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 & 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 carbon emissions of our fossil fuel-dependent economy to fragmentation of cultural and ecological landscapes through development, to conflicts over allocating scarce natural resources, we promote understanding of the relationship between environmental laws and social actions, the tradeoffs that we face in allocating scarce resources, and the opportunities to develop legal and policy institutions that can foster a more just, diverse, and equitable future.
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 & Policy Program, the Great Salt Lake Project, 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 of faculty members 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 in the courtroom and legislative chambers.
At the Wallace Stegner Center for Land, Resources & the Environment, we believe that well-conceived and carefully implemented laws and policies are the cornerstones of a just and equitable society, and we invite you to join us in that pursuit.
LATEST STEGNER CENTER NEWS
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.
The problem with compromise
Sep 01, 2024In my classes and trainings, I often ask people what skills are necessary for effective conflict resolution. One of the most common responses I get is “compromise.” When people say this, I ask them a follow-up question: How does compromise make you feel? I encourage you to take a moment to sit with that question yourself.
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.
