Natural Resources & Environmental Law
About the Program
Responding to a Changing Environment
The University of New Mexico School of Law emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach to natural resources and environmental law, preparing students for a changing world subject to all kinds of new demands and stakeholders. Students are offered the opportunity to earn a Natural Resources Certificate, to work on the Natural Resources Journal, to be involved with the Utton Transboundary Resources Center and to join the Environmental Law Society.
The environmental issues prevalent in New Mexico provide an ideal backdrop for the study of natural resources law and policy on a national scale. The state has 36 million acres of public land and 2 million acres governed by Native American tribes, centuries-old acequia systems, Spanish land grants and shared borders with Texas and Mexico. For many years, extractive natural resources, such as timber, hard rock minerals and oil and gas, were the primary focus in the state. With the growth of environmental activism, lawyers now address a host of other concerns, including clean water and wildlife.
Unique Relationships
Under the guidance of a faculty active in natural resources and environmental law, students are exposed to a rich depth of issues arising from the unique relationship between the state’s 23 Indian tribes and governments of all levels. Tribes struggle, both internally and externally, with how to develop their natural resources, mostly oil, gas, and coal. Both Native American and Hispanic communities continue to resolve land title claims, and water rights are a concern among the traditional Hispanic acequia associations, which are responsible for a ditch system of water transfer from rivers to irrigated fields. A still different set of concerns is raised with nearly one half of the state’s land in public hands. The forest service and bureau of land management are key decision makers and their actions affect a variety of interests in the state.
