With the passage of another year, the Stegner Center continues on its growth trajectory, both in terms of new people and programs. As reflected in the ensuing pages, our new activities are extensive while our existing programs continue apace.
Since the last newsletter, we have hired a founding Director for the Stegner Center’s new Environmental Dispute Resolution program and a Research Associate to help establish a new Center research program. Michele Straube, a local attorney with 15 years experience in alternative dispute resolution and collaborative processes, is hard at work bringing the new EDR program to fruition. Her work already has won significant recognition. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has featured the Center’s Escalante River Watershed Partnership, which Michele is facilitating, as one of America’s Great Outdoors Rivers Projects. Michele’s paper entitled “Report Card on Environmental Dispute Resolution in Utah” has been selected for presentation at the Section on Alternative Dispute Resolution panel during the upcoming American Association of Law School annual meeting in New Orleans. John Ruple, a 2004 graduate of the S.J. Quinney College of Law who recently worked as a Research Associate at the University’s Institute for Clean and Secure Energy, is now hard at work building his own research portfolio on public land and water issues while working with faculty on their various research projects. John’s experience as a private attorney, in state government, and at the university puts him in a unique position to contribute broadly to the region’s pressing natural resources law and policy issues. Michele’s and John’s recent activities are recounted in the pages that follow.
During the past year, the College of Law recruited Professor Robin Craig to join the faculty, where she has already been honored with appointment as the first William H. Leary Professor of Law. Robin’s extensive publication record, speaking engagements, and ABA professional affiliations reflect her growing reputation as an outstanding environmental law scholar, whose presence further enhances the Center’s stature in the field. Robin’s appointment and recent work, which includes two new books and several journal articles, are highlighted in the newsletter. Of course, she joins an accomplished group of scholars, whose remarkable accomplishments and activities are also highlighted in the newsletter.
As the school year unfolds, the Stegner Center’s calendar is literally overflowing with programs that address urgent concerns in the fields of natural resources and environmental law and policy. Our programming highlights include the 18th annual symposium that will address the topic of “Religion, Faith, and the Environment,” an academic conference on “The Future of Conservation Easements,” our 7th annual Young Scholar lecture by Professor Noah Hall on “Interstate Groundwater Law: Equitable Apportionment of Transboundary Resources and Implications for the Snake Valley Aquifer Dispute” and a presentation by local photographer and author, Howie Garber, on “Utah’s Wasatch Range.” A complete list of upcoming events is set forth below. Please join us for any of these programs as time permits.
We greatly appreciate your ongoing support and participation in the Stegner Center’s programs and activities. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions.
Robert B. Keiter
Director, Wallace Stegner Center for Land, Resources, and the Environment
Wallace Stegner Professor of Law
University Distinguished Professor