Journals
About the Journal
The Natural Resources Journal (NRJ) is published four times per year by the University of New Mexico School of Law. NRJ is an international, interdisciplinary forum devoted to the study of natural and environmental resources. The emphasis is on research directly related to public policy. The principal goal of the Journal is to overcome the isolation of scholars in various disciplines concerned with natural and environmental resources by providing a wider audience for research from different disciplines. The Journal is policy oriented, and seeks to make research available not only to fellow scholars, but also to decision makers who mold natural and environmental resource policy.
The need for interdisciplinary collaboration in solving resource-related problems was a formative principle in the creation of the Natural Resources Journal. The Journal is an internationally recognized quarterly devoted to the examination of resource issues. It is multidisciplinary and policy-oriented. For over forty years, the Journal has been guided by the principle set out in its first volume:
The isolation of scholars in various fields concerned with resources problems continues to be a principal impediment to progress.... [R]esources problems are so complex that traditional lines of approach prove inadequate. . . . Rarely do we find the work of the lawyer and the non-lawyer appearing side by side. . . . The primary function of this (new) Journal is to meet this need . . . .
NRJ contributors come from various disciplines, represent many countries, and provide many approaches to the complex issues raised by the need to balance resource development and environmental concerns. Recent issues of the Journal have been devoted to electric bypass issues, oil and gas issues, western water issues, wilderness issues, and migratory species issues.
The NRJ editorial board and staff are made up of students from the University of New Mexico School of Law. An editor-in-chief from the faculty of the law school provides guidance for the Journal. The students and editor-in-chief are assisted by a managing editor and a business manager, both of whom are law school staff.
To join the NRJ staff, students participate in a writing competition held in the summer. Students may apply after their first year for participation in their second year. Under the supervision of the editor-in-chief and processing editors, students aid in the production of the Journal by cite checking and proofreading. They research and write on a variety of environmental issues and have an opportunity to publish their research results in the Journal. Students may apply for the Journal Editorial Board at the end of their second year of law school. Positions are Student Editor-in-Chief, Processing/Coordinating Editor, and Lead Articles Editor.
