The journal was founded in 1986 by participants at the University of Oregon School of Law's Western Public Interest Law Conference.[2] The founding editors intended for the journal to be a forum for scholarship relating to "citizen enforcement of public [environmental] laws."[3] In 1994, the journal began publishing on a biannual basis.[4]
The 2016 Washington and Lee University Law Journal Rankings placed the journal among the twenty five highest rated environmental, natural resources, and land use law journals.[5] Additionally, the journal was ranked among the top eleven environmental, natural resources, and land use law journals most frequently cited by cases.[5] Articles in the journal have been cited by the Second,[6]Third,[7]Eighth,[8] and NinthCourts of Appeals.[9] Occasionally, the journal has published issues relating to symposia sponsored by the University of Oregon School of Law.[10]