Alan J. Gilbert, Senior Advisor to Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar, Speaks about the Department and Explains "Honors Attorney Program"

Alan J. Gilbert, Senior Advisor to U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, spoke yesterday at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.

Mr. Gilbert, who spoke about the work of the Department of Interior, was the March speaker in the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program's Speaker Series.

In particular, Mr. Gilbert noted several key initiatives that have been undertaken by the Department under the direction of Secretary Salazar, who formerly served as a U.S. Senator from Colorado as well as Colorado Attorney General.

One top initiative involves energy development on public lands. "This is very, very important," Mr. Gilbert noted. "President Obama and Secretary Salazar want to promote energy development on public lands," he said. The Obama Administration is particularly keen to encourage the development of utility-size renewable energy generation on public lands.

As part of this effort, Secretary Salazar has instituted a "fast track" program that encourages utility-size renewables projects on public lands. Moreover, the Department is working to make sure that the way the Bureau of Land Management reviews applications for these projects is more effectively integrated into the way the government looks at renewables.

A second top initiative is called the Water SMART Program, which is aimed at "finding more water in the west by managing public water resources better and more efficiently," Mr. Gilbert said.

The matter of improving consultation between the Department and Native American tribes is another key initiative. The Department's goal is to develop new processes that will facilitate and improve the consultations now and into the future, he said.

America's Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Americans is also among Secretary Salazar's prioritities. This is an effort to protect special lands and waters managed by the Department across the country in consensus with the states, local authorities, and other interested parties as well as to reconnect Americans with the outdoors. An executive summary of this program can be accessed by clicking here.

Finally the Youth in the Great Outdoors, which emphasizes employing, educating, and engaging young people in the preservation of America's natural and cultural heritage, is another key priority for Secretary Salazar.

Before closing, Mr. Gilbert called special attention to the Honors Attorney Program, which is part of the Department's Office of the Solicitor. Current solicitor Hilary Tompkins reinstated the program last year, and he encouraged students to consider applying for it if they were interested in natural resources law work. The program, which is designed to recruit highly qualified junior attorneys, is 14 months in length during which Honors Attorneys work on the full range of environmental laws relating to management of the nation's public lands, national parks and wildlife refuges, general administrative and government business law, and law related to the U.S.' relationship with Indian Tribes.

Don Smith, Director of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program, said, "It was a pleasure for the College of Law to host Alan Gilbert, a key long-time advisor to Secretary Salazar. Students benefit enormously by learning from individuals such as Mr. Gilbert, whose life experience is rich and expansive when it comes to understanding the country's resource policies. We at DU hope that Mr. Gilbert returns soon and often to the College of Law."

Mr. Gilbert has taught at the College of Law on several occasions, including serving as the prestigious Practitioner in Residence.

Editor's note: From left to right, Alan J. Gilbert, Law Professor K.K. DuVivier, Don Smith, Professor Emeritus and former U.S. Undersecretary for the U.S. Department of Interior John A. Carver Jr.

Rebecca C. Watson, Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Interior and DU Alumnus, Joins Denver Law Firm

Rebecca C. Watson, former Assistant Secretary for Lands and Minerals Management of the U.S. Department of the Interior from 2001-2006, has joined the Denver and Casper, Wyoming-based firm of Welborn Sullivan Meck & Tooley, P.C. as a partner. She will work in the Denver office.

Ms. Watson, who has bachelor's, master's, and JD degrees from the University of Denver, is one of the most esteemed graduates of the Sturm College of Law. She has more than 30 years of legal and policy experience in the fields of conventional and renewable energy, natural resources (grazing, mining and timber) and federal environmental law. She has worked in private law practice and in high level federal government positions.

As Assistant Secretary of the Interior Department she had oversight of three organizations: the Bureau of Land Management (BLM); Minerals Management Service (MMS); and the Office of Surface Mining (OSM). These organizations were responsible for management of federal energy resources. In that role, she led 12,000 employees and managed a $1 billion budget.

Ms. Watson was honored by the Boone and Crockett Club, the oldest U.S. organization dedicated to the conservation of wildlife, for her work in conservation while at the Department of Interior.

Prior to her service in the Interior Department, she served as the Assistant General Counsel for Energy Policy at the U.S. Department of Energy in the George H.W. Bush administration.

In her practice Ms. Watson focuses on public land access and energy development for solar, wind, geothermal, wood biomass, and oil and gas with an emphasis on federal environmental law.
Ms. Watson is a member of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation and the National Petroleum Council. She serves on the boards of the Independent Petroleum Association of the Mountain States and the Jefferson County (Colorado) Open Space Commission.

Students studying environmental, natural resources, and energy law at the Sturm College of Law are likely to hear Ms. Watson speak in the fall 2010 semester about her career as well as the key environmental and energy issues of the day. Graduates such as Rebecca Watson are one reason the Sturm College of Law environmental and natural resources program is one of the strongest of its kind in the U.S. and the western hemisphere.

Bureau of Land Management Official Victor Lozano Speaks at the Sturm College of Law

Victor Lozano, a Washington, D.C.-based official with the U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management (BLM), spoke recently at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law about the role of BLM in managing huge tracts of federally owned land.

Mr. Lozano, who is shown second from the right in the picture, said BLM manages resources on 253 million surface acres as well as 700 million acres of subsurface mineral estates. These lands constitute about 13 percent of the total land surface of the U.S.

One of the key land managements issues that Mr. Lozano is now working on involves the siting on BLM lands of wind, solar, and geothermal energy projects. These projects have been prioritized for rapid consideration by President Obama and U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who happens to be a Colorado native and is a former U.S. Senator from Colorado.

Mr. Lozano, who works closely with Secretary Salazar's staff, said that transmission issues -- that is to say, transmitting the electricity from where it is generated to where it is used -- is a particularly difficult issue since there are many levels of government involved in transmission matters. He also talked about the need for the BLM to work closely with other departments within Interior as well as federal departments outside of Interior such as the Department of Defense.

Before closing, he noted that the BLM will be experiencing significant loss of employees due to retirement in the coming years and he encouraged students to think about applying for BLM positions.

It was a particular delight to host Mr. Lozano since, in addition to his professional role at BLM, he is also a student in the Masters in Resource Law Studies program at the College of Law. Two years ago he started the program while he served at the BLM office at the Federal Center in Denver. With his move to Washington, D.C., he has taken several short courses and will undertake a directed research project in order to complete his remaining course work.

Our nation is served well by the work and commitment of professionals such as Vic Lozano, and many others from the LLM and Masters in Resource Law Studies programs who are also working in key federal positions.

--Don Smith

Graduate Program Director