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Wallace Stegner Center faculty write letter to Congress urging lawmakers not to repeal BLM resource management plans
Sep 03, 2025Members of the Wallace Stegner Center for Land, Resources and the Environment faculty joined law professors across the country Sept. 2 to ask Congress not to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to repeal three Bureau of Land Management (BLM) resource management plans.
Public lands are not “enclaves” and other errors in the report to Utah’s Legislative Commission on Federalism
Jul 15, 2025Earlier this year, the Utah’s Legislative Commission on Federalism released a report entitled “Jurisdiction Over Federal Areas Within the States. The report sets forth an expansive interpretation of state jurisdiction over federal lands that should be read with caution.
Great Salt Lake legislative update: March 5, 2025
Mar 05, 2025The 2025 Utah state legislative session is drawing to a close. Great Salt Lake is still far from being saved, but some progress has been made. Since our first legislative update, some bills relating to Great Salt Lake have passed, some are still expected to pass before the end of the session, and others have failed.
Great Salt Lake legislative update: Feb. 18, 2025
Feb 18, 2025In hopes of demystifying the proposed legislation this session and its potential import, we will produce three legislative updates over the course of the 2025 session and analyze key bills that could impact the lake, either directly or indirectly.
Shrinking the federal workforce will not promote permitting efficiency
Feb 07, 2025Efficiency is a concept on everyone’s mind. Prior to the inauguration, permit reform proposals looked for ways to improve permitting efficiency, often with Republicans blaming environmental laws for delaying infrastructure and energy projects.
Associate Professor Jamie Pleune appointed to Bureau of Land Management Public Lands Rule Advisory Committee
Jan 21, 2025Associate Professor Jamie Pleune has been appointed by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to serve as alternate public-at-large representative on the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Public Lands Rule Resource Advisory Committee.
Implementing the Public Lands Rule consistent with BLM’s statutory authority under FLPMA
Oct 21, 2024On Friday, the Bureau of Land Management opened a 30-day nomination period to fill a new federal advisory committee. The committee, appropriately titled Public Lands Rule Advisory Committee, will help inform implementation of the BLM’s newly minted public lands rule.
All that flows downhill: How mining in Canada threatens downstream communities in Alaska, Washington, Idaho and Montana
Sep 19, 2024As the world transitions to electric vehicles and renewable energy, the demand for critical minerals like lithium, nickel, cobalt, and graphite is growing rapidly.
Research Professor John Ruple discusses CEQ appointment and Law and Policy program
Sep 11, 2024Research Professor John Ruple, who also serves as director of the Wallace Stegner Center’s Law and Policy (LPP) program, recently returned from a two-year appointment as senior counsel in the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). He will discuss his time on the CEQ at a Stegner Center Green Bag on Thursday, Oct. 3, from 12:15-1:30 p.m.
Research Professor John Ruple featured in media about Utah lawsuit to take control of federal lands
Aug 26, 2024Research Professor John Ruple, an expert on public land and resource management and director of the Wallace Stegner Center’s Law and Policy program, is quoted in several media outlets about the lawsuit Utah has filed targeting unappropriated public land.
Leveraging the environmental impact analysis to reduce ambiguity and delay in mine permitting
Aug 16, 2024The Law and Policy Program was honored to join one of the CLDP’s missions as a subject matter expert on strategies for aligning Fiji’s mineral laws and policies with their ambitious climate and environmental laws.
Working to close the water gap in Indian Country by filling an information gap
Jul 30, 2024Heather Tanana, previously a member of the Law and Policy Program, is doing as the team lead for the Universal Access to Clean Water for Tribal Communities Initiative (UACW). She previously wrote on this blog about her personal experience with the water gap in the Navajo nation.
Joining ELI’s Summer School Series
Jun 17, 2024According to Alice Cooper, “School’s out for summer.” But that refrain is a bit outdated. For the past few summers, the Environmental Law Institute has been hosting the Summer School Series for those who see the leisurely summer schedule as a chance to get ahead.
H.J.R. 26 and Utah’s breach of fiduciary duty to the children of Utah
Apr 29, 2024This post is an excerpt from a larger work-in-progress examining the history of the administration of Utah’s trust lands and the contexts in which that administration has been legitimately advanced and at other times impaired by non-trust considerations.
A legal analysis of the Public Lands Rule
Apr 19, 2024On April 18, 2024, the Bureau of Land Management finalized the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, a long-awaited rule more commonly referred to as the Public Lands Rule. The purpose of this rule is to advance the BLM’s stewardship mission by focusing on the health and resilience of ecosystems across public lands managed for multiple use and sustained yield.
Great Salt Lake legislative update: Feb. 27, 2024
Feb 27, 2024In each week’s report, we will identify the most impactful bills (favorable or unfavorable) that could significantly affect Great Salt Lake.
Great Salt Lake legislative update: Feb. 22, 2024
Feb 23, 2024In each week’s report, we will identify the most impactful bills (favorable or unfavorable) that could significantly affect Great Salt Lake.
Great Salt Lake legislative update: Feb. 15, 2024
Feb 16, 2024In each week’s report, we will identify the most impactful bills (favorable or unfavorable) that could significantly affect Great Salt Lake.
Great Salt Lake legislative update: Feb. 8, 2024
Feb 08, 2024In each week’s report, we will identify the most impactful bills (favorable or unfavorable) that could significantly affect Great Salt Lake.
Great Salt Lake legislative update: Feb. 1, 2024
Jan 31, 2024In each week’s report, we will identify the most impactful bills (favorable or unfavorable) that could significantly affect Great Salt Lake.
Great Salt Lake legislative update: Jan. 25, 2024
Jan 25, 2024In each week’s report, we will identify the most impactful bills (favorable or unfavorable) that could significantly affect Great Salt Lake.