"Captain Planet"

In Celebration of

William H. Rodgers, Jr.

(1939-2023)

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Professor William H. Rodgers, Jr. While the Pacific Northwest has had its heroes and pioneers in the environmental movement, few have been more consequential than Professor Bill Rodgers.

Professor Rodgers began teaching at the University of Washington School of Law in 1967, was a visiting professor at Georgetown Law School from 1972-79, and returned to UW in 1979, where he served as the Bloedel Professor of Law, and then the Stimson Bullitt Professor of Environmental Law, and taught until he retired in 2017. One of the founders of the field of Environmental Law, originally from Brockton, MA and later Scarsdale, NY, Bill was never comfortable when the story was about him. Yet his story should be known by all.

A longtime Seattle resident, Professor Rodgers taught environmental law before the term was coined. In the days when "bi-partisan" was a word of meaning, Congress called upon Professor Rodgers to testify on every bedrock environmental statute enacted in the 1970s, even using one of his law review articles as a precursor for the Clean Water Act. Congress's invitations were based on Professor Rodgers' academic prowess and litigation experience with the groundbreaking environmental issues of our times. His heart, insight, incisiveness, and persuasiveness were unparalleled.

After receiving his B.A. from Harvard University in 1961, where he played baseball and football, and a stint in the U.S. Marine Corp Reserves, he attended Columbia Law School and then clerked for a federal judge. Professor Rodgers then joined the faculty at the University of Washington School of Law, where he produced extraordinary scholarship, mentored and inspired countless students, and litigated groundbreaking cases, all in a pro bono capacity.

While teaching full time, he litigated the "Smelter Cases" of the 1970s and 1980s, including the ASARCO copper smelter in Tacoma that fouled the air for decades, ultimately becoming one of EPA's first Superfund sites in 1982. In the 1970s, Professor Rodgers represented the Puyallup Tribe all the way to the U. S. Supreme Court, a case that helped ensure legal recognition of Native American treaty fishing rights in the Pacific Northwest. Professor Rodgers argued cases on environmental, energy and Indian law matters in the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeals, U.S. District Courts and state courts. He filed countless petitions with the government, including one of the first legal petitions to ban DDT. He loved to teach and always involved his students in his litigation efforts.

A prolific writer, Professor Rodgers is the most cited legal scholar on topics of environmental law, influencing not only academic colleagues, but judges, activists, students and practitioners as well. His works include the Treatise on Environmental Law, Environmental Law in Indian Country, A Constitutional Law of the Environment, The Si'Lailo Way: Indians, Salmon and Law on the Columbia River, Corporate Country, and scores of law review articles on myriad topics. Law professors from around the country have chronicled his feats, one calling him "Captain Planet," about the heroic, kind, self-effacing man and how his wry writing style and powerful sense of justice will continue to inspire generations. One former student, by then an accomplished lawyer, once said at a Legal Education class where Bill was in the audience that he felt like a little leaguer trying to teach Ty Cobb how to play baseball. It's an analogy certainly appreciated by Professor Rodgers, former third baseman and shortstop for the Harvard Crimson.

As a wonderful, supportive father who never missed one of his kids' sporting or school events, Professor Rodgers is survived by his beloved children, son Billy Rodgers (Kristina Rodgers), and daughter Andrea Rodgers (Charlie Tebbutt). Bill is also survived by his five grandchildren, William and Vianne Harris (Dad, Michael Harris), Alex, Andrew, and Molly Rodgers. His amazing wife and partner of 41 years, Janet, passed away in 2010.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to Our Children's Trust to support their relentless efforts to secure children's rights to a safe climate, or to King County Boys and Girls Club, where he and Billy devoted much time on the basketball courts and baseball diamonds. An eternal optimist, Bill encouraged all to "never give up, keep on going."