Letter From The Editors,
2026
University of Montana
Using Data To Discern Whether Nepa Causes Delay, And What Can Be Done About It,
2026
University of Utah
Using Data To Discern Whether Nepa Causes Delay, And What Can Be Done About It, John C. Ruple, David E. Adelman, Jamie Pleune
Public Land & Resources Law Review
This article proceeds in three principal parts. Part I provides an overview of NEPA that is focused on the requirements contained in the Act itself, the Supreme Court’s recent opinion in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado, and developments involving agency NEPA regulations. Part II summarizes what we know about factors causing or contributing to delays in permitting in general and NEPA compliance in particular. The central question examined in Part II is the extent to which changes to NEPA respond to barriers to development and are therefore likely to be effective. Part III offers recommendations and is …
Testing Prior Appropriation As Drought And Climate Change Push States Toward Water Code Reform: Lessons From And For Oregon,
2026
University of Oregon, School of Law
Testing Prior Appropriation As Drought And Climate Change Push States Toward Water Code Reform: Lessons From And For Oregon, Adell L. Amos
Public Land & Resources Law Review
Part I outlines approaches to addressing the challenges that have arisen in water management under state water codes that have been considered—some adopted, and some still under consideration—in Oregon. This section examines some historical material on Oregon water law and describes the current moment as a way for setting the stage for the work that is currently underway. The dynamics described for Oregon are replicated in many western states. So, while the details are Oregon-related, the storyline is a familiar one in the West.2 Part II describes the efforts of a working group of water law attorneys that the Oregon …
Salt In The Public Wound: The Public Trust Doctrine And The Great Salt Lake,
2026
Lewis and Clark Law School
Salt In The Public Wound: The Public Trust Doctrine And The Great Salt Lake, Shoshana Grossman
Public Land & Resources Law Review
This paper analyzes how the Utah PTD applies to the non- navigable tributaries that affect the GSL, and whether Utah must consider the PTD in water rights management. Section I explains the GSL case, outlining the issues, the Physicians’ claims, and Judge Scott’s order. Section II outlines the PTD in Utah. Section III first compares the GSL to other decisions applying the PTD to non-navigable water resources and water rights. Section III then assesses whether Utah’s PTD applies to non-navigable tributaries that affect navigable resources like the GSL, and what that may mean for water allocation in Utah. The paper …
"In Keeping With The Constitution’S Original Design": History And Tradition In Federal Indian Law,
2026
University of Montana
"In Keeping With The Constitution’S Original Design": History And Tradition In Federal Indian Law, Meghanlata Gupta
Public Land & Resources Law Review
This Article examines the Supreme Court’s use of history and tradition in federal Indian law. In recent years, the Court has increasingly relied on Founding-era practices and historical traditions to determine constitutional meaning in areas such as firearm regulation, substantive due process, and religious liberty. At the same time, while the Founding-era record contains substantial evidence that Native nations were understood and treated as independent, sovereign political communities, this evidence has not yet been fully incorporated into the Supreme Court’s Indian law jurisprudence. Examining decisions from Oliphant to Castro-Huerta, this Article describes the Court’s approaches to historical analysis in Indian …
Enemies To Lovers: An Unsuspecting Friendship In The Journey To Save The Endangerment Finding,
2026
University of Cincinnati College of Law
Enemies To Lovers: An Unsuspecting Friendship In The Journey To Save The Endangerment Finding, Sophie Ballah
University of Cincinnati Law Review
No abstract provided.
U.S. V. Washington: Considering The Continuing Injunction Of The Boldt Decision,
2026
Alexander Blewett III School of Law, University of Montana
U.S. V. Washington: Considering The Continuing Injunction Of The Boldt Decision, Nicholas Brown
Public Land & Resources Law Review
Judge George Hugo Boldt’s 1974 opinion in United States v. Washington was a landmark decision in the recognition of treaty fishing rights for tribes in western Washington. Not only did it recognize the entitlement to 50% of harvestable yields of fish within the tribes’ usual and accustomed fishing sites, but it also provided a permanent injunction to protect future fishing rights for generations to come. Now, over fifty years since the original “Boldt decision” was made, judges in the Ninth Circuit are debating whether the continued injunction to litigate intertribal disputes over treaty fishing rights is proper. This article considers …
Western Watersheds Project V. Schultz, Cv 22-149-M-Dlc-Kld, 2025 Lx 449507, 2025 Wl 2410283 (D. Mont. Mar. 27, 2025),
2026
Alexander Blewett III School of Law, University of Montana
Western Watersheds Project V. Schultz, Cv 22-149-M-Dlc-Kld, 2025 Lx 449507, 2025 Wl 2410283 (D. Mont. Mar. 27, 2025), Luke A. Zagar
Public Land & Resources Law Review
Western Watersheds Project v. Schultz delineates what the Forest Service is required to consider for revising Allotment Management Plans as prescribed by NEPA. Environmental plaintiffs sued, arguing that the Forest Service’s reliance on an older baseline assessment was arbitrary and capricious and that the revised AMP failed to consider major impacts on the grizzly bear population. The District of Montana held that the reliance on an older baseline assessment was acceptable but simultaneously found the AMP to be arbitrary and capricious under the “hard look” standard.
San Luis Obispo Coastkeeper V. Cnty. Of San Luis Obispo, 161 F.4th 590 (9th Cir. 2025),
2026
Alexander Blewett III School of Law, University of Montana
San Luis Obispo Coastkeeper V. Cnty. Of San Luis Obispo, 161 F.4th 590 (9th Cir. 2025), Erika C. Rader
Public Land & Resources Law Review
In San Luis Obispo Coastkeeper v. Cnty. of San Luis Obispo, the Ninth Circuit addressed how to consider a mandatory preliminary injunction for an Endangered Species Act claim when multiple listed species may be affected by the requested relief. The Plaintiffs brought ESA and state law claims to compel the County of San Luis Obispo to change its operation of the Lopez Dam on Arroyo Grande Creek, which they claimed adversely affected South-Central California Coast steelhead trout. The tidewater goby and California red-legged frog, both listed species, are also present in Arroyo Grande Creek. The Ninth Circuit determined the …
Unleashing Consultation: Tohono O’Odham Nation V. Department Of Interior And The Case For Reforming The National Historic Preservation Act,
2026
Alexander Blewett III School of Law, University of Montana
Unleashing Consultation: Tohono O’Odham Nation V. Department Of Interior And The Case For Reforming The National Historic Preservation Act, Elizabeth Tobey
Public Land & Resources Law Review
The Ninth Circuit’s 2025 decision in Tohono O’odham Nation v. Department of Interior highlights an ongoing failure by federal land management agencies to consult meaningfully with tribal nations as mandated by the 1966 National Historic Preservation Act. This article argues that the NHPA’s framework for tribal consultation enables federal land management agencies to sidestep meaningful engagement with tribes, undermining both cultural resource protection and the federal Indian trust responsibility. To address these deficiencies—particularly in the context of renewable energy development on federal public lands, directly at issue in Tohono O’odham Nation—this article proposes amendments to the NHPA informed by …
Wilderness Watch V. U.S. Forest Service, No. Cv 23-133-M-Dwm, 2025 Wl 2985292 (D. Mont. Oct. 23, 2025).,
2026
Alexander Blewett III School of Law, University of Montana
Wilderness Watch V. U.S. Forest Service, No. Cv 23-133-M-Dwm, 2025 Wl 2985292 (D. Mont. Oct. 23, 2025)., Gardner Dee
Public Land & Resources Law Review
This comment argues that the District of Montana’s decision in Wilderness Watch v. U.S. Forest Service correctly applied the Ninth Circuit’s Kofa framework to strike down a multi-agency native trout restoration project in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, holding that the Forest Service unlawfully prioritized Yellowstone cutthroat trout conservation over the Wilderness Act’s mandate to preserve wilderness character. Dee further contends that while large wilderness watersheds offer valuable climate refugia for native coldwater fish, watershed-scale restoration projects will continue to conflict with the Act’s prohibitions on motorized and mechanized intrusions so long as agencies rely on helicopter transport and rotenone application at …
Pooling Responsibility: Incentivizing Cable Owners To Safeguard The Global Undersea Network,
2026
University of Texas
Pooling Responsibility: Incentivizing Cable Owners To Safeguard The Global Undersea Network, Kevin Frazier
The University of Cincinnati Intellectual Property and Computer Law Journal
No abstract provided.
Climate Lies And Unjust Profits,
2026
Texas A&M University School of Law
Climate Lies And Unjust Profits, Vanessa Casado-Pérez, Yotam Kaplan, Yael Lifshitz, Niv Meyerson
Faculty Scholarship
The climate crisis has reached a perilous tipping point. Our entrenched reliance on fossil fuels remains unchecked, as fossil fuel corporations wield their power to block meaningful reform and entrench their profits. The political horizon offers little relief—an incoming administration is poised to dismantle vital environmental protections, stripping away the few safeguards that stand between us and climate catastrophe.
In this grim landscape, communities across the nation are turning to the courts with renewed urgency, seeking justice and reform through climate litigation. Yet past efforts have fallen short, stymied by two formidable barriers. First, by centering on greenhouse gas emissions …
Reassessing Mining Share Divestment In Indonesia: Legal Challenges And Environmental Accountability,
2026
Esa Unggul University
Reassessing Mining Share Divestment In Indonesia: Legal Challenges And Environmental Accountability, Ida Sumarsih, Luo Yuan Yuan
Indonesia Law Review
This article examines mining share divestment in Indonesia as an instrument of state control over natural resources and assesses the legal, institutional, and environmental challenges affecting its implementation. Using a normative legal approach, the study analyzes the applicable constitutional, statutory, and regulatory framework, supported by cases involving PT Kasongan Bumi Kencana, PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara, and PT Freeport Indonesia. The analysis identifies recurring problems relating to delayed compliance, fragmented institutional authority, limited financial capacity among Indonesian participants, and disputes concerning share valuation. Public Choice Theory and Rational Choice Theory are employed as supplementary analytical lenses to explain governmental decision-making concerning …
It's The Night Of The Living Deepfakes: The Threat Of Deepfakes On The Film Industry,
2026
DePaul University
It's The Night Of The Living Deepfakes: The Threat Of Deepfakes On The Film Industry, Neki Shero
DePaul Business & Commercial Law Journal
No abstract provided.
Front Matter,
2026
DePaul University
Who Pays For Carbon Recovery?,
2026
University of Oklahoma College of Law
Who Pays For Carbon Recovery?, Carter F. Smith
Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal
No abstract provided.
Utilization Of Parametric Insurance Bonds As Part Of Nepa Permitting Reform,
2026
University of Oklahoma College of Law
Utilization Of Parametric Insurance Bonds As Part Of Nepa Permitting Reform, Paul E. Traynor
Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal
No abstract provided.
Lights Out: Energy Resilience In The Air Force,
2026
University of Oklahoma College of Law
Lights Out: Energy Resilience In The Air Force, Carolyn Mattingly
Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal
No abstract provided.
Editor's Introduction & Front Pages,
2026
University of Oklahoma College of Law
Editor's Introduction & Front Pages, Bryce Cormack
Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal
No abstract provided.
