United States: Land Law & Agriculture

When a dam is removed in Virginia, waterfront property owners may face devastating losses as artificially created lakes and rivers disappear, potentially reducing property values by over 20%. A recent federal court ruling addresses whether these homeowners have legal recourse against dam owners who lawfully remove aging structures, returning waterbodies to their natural state.

After months of negotiation, North Carolina’s General Assembly did something increasingly rare in Raleigh: it passed a major piece of agricultural legislation with support from nearly everyone in the building.

When wildfire tears through a private forest or a hurricane levels timber stands, the clock starts immediately. Debris must be cleared. Sites must be prepared.

Last week, a rural Texas county enacted a one-year moratorium on data center construction, potentially imperiling as many as eight planned projects in the county.

The U.S. Department of Justice and DEA have issued a landmark order rescheduling FDA-approved marijuana products and state-licensed medical marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act.

California has extended protections to certain mountain lion populations under the California Endangered Species Act, introducing new regulatory requirements for development projects in affected regions. The designation prohibits actions that may harm these populations and requires developers to obtain incidental take permits, potentially affecting project timelines, costs, and feasibility in the Central Coast and Southern California.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on April 7, 2026, the creation of the USDA Guidance Portal, an online searchable, indexed database that contains guidance documents issued...

New U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) initiatives point to more coordinated animal-welfare investigations, including with respect to companies involving the care and testing of animals.

The California Court of Appeal affirmed a comprehensive groundwater adjudication for the Las Posas Valley Basin, establishing a framework for allocating water rights among competing users in an overdrafted basin. The decision addresses critical questions about overlying versus appropriative rights, the treatment of dormant claims, and the court's authority to impose physical solutions and governance mechanisms.