Category: Printed

    National parks are the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst. —Wallace Stegner[2]   I. INTRODUCTION In the mid-morning hours of Saturday, September 7, 2013, as the summer season was winding down at Yellowstone National Park, three-year-old Ella Marie Tucker found…

        I. Introduction “Balance, that’s the secret. Moderate extremism. The best of both worlds.”[2] As a result of United States federal land policy in the early part of the country’s history, including the disposal of much of the federal land under the 1872 General Mining Law[3] and the granting of over 130…

I. INTRODUCTION Coal is a necessary part of the twenty-first century global economy. Approximately thirty-six percent of all globally generated power is reliant on coal as a primary fuel source.[2] Cheap and relatively easy to extract and export, coal is the fuel of choice for many developing economies[3] and will continue to be for the…

    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…

[1]Authors’ note: The analysis and citations in this article to “current” Bureau of Land Management (BLM) planning regulations are to the regulations in effect in 2015, when the article was initially prepared. In 2016, BLM issued new planning regulations, to be effective in January of 2017. However, on March 7, 2017, Congress voted to rescind…

I. Introduction This Note offers an analysis of how courts in the Tenth Circuit should interpret water development project Environmental Impact Statements (“EIS”) in an increasingly dry and environmentally sensitive West. The analysis is carried out through a case study of the Supplemental Draft EIS (“SDEIS”) for the Northern Integrated Supply Project (“NISP”), a water…

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…

  INTRODUCTION Designating areas for conservation purposes often causes conflict in communities with competing public and private interests, particularly when the federal government is involved. However, due to increasing population and a finite land base, conserving natural resources is important for this and future generations. Collaborative methods that encourage local input can help alleviate long-term…

  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…

I. Introduction Since the enactment of the Wilderness Act in 1964, some western states and counties have become involved in protracted battles over the federal designation of Wilderness within their jurisdictions. Many of these states and counties are composed of significant amounts of federally controlled land – for example, 64.5 percent of the State of…