Remembering Hap Dunning 1938-2025

Hap Dunning. Credit: Davis Enterprise

Friends of the River mourns the passing of one of the giants of California water law, Harrison C. Dunning, known as “Hap” since childhood, on March 31, at the age of 86.

Hap was one of the foremost scholars of water law in the state. A long-time professor of law at the University of California at Davis, he started a course in water law there and taught many of the state’s leading water attorneys. The results of his efforts to highlight the uses and importance of the public trust doctrine were cited in the California Supreme Court’s historic Mono Lake decision and his work as executive director of the Governor’s Commission to Review California Water Rights Law in the late 1970s resulted in groundbreaking recommendations for improving water use efficiency, protecting instream flows, and managing groundwater resources – many of which remain relevant today. 

Hap served for many years (including a long stint as chair) on the board of the Bay Institute, where he helped mentor a number of the staff who now work at Friends of the River. His other positions included the non-profit Tuolumne River Trust board and the state’s Water Commission and Bay-Delta Advisory Council. He received awards from the Bay Institute and the Mono Lake Committee for his work to strengthen the legal mechanisms that underlay protection of aquatic ecosystems. In addition to his sharp intellect and his dedication to the environment, his kindness, generosity, and sense of humor will also be missed by those who had the privilege to work with him.

FOR friends and supporters who wish to honor Hap’s memory are encouraged to donate to the “Harrison ‘Hap’ C. Dunning Founders’ Circle” Cascade Fund of the Tuolumne River Trust or the Harrison F. Dunning scholarship fund at Dartmouth College.