Colorado Environmental Law Journal

    As the salmon disappear, so do our tribal cultures and treaty rights. We are at a crossroads and we are running out of time. Introduction Political protests at the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota symbolize the modern Indian movement demanding the federal government to recognize tribal sovereignty and treat American Indian tribes as respectable governments. The protests at Standing Rock serve as a catalyst for the tribes’ call to be consulted, as required by federal laws, before major development projects requiring federal Continue reading →

Introduction Just north of Yellowstone National Park, in the Upper Yellowstone River watershed, two proposed gold mines threaten one of America’s most beautiful and biodiverse areas. This Note will argue that a federal act similar to the North Fork Watershed Protection Act of 2014, which withdrew 430,000 acres of public land from mining in northwest Montana, should be passed to ban any new mining and stop the expansion of current mining operations in the Upper Yellowstone River watershed. The Yellowstone River begins its 671-mile journey Continue reading →

  Introduction The Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) finalized its Waste Prevention, Production Subject to Royalties, and Resource Conservation Rule (“Waste Prevention Rule” “BLM Methane Rule,” or “Rule”) in November 2016. The stated purpose of the Rule is “to implement and carry out the purposes of statutes relating to prevention of waste from Federal and Indian (other than Osage Tribe) leases, conservation of surface resources, and management of the public lands for multiple use and sustained yield.”[2] The Waste Prevention Rule aims to achieve these Continue reading →

  This Article focuses on Florida’s statutory provisions regulating gun ranges; those provisions provide a stark contrast to traditional environmental regulation. In 2004, Florida enacted legislation that makes lawsuits and other legal actions against gun ranges a “last-resort option” for addressing environmental impacts at the ranges and creates a rule that relies on the industry to define the standards for performance of gun range owners and operators. This legislation provides a good example for examining potential limits to self-regulation, which is important to understand in Continue reading →

  Introduction Long a hotbed of discontent over federal public land management, Utah rekindled the “sagebrush rebellion” in 2012 when it enacted the Transfer of Public Lands Act (“TPLA”),[2] demanding that the federal government turn millions of acres of public land[3] over to the state. Utah’s efforts became a model for legislation that sprang up across the West, and transfer theories were adopted as part of the Republican National Committee Platform. A growing minority is also seizing on Utah’s theories to justify wresting public lands Continue reading →