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UNH student is part of landmark Montana climate lawsuit

Georgianna Fischer pictured with dog on a cross country ski trip
Courtesy of Georgianna Fischer
Georgianna Fischer is a member of UNH's cross country ski team.

A University of New Hampshire student is one of the 16 plaintiffs who won a landmark court case against the state of Montana over its climate policies.

UNH senior Georgianna Fischer spent much of her childhood in Montana outside, paddle boarding, skiing, hiking and biking.

“Growing up in a largely outdoor environment and seeing the changes with climate change made me really want to work to protect these places that I love,” she said. “And protect the world for future generations.”

A friend got Fischer on board with the Held v. Montana lawsuit that included other students who felt Montana violated their rights to a clean and healthy environment by allowing fossil fuel development without considering the effect on the climate. Fisher hopes the decision will set a precedent for future climate litigation.

Fischer chose to attend UNH in part for its cross country ski team and environmental science program.

Georgianna Fischer poses in front of the Upsidedown Trail signage in the Gallatin National Forest in Montana with a dog and her dad, Douglas Fischer.
Courtesy of Georgianna Fischer
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Courtesy
Georgianna Fischer poses in front of the Upsidedown Trail signage in the Gallatin National Forest in Montana with a dog and her dad, Douglas Fischer.

She wrote a letter to the editor of a local paper in 2019 talking about the dissatisfaction she felt at the decreased snowfall that affected training for competitive cross country skiing. She said that climate change should not be a political issue.

Fischer says her legal team was confident they’d get a positive ruling from the court.

“We weren't sure how broad that ruling would be,” she said. “But getting full support from the judge was really good.”

Fisher hopes the decision will set a precedent for future climate litigation and that it will help protect the environment in Montana and elsewhere.

I’m a general assignment reporter, which means that I report on all kinds of different stories. But I am especially drawn to stories that spark curiosity and illustrate the complexities of how people are living and who they are. I’m also interested in getting to the “how” of how people live out their day-to-day lives within the policies, practices, and realities of the culture around them. How do you find community or make sure you’re represented in places of power? I’m interested in stories that challenge entrenched narratives and am drawn to covering arts and culture, as they can be a method of seeing how politics affects us.
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