Dave Owen, a Professor of Law at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, will join the Stegner Center as the eleventh annual Stegner Center Young Scholar on October 8 and 9, 2015. During his residency, Professor Owen will deliver a Young Scholar Lecture entitled “Headwater Streams and the Hidden Histories of Environmental Law” at the College of Law and a Downtown CLE presentation on “The Evolving Law of Headwater Streams” at a local law firm. His Young Scholar Lecture will be published in an upcoming environmental and natural resources law issue of the student-edited Utah Law Review.
“Professor Owen has developed a notable research profile in the field of water law, where his work is addressing cutting-edge issues with real world implications,” notes Bob Keiter, Director of the Wallace Stegner Center. In commenting on his upcoming visit, Professor Owen said, “I’m thrilled and honored to be the Stegner Center’s Distinguished Young Scholar for 2015. Utah Law School has a great group of environmental and energy law scholars and teachers, and I look forward to spending a few days as part of their community.”
Professor Owen teaches courses in environmental, natural resources, water, and administrative law at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. His research focuses primarily on water resource management, and some recent projects have addressed policies to expedite dam removals and hydropower upgrades, the intersection of groundwater use regulation and the takings clause, implementation of the Endangered Species Act, and the real-world impact of California’s public trust doctrine. He also contributes frequently to the Environmental Law Prof Blog.
Professor Owen graduated from Berkeley Law, where he served as editor-in-chief of Ecology Law Quarterly and was selected for the Order of the Coif. He then clerked for a federal district court judge and then worked for a small law firm in San Francisco, where his practice focused primarily on water law. He worked on Colorado River allocation, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta litigation, and federal state disputes over the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, among other matters. In 2007, he began teaching at the University of Maine School of Law. He joined the Hastings faculty in 2015.
The Young Scholars Program, which is made possible by the generous support of the Cultural Vision Fund, is designed to recognize and establish a relationship with promising scholars early in their academic careers. Recipients are selected based on their accomplishments, the quality of their academic work, and their promise in the field of environmental and natural resources law and policy.
Past Stegner Center Young Scholars include: Professor Emily Hammond, George Washington University Law School; Professor Katrina Kuh, Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University; Professor Noah Hall, Wayne State University of Law; Professor Lesley McAllister, University of San Diego School of Law; Professor Jason Czarnezki, Vermont Law School (now at Pace); Professor Barbara Cosens, University of Idaho School of Law; Professor Kim Connolly, University of South Carolina School of Law (now at SUNY Buffalo); Professor Jamison Colburn, Western New England College School of Law (now at Penn State); Professor Amy Sinden, Temple University Beasley School of Law; and Professor Reed Benson, University of Wyoming College of Law (now at New Mexico).