Public lands

Advanced Natural Resources Seminar Explores the Colorado Plateau

Annie Carlozzi — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 20:03:58 +0000

Advanced Natural Resources Seminar Explores the Colorado Plateau Annie Carlozzi Mon, 03/30/2026 - 14:03

Celeste Baro , Sydney Stellato

After an approximately seven-hour drive from Boulder, we arrived at Dugout Ranch and the Canyonlands Research Center, tucked deep within canyon country near Bears Ears National Monument and Canyonlands National Park. We spent our first night under a sky full of stars, and in the morning, we woke from our tents surrounded by towering orange and red rock formations.

That morning, we met with Matt and Kristen Redd, managers of the Dugout Ranch and Canyonlands Research Center. In 1997, The Nature Conservancy worked with the Redd family to purchase the Dugout Ranch, securing a major conservation win and protecting important lands and waters from development. Later, in 2009, The Nature Conservancy purchased the Dugout’s cattle herd for use as a research tool, and in 2010, a suite of partners formally launched the Canyonlands Research Center. Hearing about the ranch’s transformation into a living research laboratory showed us what collaborative conservation can look like in practice where ranching, science, and conservation all intersect.

While at the ranch, we also heard from Shaun Ketchum, a young Diné and Ute Mountain Ute leader and Director of the 100 Years of Silence Project. He shared the history behind the project, which seeks to illuminate a painful and little-known event in Ute history, when 80 Ute tribal members were rounded up and imprisoned in a barbed-wire camp near Blanding, Utah, based on false accusations. The project works to bring this history to light in order to promote public understanding and healing for Ute people.

We also hiked into Shay Canyon to view petroglyphs etched into the canyon walls. After our hike, we drove to Bluff, Utah, where we stayed for the night.

The following morning, we met Amanda Podmore, Conservation Director at the Grand Canyon Trust, for breakfast before heading out for a hike along Comb Ridge. There, we talked about the Trust’s work on Bears Ears National Monument, Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument, and their broader public lands and tribal outreach efforts across the Colorado Plateau.

From there, we made our way to the Grand Canyon’s North Rim, where we stayed at the Grand Canyon Trust’s Kane Ranch. In September 2005, the Trust completed a historic transaction to purchase the grazing rights and base property of the Kane and Two-Mile Ranches in the heart of the Arizona Strip. Together, the ranches encompass 850,000 acres. Because current law requires that some cattle be grazed on the ranches, the Trust maintains a cattle operation while also carrying out an ambitious conservation program to assess and improve land health. They collect baseline data across different ecosystems—ponderosa pine forest, pinyon-juniper woodland, and wetlands—and track changes over time to guide restoration and management.

We spent the next two nights at Kane Ranch cooking meals together, wandering the fields, and watching the stars at night. During the day, we visited the proposed dam site in Marble Canyon and discussed ongoing Colorado River issues—water scarcity, drought, and the immense pressure placed on the river by the many communities and states that rely on it. We also drove to a condor viewing area, where we learned about the reintroduction of the California condor, an endangered species that once had a population of only about 20 individuals. Seeing condors soaring again over the canyon felt like a rare conservation success story. We also visited the White Sage Burn area and discussed pinyon-juniper management and changing fire regimes on the landscape.

The next morning, we drove to Page, Arizona, for a tour of Glen Canyon Dam with Bob Martin, Deputy Power Manager for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Authorized by the Colorado River Storage Project Act of 1956 and completed in 1963, Glen Canyon Dam was built to store water for Colorado River Compact requirements and generate hydroelectric power. Standing inside the dam, we talked about the future of Lake Powell and the very real possibility of the reservoir reaching “dead pool,” the level at which water can no longer flow through the dam, and even “power pool,” where hydropower generation would no longer be possible. These questions—about water storage, electricity, drought, and the ability of Upper Basin states to meet compact obligations—made clear just how much the modern West depends on this single river system.

After the tour, we continued to Tuba City, located on the border of the Navajo and Hopi reservations, reflecting on everything we had seen and learned over the past several days—about conservation, history, water, energy, and the many different people and communities connected to these landscapes.

Tuba City happened to be the city that Professor Krakoff began her career in American Indian Law, working for DNA People’s Legal Services for three years. We visited her home when she lived in Tuba City – an old Mormon settlement with tall poplar trees. We got to see Newspaper Rock – a popular site for petroglyphs from various historical tribes that used the rock to communicate with each other. We spoke with women from Change Labs – a non-profit working on giving resources to Native run businesses through providing business coaching, microloans, and a workspace for people to work out of. They work with all different types of businesses to help make sure that businesses on the reservation can thrive. This was complimented by a talk with Amber Benally and Ethan Aumack who highlighted the Grand Canyon Trust’s Just Transition Program focused on helping tribes that benefitted from coal mining to transition to non-extractive industries.

At Window Rock, the capital of the Navajo Nation, we spoke to Bidtah Becker, the Chief Legal Counsel for the President and Vice President, about current water rights settlements happening on the Colorado River, the Navajo Nation’s water settlement, and how the two are intertwined. We also got to speak with one of the Navajo Nation’s hydrologists who explained the science of the water settlement to us. Finally, we had lunch in town with Navajo tacos, a specialty on the Nation. We stopped by the home of Deon Ben, the Native America Director, who talked about his work with the Grand Canyon Trust and working on coalition building for Southwest Tribes, including the tribes work with establishing and managing nearby National Monuments. He also allowed us to see into his home, a modern day hogan. Hogans are traditional dwellings of the Navajo people. Being able to see him living and working on his families homestead was a privilege.

On Thursday, we left the Navajo Nation and went back into Colorado. We stayed in Ignasio, Colorado where we met with Lisa Yellow Eagle, and got to visit the Southern Ute Indian Tribe. We talked about the Southern Ute’s federally reserved water rights and the water projects that they and the BIA have on tribal property. Then we got to tour the Pine River Indian Irrigation Project (“PRITT”) and see the miles and miles of irrigation and canals that the tribe uses to get water. We discussed water settlements and how the water of Colorado has been used to support the tribe, and various economic avenues that the tribe has used to support itself. As an added benefit we got to see a bald eagle flying away!

Finally, we met with a former student of the seminar, who went on his own field seminar down by the Rio Grande when he attended Colorado Law. We had dinner with Dan McCarl who currently works for Maynes, Bradford, Shipps & Sheftel. He has worked with the DOJ in the Environment & Natural Resource Division and Western Energy Project and had a very nuanced view into how various aspects of American Indian Law, energy law, and water law coincide. He offered insight into how to be an attorney working from different avenues to help achieve our goals.

We spent the night in Pagosa Springs before driving back up to Boulder on Friday. After eight days of learning and being on the road we were very excited to be back at Colorado Law to be able to put everything we learned about into action!

Off

Traditional

White

Piper Lacy ('27) and Lex Padilla ('27) Named 2026-27 Colorado Law Wyss Scholars

Annie Carlozzi — Sun, 22 Mar 2026 23:39:41 +0000

Piper Lacy ('27) and Lex Padilla ('27) Named 2026-27 Colorado Law Wyss Scholars Annie Carlozzi Sun, 03/22/2026 - 17:39

University of Colorado Law School students Piper Lacy (’27) and Lex Padilla (’27) have been named the 2025-2026 Colorado Law Wyss Scholars in U.S. Lands Conservation. The Wyss Scholars Program, funded by the Wyss Foundation, is awarded to two Colorado Law students each year. The scholars program supports graduate-level education for promising leaders in United States land conservation. Recipients receive generous financial assistance to cover the full cost of one year of law school, as well as funds for internship opportunities, research assistance, and postgraduate support. Wyss Scholars learn the latest in conservation law and policy and apply that knowledge in careers at land management agencies and nonprofit conservation groups.

Piper Lacy’s connection to the land and commitment to environmental conservation developed while she was growing up on her family’s farm in Western Massachusetts. As an undergraduate at Mount Holyoke College, Piper leaned into her passion for environmental stewardship and created a Sustainable Agriculture and Food Justice Fellowship with the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts at its Hadley Farm. This led her to study sustainable agriculture as an avenue for promoting land conservation and combating climate change.

Before law school, Piper worked as a soil ecology and cropping systems lab technician at Montana State University and the University of Massachusetts. Conducting research on farmland in rural Montana highlighted the environmental harms caused by mainstream agricultural practices and the vulnerability of rural communities. Inspired by this experience, Piper decided to pursue a legal career focused on promoting sustainable agriculture, land conservation, and community resilience.

Piper’s background in soil science and sustainable agriculture has influenced her to pursue a legal career that involves range management and restoration of native grasslands and forests. Because so much public and private land in the United States is used for agricultural purposes, Piper hopes to engage in work that reduces the negative impacts of agriculture on biodiversity, water quality, and soil health.

As a student at Colorado Law, Piper has taken advantage of opportunities to become a part of and contribute to Colorado Law’s environmental law community as a member of the board of the Colorado Environmental Law Society and as Lead Notes Editor for the Colorado Environmental Law Journal. Piper has also pursued experiential learning opportunities to establish a well-rounded foundation in environmental law and conservation. She has externed with Earthjustice’s Sustainable Food and Farming Program and participated in Colorado Law’s Getches-Green Natural Resources, Energy, and Environmental Law Clinic.

Piper is also very passionate about the conservation of public lands for recreational and cultural purposes. In her free time, Piper escapes to the mountains to go backcountry skiing, trail running, mountain biking, and rock climbing. Informed by her own experiences in the outdoors, Piper believes that people are far more likely to be motivated to protect wild places if they have had the opportunity to experience those places and all they have to offer. She hopes to pursue a career with a focus on protecting and improving access to public lands, while also advocating for sustainable and responsible use of public lands to conserve essential ecosystems and wildlife habitat. She looks forward to gaining insight into local conservation efforts and land use planning as a Law Clerk with the Boulder County Attorney’s office this summer.

Lex Padilla’s interest in public land conservation started with noticing how little nature remained in the suburban landscape where she grew up. Moments like watching her grandmother look for birds outside her window made her aware of how fragile those everyday connections to land and wildlife had become. Seeing events like the Flint water crisis unfold reinforced her sense that environmental issues are closely tied to fairness, community health, and access.

She lives by this quote, attributed to Dr. Lilla Watson, “If you have come to help, you are wasting your time. If you have come because your liberation is bound together with mine, let us walk together.” If the land is not free, the air is not clean, and the birds are dying, then are we really, truly liberated? For these very reasons, Lex has developed a lifelong commitment to environmental law and conservation.

Through college and law school, that early awareness turned into a clear academic and professional
direction. She studied political science with a strong focus on environmental ethics and justice, worked in environmental education and climate policy, and supported CEQA compliance. In law school, she deepened her focus through the Environmental Law Journal, the Natural Resources Clinic, and research roles with the Getches-Wilkinson Center and Professor Mark Squillace. Her internships with Earthjustice and the Colorado Attorney General’s Office gave her practical experience with the legal frameworks that govern land, water, and air.

She now hopes to build a career as a public interest attorney in the American West, working on public lands, resource management, and conservation. Her goal is to join the Colorado Attorney General’s Natural Resource Fellowship Program and continue serving the state through work that supports both ecological health and community needs.

Off

Traditional

White

April 1: Wyss Scholars Host Steve Bloch for Student Conversation

Annie Carlozzi — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 17:31:34 +0000

April 1: Wyss Scholars Host Steve Bloch for Student Conversation Annie Carlozzi Tue, 03/17/2026 - 11:31

Obie Johnson ('26) and Andrea Shipton ('26), current Wyss Scholars, will moderate a discussion with Steve Bloch regarding his experience in land conservation law and Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). Bloch's visit to Colorado Law is thanks to the Wyss Foundation Scholars Program which supports the graduate-level education of emerging leaders in U.S. land conservation by providing scholarships, mentorship, and community.

Wed, April 1 12-12:50pm
Wolf Law Building Room 204
Lunch will be provided!

Steve Bloch
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance

Stephen Bloch is an attorney and legal director at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). SUWA is Utah’s largest conservation organization. Formed in 1983, its mission is the preservation of the outstanding wilderness at the heart of the Colorado Plateau, and the management of these lands in their natural state for the benefit of all Americans. Steve received his law degree from the S.J Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah and has worked at SUWA since 1999. In 2011, he was the Utah State Bar Energy, Natural Resources and Environmental Law (ENREL) Section’s Lawyer of the Year and he served as ENREL Section Chair in 2019-2020. Steve currently serves on the Salt Lake City Parks, Natural Lands, Urban Forestry & Trails Advisory Board. He and his family live in Salt Lake City.

Off

Traditional

White

Oct 22 and 23: 2026 Martz Symposium on Public Lands

Annie Carlozzi — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 20:42:45 +0000

Oct 22 and 23: 2026 Martz Symposium on Public Lands Annie Carlozzi Tue, 11/25/2025 - 13:42

Off

Traditional

White

GWC Works with Law Professors Across the West to Weigh in on Public Lands Rule

Annie Carlozzi — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 16:03:17 +0000

GWC Works with Law Professors Across the West to Weigh in on Public Lands Rule Annie Carlozzi Wed, 11/12/2025 - 09:03

In 2024, the Bureau of Land Management issue a new set of regulations that would guide its oversight of 245 million acres of federal public lands. Known as the “Public Lands Rule,” the regulations implement the “multiple use and sustained yield” framework adopted by Congress in the Federal Land Policy & Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA). The 2024 regulations clarify BLM’s mission to focus on stewardship of public resources by managing for long-term ecological health and resilience, which will protect the interests of the American public in a sustained yield of renewable and non-renewable resources. The intent of the Rule is to ensure that BLM treats conservation of public resources on par with other multiple uses.

The Rule is well-grounded in FLPMA, which directs BLM to manage the public lands for the long-term interests of the American public without allowing for permanent impairment of the land and the quality of the environment. The Rule does not direct BLM to allow or disallow any specific uses at any particular place, but rather it sets forth a framework for how landscape health will be measured and tracked over time, and how natural resources will be protected when BLM considers potential uses of public lands.

With the change in Administration, BLM recently proposed to rescind the Public Lands Rule, asserting that it was conflict with BLM’s statutory authorities in FLPMA. The public notice did not provide much detail on the alleged statutory conflict, but BLM stated its intent to rescind the Rule in whole.

GWC recently submitted comments on the proposed rollback of the Public Lands Rule and worked with law professors across the west to ensure that BLM correctly interprets and applies the multiple use and sustained yield of FLPMA. When Congress passed this bedrock law in 1976, it clearly delegated to the Secretary of the Interior the discretion to decide which uses will be allowed to strike the correct balance between extraction and protection of natural resources. The law professors weighed in to protect the integrity of FLPMA and to uphold the authority of BLM to carefully manage and protect our shared natural resources.

Read submitted comments here.

Off

Traditional

White

2025 Martz Symposium on Public Lands

Annie Carlozzi — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 17:27:20 +0000

2025 Martz Symposium on Public Lands Annie Carlozzi Thu, 10/23/2025 - 11:27

The Getches-Wilkinson Center will be convening the 2025 Martz Symposium on Public Lands: "Public Lands in Public Hands – Reflections on 50 Years of Retention Policy" on Thurs, Oct 23rd and Fri, Oct 24th at the Wolf Law Building in Boulder, CO.

Public Lands in Public Hands: Reflections on 50 Years of Retention Policy

The Federal Land Policy and Management Act marked a new chapter in the history of public lands in the United States. In that 1976 law, Congress declared a national policy that public lands be retained in federal ownership and control for the benefit of the American people. Over the last 50 years, that retention policy has led to far reaching consequences for people and places across the country. Today, public lands provide critical support for economic, environmental, social, and cultural values, contributing to the vitality of both urban and rural communities. Yet, the nation still struggles with the effects of dispossession and forced removal of Indigenous peoples from their ancestral lands, most of which remain in the hands of the Federal government. Retention of public lands also presents certain challenges to states, localities, and private property owners.

Despite 50 years of retention policy and widespread public support for keeping public lands in public hands, the future of public lands remains uncertain. Some want the federal government to sell off federal public lands or give them to the States. Others are keen to defend and celebrate the retention policy and their love of public lands.

The legal landscape has also changed dramatically over the past 50 years. Public land planning has proved to be a mixed bag, but it engages the public on the critical issues facing public land planners, including resource development, grazing policy, land conservation, endangered species conservation, and the protection of cultural resources, among many other things. Modernizing the decision-making process has also taken center stage, with debates about strategies for making faster and smarter decisions. Adaptive management has also entered the public lands lexicon, although it sometimes seems more aspirational than real.

This year’s Martz Symposium takes a deep dive into the past, present, and future of our national policy of keeping public lands in public hands. The symposium will convene experts in public lands law and policy, advocates from across the political and policy spectrum, including Tribal leaders, experts on public opinion, and many other respected voices. Our goal will be to stimulate new thinking and fresh ideas, and to inspire a new generation of public lands leaders to build on the legacy from the past 50 years. Please join us for what promises to be an outstanding opportunity to engage with old and new friends and colleagues on one of the most important issues facing the American West.

Agenda

Thursday, October 23, 2025

8:00-8:45am	Breakfast and Networking
8:45-9:00am	Welcome and Opening Remarks Chris Winter, Executive Director, Getches-Wilkinson Center
9:00-9:30am	Who Will Speak for the Public Lands and What Will They Say Prof. Sarah Krakoff, University of Colorado Law School
9:30-10:30am	Public Opinion on Public Lands – A Deep Dive into the Conservation in the West Poll Kathryn Hahne, New Bridge Strategy
10:30-11:00am	BREAK
11:00am-12:15pm	The Affordable Housing Question Moderator: Prof. Bret Birdsong, UNLV Law School Arthur Gailes, American Enterprise Institute Dan Gibbs, Director, Colorado Department of Natural Resources, Former Summit County Commissioner Rudy Soto, Native American Indian Housing Counsel Eric Novak, Praxis Consulting Group LLC
12:15-1:15pm	LUNCH
1:15-2:15pm	Debating The Constitutional Foundation Moderator: Chris Winter, GWC Prof. John Leshy, Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Law, UC Law San Francisco, Former Solicitor of the Department of the the Interior Ethan Blevins, Pacific Legal Foundation
2:15-2:45pm	BREAK
2:45-4:00pm	The Land Back Movement and Public Lands Moderator: Prof. Vanessa Racehorse, University of Colorado Law School Gussie Lord, Earthjustice Prof. Kekek Stark, Davis-Johnston Associate Professor of Law, University of Montana School of Law Prof. Rebecca Tsosie, University of Arizona Law School
4:00-5:30pm	Conference Reception

Friday, October 24, 2025

8:00-9:00am	Breakfast and Networking
9:00-9:15am	Welcome and Opening Remarks Chris Winter, GWC
9:15-10:30am	Agency Funding and Staffing – Who Will Manage the Public Lands Moderator: Matt Lee-Ashley, Foreground Strategies, Former Chief of Staff, Council on Environmental Quality Dr. Mamie Parker, Former Head of Fisheries, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Tim Whitehouse, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility Scott Fitzwilliams, Former Supervisor of the White River National Forest
10:30-11:00am	BREAK
11:00am-12pm	Fireside Chat with Secretary David Bernhardt, former Secretary of the Department of the Interior
12-1:00pm	LUNCH
1:00-2:15pm	The Great Balancing Act - Evolving Issues in Multiple Use Management Moderator: Alison Flint, The Wilderness Society Louis Geltman, VP for Policy and Government Relations, Outdoor Alliance Natalie Landreth, Partner, Nashoba Consulting LLC and Co-Executive Director, Tribal Public Lands Alliance Katie Schroder, Partner, Davis Graham & Stubbs Prof. Mark Squillace, University of Colorado Law School

Read Speaker Bios Here

Download Agenda Here

Recordings of Symposium Panels

Registration Rates
General (In person) $250
Remote Access Only $100
CU Faculty/Staff/Student (In person or Zoom) Free
*Buff OneCard number may be requested for validation of current ��ñ�� faculty/staff/student status.
Colorado Law Alumni Only Reception Thurs, Oct 23 $15
*This is only available to Colorado Law alumni to attend the Martz Symposium Reception on Thurs, Oct 23rd. This does not grant access to the conference.

9.0 General Colorado CLE credits awarded for Martz Symposium.

Off

Traditional

White

Ruth Wright Distinguished Lecture in Natural Resources with John Leshy

Annie Carlozzi — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 16:27:37 +0000

Ruth Wright Distinguished Lecture in Natural Resources with John Leshy Annie Carlozzi Wed, 10/22/2025 - 10:27

The Getches-Wilkinson Center is pleased to present the 2025 Ruth Wright Distinguished Lecture in Natural Resources with John Leshy on Wed, Oct 22nd at the Wolf Law Building in Boulder, CO.

On Shaky Ground: America’s Public Lands Face an Uncertain Future

Laying groundwork for the Martz Symposium, Leshy will discuss current challenges to America’s public lands, starting with a proposal to include, in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) that President Trump signed into law in early July, a mandate to sell off millions of acres. While that proposal failed after triggering widespread opposition from western Republicans, among many others, the OBBBA did contain several sweeping---if little-noticed---mandates aimed at industrializing many millions of acres of public lands. Meanwhile, the Trump Administration has taken aggressive steps, principally through deep personnel and budget cuts, to hollow out the four major federal land management agencies, apparently to persuade Americans that the federal government simply cannot manage these lands and thus make a case for transferring them to states and private interests.

The lecture will then address whether all this could fundamentally alter the objective of conserving large areas of land in national ownership, open to all, and managing them primarily for conservation, preservation, inspiration and recreation. That has been a primary objective of public land policy ever since the 1890s. It was then that---partly in reaction to the corruption and plunder by robber barons that marked the so-called Gilded Age---a movement flowered to conserve large areas of land in national ownership, leading to the public lands we see today. Now we are in a new Gilded Age, with the rich amassing unimaginable wealth while many ordinary Americans are stagnating. Leshy will conclude by discussing whether some rethinking of public land policy is in order, as calls grow for using these lands for, among other things, extracting critical minerals, upgrading the electrical grid, and siting renewable energy facilities, as support grows for streamlining governmental decision-making processes, as climate change exacerbates wildfires and droughts, and as recreational visits mushroom.

Wednesday, October 22nd

12-12:50pm Student Lunch with John Leshy in Room 206 - no registration required

6:00-7:30: Lecture: Wolf Law Building, Wittemyer Courtroom
7:30-8:30pm - Reception for all registered attendees

This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required to attend and/or receive the livestream link.
In person and Virtual (Zoom) attendance available.
There will be a reception following the lecture. Details will be sent to registered participants prior to the event.

1.0 General Colorado CLE credit awarded for this event.

Recording of Ruth Wright Lecture

John Leshy

John Leshy is Professor Emeritus at the University of California College of the Law in San Francisco. His political history of America’s public lands, Our Common Ground, was published in 2022 by Yale University Press. Leshy was Solicitor (General Counsel) of the Interior Department throughout the Clinton Administration, and earlier served as special counsel to the Chair of the Natural Resources Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, a law professor at Arizona State University, Associate Solicitor of Interior for Energy and Resources in the Carter Administration, an attorney-advocate with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and a litigator in the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. He headed the Interior Department transition team for Clinton-Gore in 1992 and was co-lead for Obama-Biden in 2008. He’s four times been a visiting professor at Harvard Law School, from which he graduated in 1969, after earning an A.B. at Harvard College. His many publications include a book on the Mining Law of 1872 and co-authoring casebooks on public land and resources law (now in its 8th edition) and water law (now in its 7^th edition).

The Ruth Wright Distinguished Lecture in Natural Resources

In 2018, the GWC received a generous gift from the Wright Family Foundation to establish the Ruth Wright Distinguished Lecture in Natural Resources in honor of her inspiring legacy as a leader in western natural resources, land conservation, and environmental policy and advocacy. With this support, we look forward to bringing this free event to our community for years to come.

As a legislator, environmentalist, and historian, Ruth Wright dedicated her career to environmental issues and activism. While a student at Colorado Law, she led efforts to preserve Boulder’s open space and limit the height of buildings in Boulder to 55 feet to protect enjoyment of the unique landscape for the ages. In 1980, she was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives, where she represented Boulder until 1994. She was also the second woman ever to become the House minority leader, a role she held from 1986 until 1992. While serving in the House of Representatives, Wright continued to be a strategic champion for the environment, and has been recognized by such groups as the Colorado Wildlife Foundation, the ACLU, the Sierra Club, and Colorado Open Lands.

Off

Traditional

White

Wyss Scholar Andrea Shipton Attends Summer Retreat

Annie Carlozzi — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 16:27:14 +0000

Wyss Scholar Andrea Shipton Attends Summer Retreat Annie Carlozzi Thu, 08/07/2025 - 10:27

Andrea Shipton

In late June, I attended a retreat with other law and graduate students in the Wyss Scholars Program. This event, held in Washington State this year, allowed the incoming class of scholars to spend time together and chat about our studies, summer work experience, and career goals. From those spending the summer with environmental law nonprofits to those working with local park organizations and doing vital field research, it was fascinating to hear what everyone has been up to in the broad field of U.S. land conservation, especially at such a critical time for much of these lands.

Thanks to the Wyss Scholars from Yale, who organized the retreat, we spent three nights in a gorgeous house, nestled on the shores of a small lake outside of Seattle. I arrived after dark on Thursday evening but rose at first light on Friday to check out my favorite aspect of our lodging—the proximity to public lands! I was especially excited to lace up my shoes since this was my first time ever visiting the Pacific Northwest—I had mapped out a trail running route days in advance in anticipation of this morning. The trails blew my mind—it’s wild how just a few steps into thick, lush, PNW forests feels like being miles deep into the wilderness. Massive slugs dotted the trail while birds ruled the mossy branches up high. The cool morning temperatures, cloudy skies, and low altitude also served as a welcome respite from my normal weekday summer adventures in Boulder.

The next forty-eight hours were filled with day trips to Seattle, plenty of paddling and swimming around the lake, a group hike, and lots of laughs and great conversation. We splashed around the lake on warm afternoons, waiting anxiously for the clouds to clear—which they finally did on Saturday afternoon, revealing a stunning Mount Rainier peeking out of the horizon to the southeast. We paused on trails to watch slugs inch out of harm’s way all while discussing the recent congressional attacks on public lands, the impacts of climate change, and other topics fascinating to a group of students passionate about land conservation.

I can’t thank the Wyss Foundation and the Yale cohort enough for putting together this incredible retreat. Not only was the local landscape breathtaking, but the time spent with other students who shared similar passions for land conservation was truly irreplaceable. I left Washington on Sunday morning feeling inspired by the work of my fellow Scholars and hopeful about the impacts young adults like us will make on the future of U.S. land conservation.

Off

Traditional

White

Behind the Scenes: Bringing the Martz Symposium Back to Life in Print

Annie Carlozzi — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 13:02:47 +0000

Behind the Scenes: Bringing the Martz Symposium Back to Life in Print Annie Carlozzi Fri, 06/20/2025 - 07:02

Oliver Skelly

A look inside the editorial process that transformed two days of dialogue into Volume 36, Issue 2 of the Colorado Environmental Law Journal

After a five-year pandemic-induced hiatus, the Martz Symposium on Public Lands returned to the University of Colorado Law School this past October with renewed vigor and urgency. Now, just months later, we're proud to share how those conversations made their way into the pages of the Colorado Environmental Law Journal. Many thanks to our authors, S. James Anaya, Matt Dietz, Alison Flint, Travis Belote, Monte Mils, Martin Nie, and Sarah Matsumoto, for their excellent work throughout the process.

Yet the process of turning conversations into law review articles is no simple feat. The transition from symposium presentations to law review articles presents unique editorial challenges. Read on for an assuredly riveting “behind the scenes” look on what happened in the Journal suite over the last six months to make it all happen.

From Spoken Word to Scholarly Articles

First up is tracking down your authors. This usually begins as a “call for submissions” and, if the conference’s listserv doesn’t heed the call, can often end as a “please, please, please write something for us.” Fortunately for yours truly, the 2024 Martz Symposium’s panelists and moderators—Mills, Flint, Matsumoto, and Anaya, to be specific—promptly offered up their ideas and commitments.

Once the authors are selected, the waiting game begins because, unlike the usual process where we selected pre-written articles, symposium selections will be written after the fact (i.e., the event), and generally on the subject the author presented on. Again, trepidation set in as the first-draft December deadline grew nearer; again, our authors came through.

Bear with me here because it’s about to get really interesting. The editing process is as follows: two rounds of substantive edits, onto cite checks and then a copy edit / page proof finish. The latter two rounds are where law journals across the country win their notoriety. Imagine the most monotonous task you do daily, multiply its monotony by five, then find a rule to cite for why you do it. And then do that task several hundred times over the course of a month. That’s our bread and butter, baby.

Jokes aside, these editorial rounds are what allow for law review articles to be relied upon when writing the law—be it legislators or judges. Without a swarm of staff writers and editors to do that sort of rigorous fact checking, the articles’ value to the legal field would be greatly diminished.

Bridging Academia and Practice

Nevertheless, the value in this issue’s contents was apparent from the get-go. We were very fortunate to work with an esteemed group of authors covering a breadth of practice areas. Take it from my very own editor’s note:

Issue 2 opens with S. James Anaya's incisive and experiential analysis of the International Council on Mining and Metals' 2024 Position Statement on Indigenous Peoples, examining how the world's largest mining companies are grappling with their responsibilities toward Indigenous communities. Matt Dietz, Alison Flint, and Travis Belote of the Wilderness Society then present a compelling argument for the role of landscape intactness in the BLM’s multiple-use and sustained-yield mandate, tactfully striking that elusive literary balance between law and science. Professors Monte Mills and Martin Nie then offer up the first comprehensive framework for integrating tribal co-stewardship into federal public lands planning processes by addressing a critical, inequitable gap in the current planning approaches. Colorado Law’s very own Sarah Matsumoto rounds out the articles selection in the Pacific Northwest with an Oregonian exposé on the tension between legitimate wildfire management and its exploitation by industry.

The symposium issue doesn't just feature the distinguished speakers—it also showcases the Journal's student editors' own scholarship. Here’s me again, too lazy to paraphrase:

The Journal’s lead production editor, Lara Andenoro, kicks off the student notes with a weighty analysis of Held v. Montana and how state constitutional environmental rights provisions can serve as powerful tools for climate litigation. Next up is managing editor, Aidan Bodeo-Lomicky’s investigation into the Rice's whale—the world's most endangered baleen whale—illustrating the complex intersection of environmental protection and political change. Tying a bow on Volume 36 is lead notes editor, Mason Liddell, and his comparative analysis of the Lake Erie Bill of Rights and Happy the Elephant case, revealing the challenges facing rights-based environmental and animal advocacy.

Publication in a Changing Landscape

Perhaps the most challenging aspect of the editorial process was the rapidly changing political landscape. The Journal's commitment to publishing timely, relevant scholarship meant that articles required constant updates as policies shifted. This was particularly evident in pieces dealing with federal land management, where, as anyone who reads GWC blog posts knows, there has been some regulatory change afoot over the last six months.

Still, the team's dedication to accuracy and timeliness and the authors’ hard work in keeping us up to date meant that what began as symposium presentations slowly but surely evolved into forward-looking scholarship that remains relevant even as the political landscape continues to shift.

A Labor of Love

The Martz Symposium issue represents more than just a collection of articles—it's a testament to the power of bringing together diverse voices to address our most pressing environmental challenges. From the distinguished speakers who trusted the Journal with their ideas to the student editors who worked tirelessly to bring those ideas to print, Volume 36, Issue 2 stands as a collaborative achievement and capstone on the return of the Martz Symposium.

Now, go read it yourself!

Volume 36, Issue 2 of the Colorado Environmental Law Journal is now available at scholar.law.colorado.edu/celj. Recordings of the symposium presentations can be found on the Getches-Wilkinson Center's YouTube channel.

Off

Traditional

White

Rapid Assessment of the Senate’s Proposal to Sell Off Public Lands

Annie Carlozzi — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 16:59:32 +0000

Rapid Assessment of the Senate’s Proposal to Sell Off Public Lands Annie Carlozzi Wed, 06/18/2025 - 10:59

Chris Winter

The Getches-Wilkinson Center has published a white paper that provides a rapid assessment of a proposal from the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee to mandate the sale of federal public lands. This proposal was being considered as a part of an expedited budget reconciliation process with little to no meaningful public engagement.

A Rapid Assessment of the Senate’s Proposal to Sell Off Public Lands

The updated white paper published on June 25, 2025 analyzes updated Senate language that was made available to the public on the same day.

The earlier version of the white paper dated June 18, 2025 can be viewed here.

On June 29, 2025, Senator Mike Lee from Utah announced that he was pulling the proposed sell-off of public lands form the budget reconciliation passage. His decision comes after several republican lawmakers from western states stated that they would oppose the reconciliation package if the sell-off was included in the bill.

Many million acres of public land were at risk under this proposal, and 1.2 million acres across the west could have be privatized in only 10 years. The resulting sell off would have threatened drinking water for rural communities, cultural resources valued by Tribes and Indigenous people, recreational access, wildlife habitat, and many other important ecosystem services that support rural economies and communities.

In addition, the sell-off proposal would have marked a dramatic departure from existing public land law and policy in the United States, which requires the retention of federal public lands and management of those resources according to multiple use, sustained yield principles for the benefit of the American public. Existing law carefully circumscribes when public lands can be sold to private parties, ensuring that those transactions are designed to further the public interest in public lands and that any proceeds are reinvested into conservation and recreation. The Senate ENR proposal would have waived these existing legal protections and instead sold off federal public land to fund the federal government and offset tax breaks.

If you have questions, please contact Chris Winter, Executive Director at chris.winter@colorado.edu.

Colorado Law students at Corona Arch in Southeast Utah, which could be sold off to a private developer under the current proposal

Off

Traditional

White