Reed Benson joins UNM Law Faculty
July 10, 2008
Reed Benson joined the UNM law faculty in July 2008, contributing a broad background in environmental work, including five years as executive director of WaterWatch of Oregon. In addition to teaching natural resources classes, he serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Natural Resources Journal.
Prior to coming to UNM, he spent six years on the faculty of the University of Wyoming College of Law, where he taught courses in environmental law, legislation, water law and administrative law, and served as faculty adviser to the Wyoming Law Review. He previously worked as a staff attorney for the Land and Water Fund of the Rockies, an attorney for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and an associate for the Colorado law firm of Hutchinson, Black & Cook.
Benson has published broadly and his writing focuses on water law and environmental issues facing the West. His most recent publications examine such topics as the application of the Endangered Species Act to federal water projects, the efforts of western cities to ensure adequate water supplies for recreation, and the scope of federal deference to state laws governing water allocation and management.
The following are among his more recent titles: "Dams, Duties, and Discretion: Bureau of Reclamation Water Project Operations and the Endangered Species Act", forthcoming in 33 Columbia Journal of Environmental Law 1 (2008); "Rivers to Live By: Can western water law help communities embrace their streams?" 27 Journal of Land, Resources & Environmental Law 1 (2007).
He will be a co-author on the 6th edition of Water Resource Management, a casebook published by Foundation Press, joining longtime authors Dan Tarlock, Jim Corbridge and David Getches.
Benson earned his J.D. at the University of Michigan, after earning a B.S. at Iowa State University.
