America’s Public Lands: At a Crossroads? | Register here
Scholars, advocates, and constituents will focus on the future of public lands March 19-20, 2026, at the Wallace Stegner Center Symposium, hosted by the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law’s Wallace Stegner Center for Land, Resources and the Environment.
This year’s symposium, now in its 31st year, will discuss the way we use and protect public lands, a vital issue locally and regionally. From stark shifts in law and policy regulating the designation and use of public lands to ongoing demographic and economic changes in the American West, from conflicts over recreation to wildfire and other growing threats, public lands questions continue to rapidly evolve as the region does.
Ryan Gellert (JD ’05), CEO of Patagonia, will deliver the keynote address. Symposium speakers also include Utah Law faculty members and the following scholars and leaders:
- Natalie Landreth of Nashoba Consulting
- Mark Haggerty, Center for American Progress
- John Leshy, UC Law San Francisco
- Melissa Barbanell, World Resources Institute
- Kristi Disney Bruckner, Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA)
- Steve Feldgus, Department of the Interior
- Kristen Brengel, National Parks Conservation Association
- Kirti Datla, Earthjustice
- Justin Pidot, University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law
- Nada Wolff Culver, Nashoba Consulting
- Chip L. Jenkins, National Park Service
- Megan Lawson, Headwaters Economics
- Bill Anderegg, University of Utah School of Biological Sciences and Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy
- Garrett Rose, Natural Resources Defense Council
- Jonathan Wood, Property and Environment Research Center
- Blake Hudson, Cumberland School of Law, Samford University
- Sally Jewell, U.S. Department of the Interior
- Kevin L. Baker, rPlus Hydro, LLC
- Eric Biber, UC Berkeley Law
- Emy Lesofski, Utah Office of Energy Development
- Pilar Thomas, Quarles & Brady LLP
- Ethan Blevins, Pacific Legal Foundation
- Steve Bloch (JD ’97), Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance
- Jamie Harvey, San Juan County Commissioner
- Redge Johnson, Utah Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office
Learn more about the event and register now.