Redwood arbor: Kian Tanner ’27 and the young people who were part of Held v. Montana took their case to the Montana Supreme Court. Their victory has drawn attention nationally—and globally. / Photo by Francis Tatem
In Their Own Words: How Kian Tanner’s Commitment to Tackle Climate Change Led Him to Take Part in Landmark Lawsuit
Montana is home—and the natural beauty has always spoken to Tanner. In 2023, as a plaintiff in Held v. Montana, he and a group of young people sued the state for violating their right to a clean and healthy environment. They won.
In Their Own Words is a series in which we introduce you to the Gaels you need to meet—students, alums, faculty, and staff—and let them tell their stories, in their own words.
Meet Kian Tanner ’27: a second-year student double majoring in Sports Management and Accounting. In the summer of 2023, Tanner took to the stand as one of 16 youth plaintiffs in the landmark case Held v. Montana, the first constitutional climate change case to go to trial. With the help of Our Children’s Trust, he and his fellow plaintiffs, all under the age of 22, drew from their first-hand experiences of how climate change has significantly altered Montana’s environment for the worse, hoping to enact change. In December 2024, the Montana Supreme Court upheld the ruling 6–1.
The Landmark Case
The case focuses on how the state was, by promoting fossil fuel projects without considering their impacts on climate change, infringing upon our natural rights as citizens of Montana to a clean and healthy environment enshrined in the state constitution. District Court Judge Kathy Seeley gave an outstanding ruling in our favor. Her decision was considered one of the most powerful climate change rulings ever made.
She basically ruled that the state of Montana needed to deeply consider climate change when looking at permit applications for future fossil fuel based projects. In other words, it makes getting a permit incredibly difficult, because they really shouldn’t be granted at all.
When it was appealed and went to the Montana Supreme Court, I was shocked that we won 6 to 1 in our favor. I believed we would win, but to get that positive of a verdict was incredible.
Unlikely Underdogs
Montana is a very conservative state, which is one of the reasons why it's surprising that we actually won the case. One of the biggest things about it was while there was a lot of support for speaking out, there was also a lot of negativity and backlash from people I knew. I went to a high school where a lot of the kids were not afraid to tell me that they did not believe in climate change, and what I was doing was idiotic, which I sort of expected.
I like to focus on the positive responses, because no matter your political perspective, there's a connection to the outdoors in Montana that I don't see anywhere else. For those who do care about the environment, it’s been a huge part of what joins our community, because everything is intertwined with nature.
Climate Awareness and Our Children’s Trust
Growing up, I was outside all the time. Whether it was skiing, fly fishing, or hiking, I was always outdoors. My family's very nature centered and I spent most of my time as a kid in the environment. I've always been hyper aware of the climate, mainly through my dad, who runs a nonprofit climate change organization called Conservation Hawks. I've even taken part in a few of his films about how fly fishing has been affected by climate change, so I’ve always tried to talk about and promote climate awareness.
“This isn't a fight for our generation or previous generations, but for the future.”
One day, my dad told me about a lawsuit from Our Children’s Trust that he thought I should join. Originally I was unsure about it because it didn’t feel like my style, but after I talked to one of the lead attorneys, Nate Bellinger, he helped me realize it would be a really good opportunity to make a difference in the world. Afterwards at Saint Mary’s, I even ended up taking a course on Climate Change in the Environmental & Earth Sciences Department, where I presented on the case during one of the last classes of the semester.
Finding SMC and Future Plans
Besides the fact that my cousin, Makenna Mededlin ’16, MBA ’19, went here, I really liked the size of the school and the campus felt very welcoming. I was also drawn to the faster pace of the Bay Area compared to Montana.
I'm planning on going to law school to become a sports agent. Ideally, I'd like to represent players and, using their platform, I would have them promote climate justice. There's a lot of untapped potential for the sports world to have a major impact on climate change and on social issues in general. Hopefully, I can connect my two passions, because I love sports and I’m very passionate about the environment.
Creating a Sense of Urgency
The evidence is there that climate change is real. It is impacting everyday citizens. We saw it in LA this winter. We see it every year and it gets worse every year. In Montana, wildfires are also a problem, along with the huge shifts in the weather from year to year. For the first time that I can remember, I didn't have a white Christmas; it was just brown. It’s pretty depressing and strange and it just doesn’t feel right—because it isn’t right.
We only live once. This isn't a fight for our generation or previous generations, but for the future. Climate change is the most critical issue in the world. If we don't act—if we don't come together and hold our government, our society, and ourselves accountable—we won't have a world for our kids and our grandkids to grow up in.
Sam Nobile ’25 is studying English at Saint Mary’s and serves as a student writer with the Office of Marketing and Communications.
