S.J. Quinney College of Law

Named after the Pulitzer Prize-winning author and conservationist, the Wallace Stegner Center for Land, Resources and the Environment offers students one of the top environmental and natural resources law programs in the United States. We also offer unparalleled access to the mountains, rivers, and desert landscapes that inspire us, and many students, to pursue environmental law.

Modern society has the power to profoundly alter our natural surroundings. From the development of energy and mineral resources, to fragmentation of cultural and ecological landscapes through development, to conflicts over allocating scarce natural resources, understanding of the relationship between environmental laws and social actions, the tradeoffs faced by society when in allocating scarce resources. The Stegner Center promotes opportunities to develop effective legal and policy institutions. We encourage legally rigorous solutions that are grounded in the best available science and information, and that promote transparency and meaningful engagement with effected communities.

The Stegner Center offers students a variety of educational opportunities, including a JD certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law, an LLM degree, numerous substantive law courses, a Law and Policy program, the Great Salt Lake Project, an Environmental Law Clinic, an Environmental Dispute Resolution program, and a variety of public events and speakers at the College of Law.

The Stegner Center boasts a talented and diverse team who are working to shape environmental law and policy, and who are committed to involving students in that work. Our faculty members serve on local and national NGO boards and advisory committees, collaborate with state and federal government officials to improve environmental policies, and they advocate for the rule of law, sound science, and engaged decisionmaking in the courtroom and legislative chambers.

At the Wallace Stegner Center for Land, Resources and the Environment, we believe that well-conceived and carefully implemented laws and policies are the cornerstones of society, and we invite you to join us in that pursuit.