe the $800 million implementation cost is too expensive to protect the public and the environment. Carlo explains that EPA is acting contrary to its intended purpose, as this deregulation will allow continued exposure to these chemicals for more than 70 million people, despite the high likelihood of adverse health effects from low exposure to PFAS.

In this blog, 2L staffer Kalista Thomas focuses on the issues surrounding the lowering levels of water in the Colorado River and how these lowering levels are exacerbated by climate change. Thomas argues how the United States needs to continue to be a member in the Paris Agreement and gives an outline of how the Paris Agreement helps countries reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. 

In this blog, 3L Senior Staffer Erica Joan Radermacher discusses the recent case of Skipper v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service, in which the court in the Southern District of Alabama ruled for private landowners. Radermacher argues that the abuse of agency power to designate thousands of acres of private lands as critical habitat after only a singular sighting of the black pinesnake on the land in the recent past is an example of government overreach at its most egregious.

Whether or not you believe Bigfoot is real, in this blog, 3L staffer Lauren Repa explores the legality of hunting the elusive creature.  Repa explains how various states have implemented laws that forbid the hunting and killing of Bigfoot. She demonstrates whether hunting the creature would be worth the trouble with the Kentucky State Government. 

In this blog, 3L staffer Sam Hilgeman examines the impact that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will have on solar energy in the Bluegrass State. He argues that the removal of the residential solar credit will have long-term detrimental impacts to the state's residential solar energy market unless state legislators can provide their own incentive.

In this blog, 3L staffer Dylan Diedrich examines Kentucky's State Improvement Plan to address regional haze in class 1 areas covered by the Clean Air Act, specifically Mammoth Cave National Park. Diedrich takes the position that Kentucky's State Improvement Plan fails to adequately address the issue of haze. By failing to target appropriate pollution generators, the air haze around Mammoth Cave will fail to improve.

The way lawmakers define and regulate water ownership will determine the future of farming, cities, and ecosystems. In this blog, 2L staffer Keyera Jackson argues that if lawmakers fail to modernize Kentucky’s water laws, the next drought won’t just dry up streams; it could erode the fairness that water law was meant to protect.

Going through all the important changes likely to come from the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 2025, which intends to address harmful algal blooms, 2L staffer Nathan McCoy appraises whether it is effective in its goals. McCoy eventually concludes a finding that the amendment does indeed address the challenges of harmful algal blooms to the extent it could be considered to have fulfilled its purpose. 

In this blog, 3L Staffer Chasity Peters argues that the EPA’s proposal to eliminate greenhouse gas reporting requirements under the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program will cost the American people far more than the agency suggests will be saved by ending the requirement due to the increasing costs of climate change.

In this blog, 3L staffer Lydia Deaton discusses the need for additional IP protections within the bourbon industry and the potential use of trade secrets to help protect Kentucky's bourbon distillers. This blog argues that trade secret law offers a practical avenue of protection for bourbon manufacturers, safeguarding mash bills, aging techniques, and blending practices so long as reasonable confidentiality measures are maintained.

Recently, the Federal Trade Commission stepped into a Texas-led antitrust litigation against some of the country’s largest institutional investors—BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street—by filing a statement of interest with the court. In this blog, 3L Jessica Kurtz unpacks the claims levied by the states against the backdrop of the sustainable investment strategies invoked by the companies. Kurtz discusses how asset managers can satisfy their fiduciary duty to insulate their clients from climate risk without running afoul of antitrust laws, particularly cautioning companies managing significant shares in energy companies from agreeing to reduce emissions.

In this blog, 3L staffer Hyeongchan Kim examines the current recycling challenges in the United States by comparing recycling policies across several countries, including Germany, Austria, South Korea, and the United States. He highlights that although each country has its own legal system and procedures, the adoption of standardized recycling laws in US is recommended, drawing on examples from countries with higher recycling rates.

In this blog, 3L staffer Chas Lundy discusses the Trump administration’s attempts to eliminate offshore wind farms in America. Lundy explains the background of renewables in America as well as ongoing litigation regarding a stop work order imposed on a wind farm. Lundy also provides the reactions of powerful figures in the traditional energy industries and takes the position that deviating from offshore wind farms is against the national interest.

In this blog, Executive Editor Peyton Mills argues that United States v. Stevens, which held that depictions of extreme animal cruelty are not categorically unprotected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, effectively rubber-stamps animal cruelty by hindering prosecutors and emboldening animal abusers. He asserts that Justice Samuel Alito's dissent should pave the way forward for animal rights. 

In this blog, 3L Staffer Samuel Larrabee argues that the H-2A visa program should be the solution to deported immigrant farm laborers but because of the program's shortcomings, it fails to fill the void. The Department of Labor's recent regulations could help prevent worker abuse that occurs under the program but because courts have stepped in and found that those provisions violate separate law, any meaningful reform of the program likely requires congressional action. 

In this blog, 3L Staffer Caidan Drenk argues for the increased protection of central Kentucky farmland from urban growth/sprawl. Drenk discusses the existing legal framework surrounding protections and privileges granted to land used for agriculture, the shortcomings of those protections, and the increases needed for appropriate protections in the future. Drenk highlights and acknowledges concerns about population growth, economic growth, and increased housing demands while emphasizing the long-term cultural and economic risks of unchecked development and encroachment. Drenk calls for a balanced approach that safeguards agricultural land while accommodating responsible urban and suburban expansion.