Colorado Law announced today the appointment of Professor Mark Squillace as the Director of the Natural Resources Law Center. The Natural Resources Law Center (NRLC) is a research and educational program that has produced significant books, papers, and conferences informing public debate and policy-making concerning natural resources, and helping decision-makers resolve the conflicts surrounding resource development and preservation. At the heart of its mission is the notion of sustainability, which includes preservation of the West's social, environmental, economic, and cultural resources. The Center searches for pragmatic ways to secure these broad and related elements of sustainability, concentrating in particular on the region’s unique natural resources. As Director of the NRLC, Squillace will develop the Center's research agenda; formulate the Center's educational programs; engage in interdisciplinary environmental research projects with other University departments, programs, and centers; foster relations with the Law School community, advisory board, funders, and the public; and manage the Center's staff. Before coming to Colorado, Professor Squillace taught at the University of Toledo College of Law where he was the Charles Fornoff Professor of Law and Values. Prior to Toledo, Professor Squillace taught at the University of Wyoming College of Law where he served a three-year term as the Winston S. Howard Professor of Law. He is a former Fulbright scholar, and the author or co-author of numerous articles and books on natural resources and environmental law. In 2000, Professor Squillace took a leave from law teaching to serve as Special Assistant to the Solicitor at the U.S. Department of the Interior. In that capacity he worked directly with the Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt on variety of legal and policy issues.Professor Squillace's arrival continues the NRLC's long history of excellence. In the fall of 1981, the dean of the University of Colorado School of Law convened a distinguished committee of natural resource lawyers to consider a proposal to establish a "Center for Natural Resources Law." That meeting resulted in the founding of the Natural Resources Law Center in 1982. In the past two decades, the NRLC has become renowned for its conferences and workshops, especially its popular summer conferences. Over the years, the NRLC has brought to campus many distinguished visitors who have contributed greatly to the academic vitality of the law school. The Center is perhaps best known for its robust, interdisciplinary research program that seeks to find policy solutions to the many legal and practical problems that arise in the field of natural resources. Over its many years of work, the Center has gained a reputation as a trusted voice on resource law and policy matters, especially in the fields of water resources policy, public land management, and energy resource development.For more information about the NRLC visit http://www.colorado.edu/law/centers/nrlc/index.htm.