Professor Sax and I did not agree on very much. We tangled on several occasions over the past 20 years. I am sure each encounter was more memorable for me than for him.
The first time we crossed swords, he was advising then-Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt on how to fend off legislative proposals to require compensation for regulatory takings under the Endangered Species Act, and I was a young punk pressing the case for greater property rights protections. He tolerated my impertinence and set an example for how to engage in policy disputes without sacrificing intellectual seriousness.
His presence in the field will be missed.