Jason Robison, a Professor of Law at the University of Wyoming College of Law, will join the Stegner Center as the 15th annual Stegner Center Young Scholar on November 7 and 8, 2019. He will deliver a Young Scholar Lecture at the College of Law on November 7 on “Beyond Bears Ears: Postcolonialism & Grand Canyon National Park” and a CLE presentation at Holland & Hart on November 8 on “Downstream of Montana v. Wyoming: Equity, Tribes & the Yellowstone River Compact.” His Young Scholar Lecture will be published in an upcoming environmental and natural resources law issue of the student-edited Utah Law Review.
“Professor Robison is already distinguishing himself as a prolific young scholar in water law, where he is examining western water law from a fresh perspective with a distinct sensitivity toward the region’s Native American tribes,” observed Bob Keiter, Director of the Stegner Center. In commenting on his upcoming visit, Professor Robison said, “Wallace Stegner shaped our dialogue about the West, and the Stegner Center has followed suit for nearly 25 years. A critical aspect of this dialogue at present concerns Native Americans having a voice in natural resource decision-making. It’s an honor to be invited to talk along these lines in relation to Grand Canyon National Park and the Yellowstone River as this year’s Young Scholar.”
Professor Robison is a faculty member in the environmental, energy, and natural resources law program at the University of Wyoming (UW) College of Law. He joined UW as a visiting professor in 2013 and was promoted to full professor with tenure this year. Professor Robison has earned an S.J.D. and LL.M. from Harvard Law School, a J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law, and a B.S. in environmental studies from the University of Utah. Prior to becoming a law professor, he held a variety of legal and policy positions with organizations such as the Harvard Water Security Initiative, Harvard Law School’s Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, the University of Colorado’s Colorado River Governance Initiative, the Oregon Supreme Court, the Oregon Department of Justice’s Special Litigation Unit, and the Oregon Court of Appeals’ Motions Department and Office of Appellate Legal Counsel.
Professor Robison loves the American West. His research revolves around subjects that distinguish this inspiring region: American Indian law, public lands law, and water law. Among other projects, he is the lead editor of a forthcoming book from the University of California press that focuses on the past, present, and future of Native Americans, public lands, and water in the Colorado River Basin. Drawing upon the historic 1869 Powell Expedition’s sesquicentennial, the book is entitled Vision & Place: John Wesley Powell & Reimagining the Colorado River Basin. Professor Robison teaches regular courses in American Indian Law, Federal Courts, International Environmental Law, and Water Law & Policy. He is honored to serve on UW President Neil Theobald’s Native American Affairs Advisory Council, and to have received the Chief Washakie Foundation’s Distinguished Leadership Award this year for chairing the subcommittee that drafted the university’s first-ever Native American & Indigenous Affairs Strategic Plan. Professor Robison is also proud to be part of the Leadership Team for the Water and Tribes Initiative in the Colorado River Basin.
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 Uma Outka, University of Kansas School of Law; Professor Felix Mormann, Texas A&M University School of Law; Professor Sanne Knudsen, University of Washington School of Law; Professor Dave Owen, UC Hastings College of Law; 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; the late Professor Lesley McAllister, then at the 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).