Mac is a public interest lawyer specializing in natural resource law and
litigation, administrative law and process, trial and appellate court practice,
and working with expert scientists. He majored in Geology and
Anthropology at Washington and Lee University and earned his M.S. in
Geography from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied
soil and geomorphic processes in the sand counties of central Wisconsin.
He received his JD at Lewis & Clark Law School. Mac’s work for ONDA
focuses on wilderness and habitat conservation in eastern Oregon’s
sagebrush desert.
Mac also has published papers on topics including non-point source water
pollution, soil conservation law, management of endangered salmon in the
Columbia River system, and greater sage-grouse conservation and
ecology. Most recently, Mac collaborated with a team of scientists to
assess the climate impacts of federally authorized livestock grazing from an
ecological and economic perspective on western public lands.
In 2021, he received the Distinguished Environmental Law Graduate Award
from Lewis and Clark.
What I’m working on and why it matters: The sagebrush biome includes one of the most imperiled ecosystems in North America. I appreciate how effectively ONDA blends legal defense with campaigns to protect public lands and vulnerable species, and on-the-ground work to monitor and restore this extraordinary landscape.