WALLACE STEGNER CENTER
WALLACE STEGNER CENTER
WALLACE STEGNER CENTER
Our Environmental Law program is ranked #3 among public law schools, and #7 among all law schools in U.S. News & World Report, and rated A+ by PreLaw Magazine.
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.
LATEST STEGNER CENTER NEWS
Understanding and identifying different kinds of interests
Jul 01, 2025When navigating conflict and collaborating—and in life in general—one of the most important things we can do to set ourselves up for success is to focus on interests and not positions.
“Shifting power:” Nagra advances justice in an era of climate crisis
Jun 23, 2025Here’s a thought: In responding to the climate crisis, what if less is actually more? That’s the question animating Associate Professor Ruhan Nagra’s current research—and she says it’s a mindset that could be essential for our shared future.
How to share the gift of centering and self-regulation (including with potentially skeptical audiences)
Jun 01, 2025I firmly believe based on two decades of doing conflict resolution work and a lot of research that practicing self-regulation ourselves and helping others do so as well is one of the most important gifts we can give ourselves and the world.
Kyle Lowe on finding law and fighting for the Great Salt Lake
May 19, 2025For as long as he can remember, Kyle Lowe (JD class of 2026) has understood the power of being a lawyer. When he was young he read the book “To Kill A Mockingbird,” and he credits its legendary character Atticus Finch, in part, for laying out a moral vision of the profession that resonated with him.
