The Public Trust Alliance
Defending Our Public Heritage Now and for Generations to Come

How can we save our public heritage for the future when our government acts like everything is up for sale to the highest bidder? Fortunately our laws have always recognized that some things are so important that they are not for sale like other property. In fact, the public itself is the owner of some particularly valuable resources. This enhanced legal protection comes in the form of the public trust doctrine, a time-tested set of legal principles based on the idea that certain resources are managed by the state for the benefit of present and future generations of the state’s people. The public trust doctrine is found within each state’s laws and it enables the public not only to reclaim certain resources for public use, but also to redirect development on a more sustainable path. Cautionary mechanisms are in place to shield these assets from the temporary economies of short-term development. The problem is that most people and many public agencies are simply unaware of their rights and responsibilities under this legal framework and it is only rarely enforced. We aim to raise the profile of the trust in contemporary development debates and encourage public trustees to live up to their duties.

The public trust doctrine has served many times throughout our history to help our management institutions regain balance in situations where pure market forces have threatened long term public values. The Public Trust Alliance is working alongside other organizations to raise the profile of the doctrine in current development debates and use it to shape more sustainable practices on the ground. The law protects more than mere public access to trust resources for present and future generations; it creates stewardship responsibilities for trustees and protects a public decision-making zone where public choices are made. Hard as it may be to believe, in many cases we already have the tools we need to make responsible decisions. But our communities and leaders have yet to learn about them.

Campaigns And Actions

California Water Plan Update

Executive Director Michael Warburton is a member of the Public Advisory Committee supporting the 2003 Update of the California Water Plan. He represents environmental justice concerns and public trust values in development of the plan.
 

Supporting Trustee Agencies in Responsible Stewardship

Responsible action by Trustee Agencies must be supported by the public in open processes where lobbyists with direct financial interests usually predominate.
 

Commenting on Water Transfer Proposals That Compromise Trust Values

Since the public trust is most developed with respect to water, we work here to maintain attention on trust values and we underline the continuing relevance of the doctrine in protecting similarly endangered public domain in other spheres.
 

Partnering with community organizations to reclaim public access to historic trust lands

We work with communities on the ground to strategically invoke the public trust doctrine to reclaim historic connections to trust lands now threatened with inappropriate development and real estate speculation.
 

Opposing Inappropriate Privatization

Public agencies are now delegating inherently public supervisory duties and control of public spheres to private parties through many new contracts. The public trust doctrine can provide leverage for avoiding transfers that undermine public sovereignty over trust resources or public health safeguards.

The Public Trust Alliance is a new Project of the Resource Renewal Institute. For info, contact Alliance Executive Director, Michael Warburton: (510) 644-0752 or e-mail michael@rri.org.