The Natural Resources and Environmental Law Program Shapes the Future of the Program
January 8, 2025
The Natural Resources and Environmental Law (NREL) program is dedicated to educating students to become influential leaders in the field of environmental law, preparing them to tackle pressing issues in natural resource management and environmental stewardship. To achieve its objectives, the program offers a comprehensive curriculum designed to address the challenges posed by complex environmental issues. Students gain in-depth knowledge on a variety of critical topics, including climate change and energy policy, the complexities of federal land management, regulatory frameworks of oil and gas industries, management of tribal natural and cultural resources, and the intricacies of water law and environmental justice.
In addition to classroom learning, students participating in the NREL Program can also gain hands-on experience by working in the Natural Resources and Environmental Law Clinic or serving on the Natural Resources Journal. These opportunities provide valuable insights into real-world environmental legal practice.
To ensure continued success and growth, the NREL program recently held a retreat to analyze its current systems and identify strategies for future development. “The retreat was organized to help the Natural Resources and Environmental Law Program identify ways it can continue to build on the success of the program after the retirement of longtime program director Professor Reed Benson. The NREL faculty and students, as well as staff from the Utton Transboundary Resources Center, took stock of the program’s curricular offerings, student experience, internship and job resources, and connections to practice, and identified ways to continue to strengthen the program in each of these areas,” said Professor Gabe Pacyniak, current director of the program.
The insights gained from the retreat will help shape the future of the NREL program, ensuring it continues to provide students with the knowledge, skills, and experiences needed to lead in the field of environmental law.
