Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment

Attention University of Colorado Law School students! GWC is accepting applications for Summer 2025 and Academic Year 25/26 Scholarships and Fellowships in Natural Resources Law. The deadline to apply is Friday, January 17, 2025. Opportunities include: Wyss Foundation Wyss Scholars Program for U.S. Lands Conservation The Wyss Foundation is a private, charitable foundation dedicated to land conservation in the American West. The Wyss Scholars Program seeks to identify and nurture a new generation of leaders on western land conservation issues by providing financial support to students who are committed to careers focused on western conservation. Two Wyss Scholars will be selected each year on the basis of leadership potential, commitment to furthering land conservation in the American West, commitment to pursuing a career in nonprofit or public sector conservation, financial need, and academic strength. While experience living or working in the West is preferred, all students interested in western lands and sustainability issues are encouraged to apply. The Harrison Fellowship in International Water Law The Innovations in Water and Energy Law & Policy Fellowship, initiated in 2010 by partners of the law firm of Moses, Wittemyer, Harrison and Woodruff, P.C. in honor David L. Harrison (Law ‘71), is awarded each year to a Colorado Law student on the basis of academic performance, commitment to public service, and interest in the study of water and energy law and policy. To the extent practicable, each Harrison Fellow will focus on a specific project where the partner organization is advancing innovative solutions for sustainable management of water or related energy resources outside the United States. Conscience Bay Company Western Water Policy Fellowship Fellows will work on the most pressing water law reform issues of the day under the guidance of the GWC and in partnership with leaders from the non-profit, government, and private sectors. The Charles N. Woodruff Memorial Scholarship - University of Colorado Law School Admissions Office will announce the application process in Spring 2025. A recording of the October Fellowship and Scholarship Information Event event can be found on the GWC website. Current scholars and fellowships shared their experiences and advice for interested students. For detailed information on each opportunity and application instructions visit the GWC website: https://lnkd.in/guEHc69g

GWC is incredibly grateful for all that transpired in 2024! Here's a synopsis of our community and student events held at University of Colorado Law School. We kicked off 2024 with a Celebration of the Boldt Decision and Treaty Justice. Co-hosted Native American Rights Fund, Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group and the University of Colorado Law School American Indian Law Program, we enjoyed an evening of scholarship, storytelling and celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Boldt decision and the release of Treaty Justice by Charles Wilkinson. Adam Fisher, 2023/34 Wyss Foundation Wyss Scholar, hosted Sally Jewell, former U.S. Secretary of the Interior for a conversation with Colorado Law students: Growing the Next Generation of Conservation Leaders. GWC partnered with Colorado Law Environmental Law Society to welcome Carlos Eduardo Fernandez, The Nature Conservancy's Colorado State Director. Partnering with The Colorado Bar Association and Colorado Law Environmental Law Society, Will Toor, Claybourne Fox Clarke and Chris Winter explored Colorado’s Climate Future: Legal Pathways to Decarbonization. June brought a record attendance to the Colorado River Conference: Next Chapters on the Colorado River: Short-Term Coping, Post-2026 Operations, and Beyond, with co-convener Water & Tribes Initiative. A pre-conference flight with LightHawk was an incredible addition to our experience. Robert Anderson joined GWC and the American Indian Law Program for the Ruth Wright Lecture: Public Lands, Water, and Tribal Sovereignty in an Era of Energy Transition. October brought the return of the Martz Symposium on Public Lands in collaboration with the American Indian Law Program and the Colorado Environmental Law Journal. CELJ is going to release a special issue in Spring 2025 from the Martz Symposium! We rounded out the year with a presentation by MacArthur Stant and Dwight Witherspoon, Water Rights Attorneys with the Navajo Nation Department of Justice. Preserving Dinetah: Water Security for Generations, the Nation’s Water Settlements Currently before Congress. Recordings and photographs of a majority of these events are available on the GWC website. A huge shout out to our many organizational partners, visiting speakers and experts, engaged students, and in person and remote attendees to our events. We hope to see you in 2025! https://lnkd.in/gTrU33vh

Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment is thrilled to announce that we will be able to host TWO Wyss Scholars starting in 2025 thanks to increased support by Wyss Foundation! Applications are currently being accepted. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/g2PsKEnX

High Country News recently spoke with Executive Director Chris Winter about recent Supreme Court decisions and the impact they may have on environmental law. https://lnkd.in/gxGi2GgH

The GWC team was able to attend the Colorado River Water Users Association (CRWUA) annual conference in early December. We were excited to invite University of Colorado Law School 3L students, Oliver Skelly, Conscience Bay Company Western Water Policy Fellow, and Aidan (Addy) Stearns, GWC Research Assistant and former Woodruff Fellow. As first year attendees, they shared their perspectives on CRWUA through the lens of young professionals with co-author Andrew Teegarden, GWC Post-Grad Water Law Fellow. As Skelly shared, "As the conference unfolded, most of what I'd heard about CRWUA's substance proved true: If you wanted platitudes, pay attention to the panels; if you wanted juicy hot takes, plug yourself into the hallway conversations. The ultimate takeaway is nothing new: The future of the Colorado River remains uncertain. But CRWUA lives on, and it has found itself a new repeat customer." Read the full article on the GWC blog: https://lnkd.in/d4y63yHh #crwua #waterlaw #coloradoriver

The Montana Supreme Court just issued a landmark decision upholding the rights of youth to a stable climate system under the Montana Constitution. The decision is likely to reverberate across the field of climate litigation. Earlier this year, the Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment and the Getches-Green Clinic at University of Colorado Law School submitted an amicus brief in the case on behalf of professional outdoor athletes and guides whose livelihoods in Montana depend on a clean and healthful environment. A link to more information on the case and the amicus brief can be found in the comments below. https://lnkd.in/gQ5ZTbAw

Meet GWC's current Fellows and Scholars! Mariah Bowman, Wyss Foundation Wyss Program Scholar Victoria Matson, Harrison Fellow in International Water Law Zane Reynolds, Charles N. Woodruff Fellow Oliver Skelly, Conscience Bay Company Western Water Policy Fellow They are a formidable group of University of Colorado Law School students! Follow along over the next week to read more about their individual experiences as GWC Fellows and Scholars. Consider donating to GWC to support these incredible future leaders! During this season of giving, thanks to the generosity of Dean Lolita Buckner Inniss and Don and Karen Brown, your financial support for GWC will go twice as far. Every gift given to GWC through December 31, 2024 will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $20,000. We depend on your support to continue this work. Please make a gift online at https://cu.law/GivingGWC.

Meet the Research Assistants at Getches-Wilkinson Center! The GWC is thrilled to have expanded our team of student Research Assistants (RA’s) to our existing cadre of Fellows, Scholars and volunteers. Obie Johnson (2L) grew up on the Gulf Coast of Florida, which ultimately led him to study environmental law — especially as it relates to the protection of our wildlife and endangered species. He is currently coauthoring an article with Chris Winter, to be published in the ABA's Section on Natural Resources & Environment Spring 2025 Issue, which concerns the Biden/Harris administration's regulatory efforts to balance the facilitation of renewable energy infrastructure growth with the risks it poses to our public lands. Sierra Meggitt (3L) is continuing her work as an RA looking at the intersection of water resources and public lands management. Currently, she is researching policy solutions to phase out fossil fuel production on federal public lands. After graduation, Sierra will begin a clerkship with the Alaska Court System. Catherine Pursifull (2L) is researching how to improve tribal consultation regarding expansion of renewable energy infrastructure and development on public lands. She is interested in renewable energy law, with a specific focus on utility- scale solar, and will be a Summer Associate at Husch Blackwell in Summer 2025. Aidan (Addy) Stearns (3L) has transitioned from being our Woodruff Fellow, to being an RA working on GWC's Colorado River Efforts. She is presently focused on examining the current issues and challenges facing the Glen Canyon Dam and analyzing the potential futures for the Dam from an interdisciplinary perspective. She plans to start her career in public interest environmental law next Fall. When combined with our current Fellowship and Scholarship holders (Woodruff, Harrison, Wyss Scholars, and Conscience Bay Company), and our existing Water Law Fellow program, we are continuing to create a mentorship ladder of young professionals able to assist the GWC and each other in a variety of projects and career development efforts. Consider donating to GWC to support these incredible future leaders! During this season of giving, thanks to the generosity of Dean Lolita Buckner Inniss and Don and Karen Brown, your financial support for GWC will go twice as far. Every gift given to GWC through December 31, 2024 will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $20,000. We depend on your support to continue this work. Please make a gift online at https://cu.law/GivingGWC.

On December 10, the Supreme Court heard arguments from attorneys in the case of Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County. The plaintiffs are trying to build a rail line from Utah's Uinta Basin, which would connect to existing Union Pacific tracks that run through Colorado, including sections along the Colorado River, to transport waxy crude oil to refineries on the Gulf Coast. To learn more, Rocky Mountain Community Radio’s Caroline Llanes spoke with Chris Winter, the executive director of  Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eE2fRaXq

The Supreme Court is set to rule on an important case that could limit the scope of environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act. I appreciate the opportunity to talk in depth about the case, because NEPA ensures that the public - which includes all of us - has the information necessary to participate in government decisions and hold agencies accountable for their actions. The more the public knows about NEPA the better. The Uinta Basin Railway is the perfect example. The project would result in the shipment of up to 4.6 billion gallons/year of waxy crude oil through Colorado along the Colorado River. This is hardly the vision of a clean energy future that we need right now, especially when we are investing so much in adapting management of the Colorado River to the realities of climate change. Public involvement through the NEPA process is critically important. #environmentallaw #uintarailway #supremecourt #NEPA #climatechange #coloradoriver https://lnkd.in/gkXDJXrP