News Archive

The Getches-Wilkinson Center is thrilled to announce that Sierra Meggitt received the 2024 Natural Resources Law Outstanding Student Award. Sierra is a rising 3L who has demonstrated a commitment to environmental and natural resources law and made significant contributions to the work of GWC, and she has a particular interest in the intersection of public lands and American Indian Law.

The Colorado River Research Group (CRRG), founded and again chaired by the GWC’s Doug Kenney, resumed activities this Spring, headlined by the publication in May of its latest policy brief entitled: Imagining the River We Deserve: How the Post-2026 Rulemaking is Only One Step Towards Sustainability.

On June 6-7, a record crowd of 365 in-person and 100 online registrants assembled for the 44th Annual Colorado Law Conference on Natural Resources. “Next Chapters on the Colorado River: Short-Term Coping, Post-2026 Operations, and Beyond” was co-convened this year with the Water & Tribes Initiative (WTI), marking the second year in a partnership that will extend at least through the 2025 event.

In a victory for old-growth forests and public transparency, on May 24, 2024, a federal district court found that BLM violated the law when it approved its “Integrated Vegetation Management for Resilient Lands” program in southwest Oregon. Colorado Law’s Getches-Green Natural Resources, Energy, and Environmental Law Clinic represents Applegate Siskiyou Alliance (ASA) in its challenge to BLM’s large-scale program.

This May, Governor Polis signed into law bipartisan legislation protecting Colorado’s wetlands and streams in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Sackett decision. Handed down in 2023, Sackett redefined “waters of the United States” and rolled back federal protections for isolated wetlands and ephemeral and intermittent streams, which are especially important in western headwater states like Colorado. By passing HB-1379, Colorado has become the first state in the country to respond to the “gap” of unprotected waters created by the Sackett decision.

Widely recognized for its intellectual diversity and originality, the faculty at Colorado Law encompasses an array of prominent legal scholars who are widely cited, both in academia and throughout the national media landscape. We invite you to catch up on the latest faculty publications and media mentions with this weekly round up.

In December 2023, students in the Juvenile and Family Law Clinic and the American Indian Law Clinic completed an Indian Child Welfare Act adoption case for a family in Adams County. The case started in September 2022 and involved a complex mix of federal and state law, as well as...

Professor Matsumoto (SM) and Professor Krishnamurthy (VK), new faculty members in the Clinical Education Program, share insights from their inaugural year, highlighting the impact of hands-on legal education at Colorado Law. What were some of the most memorable experiences during your first year? SM: "The energy of NREE Clinic student...

The summer months serve as an excellent opportunity for our Law Buffs to dive into their areas of interest and take on summer jobs and internships that help them develop their legal skills. In this series, we are thrilled to highlight just a few of our rising 2L and 3L students and learn more about what they are up to this summer. This week, we are highlighting Bob Feit ’26, who is working as a Law Clerk for Nazarenus Stack & Wombacher and as a research assistant for Prof. Mark Squillace.

Benjamin Bonner ’23, reflects on how his American Indian Law Clinic experience prepared him for his role in Alaska as a Native Law Staff Attorney.