Temple Stoellinger

Education

JD University of Wyoming, with Honors (2010)

BS University of Wyoming, with Honors (2004)

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Background and Expertise

Temple Stoellinger is a professor and Wyoming Excellence Chair at the University of Wyoming with a dual appointment in the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources and the College of Law. Professor Stoellinger coordinates the Haub School’s JD/MA program in Environment and Natural Resources and teaches wildlife law, environmental and natural resources law and policy, public land law, and a course on the National Environmental Policy Act. Her scholarship integrates thinking from the fields of law, economics, policy, and more to explore relevant and timely approaches for decision-making around wildlife, land, energy, and other valued natural resources. Before joining the University of Wyoming, Professor Stoellinger served as a natural resource advisor to Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal, worked as legal counsel for Shell International B.V., and served as natural resource counsel for the Wyoming County Commissioners Association.

 

Professor Stoellinger's research group works on a diverse range of environmental and natural resource law and policy issues, including wildlife conservation, endangered species protection, energy development, and public lands management, with a particular focus on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and the American West.

 

Professor Stoellinger is a member of the ABA SEER NR&E Editorial Board, and is a co-chair of the ABA SEER Biodiversity Committee. She is also a Senior Fellow with the Property Environmental Research Center, and an Adjunct Faculty member with the School of Energy Resources.

 

Teaching

• ENR 5890(06)/Law 6915(11) Wildlife Law
• ENR 5890(01) Public Land Law
• ENR 5890(02) The National Environmental Policy Act

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Selected Publications

Temple Stoellinger, Kelly Dunning, Arthur Middleton, and Bethany Aragon, Predators and Precedents: Grizzly Bears, Joe Pickett and the Law of Delisting, 26(1) Wyo. L. Rev. 234 (2026).

Temple Stoellinger, Sam Johnson, Bryan Leonard, and Eric C. Atkinson, Public Playgrounds or Private Trusts? The Future of Recreation on State Trust Lands, 55 ELR 10294 (May/June 2025).

Temple Stoellinger, Alyson White Eagle, Kate Gamble, Jacy Rudloff, and Tarissa Spoonhunter, Conservation Easements and Bison Restoration on the Wind River Indian Reservation: Exploring Opportunities, Challenges, and Alternatives, 15 Ariz. J. Env't L. & Pol'y 167 (2025).

Temple Stoellinger, Bryan Leonard, Travis Brammer, Shawn Regan, and Jonathan Wood, State Trust Lands Revenue Diversification Through Conservation, 1-2025 Utah L. Review 1 (2025). Environmental Law and Policy Annual Review, Honorable Mention, 2026 (ranked among top 7 articles of 2025).

Temple Stoellinger and Dessa Reimer, Navigating the New NEPA Landscape: An Overview of the 2024 Phase 2 Regulations and Recent Statutory Changes, 61(2) Found. J. Nat. Resources & Energy L. 223 (2024).

Temple Stoellinger & Madeline Kass, Conserving At-Risk-Species and Birds in the US and the EU: A Comparative Analysis, Environmental Liability: Law, Policy & Practice (2024).

Temple Stoellinger, Conserving Wildlife and Biodiversity in the United States and European Union, 37(4) A.B.A. NR&E 9 (Spring 2023).

Temple Stoellinger, Valuing Conservation of State Trust Lands, 54(4) A.B.A. Trends 10 (March/April 2023). 

Shawn Regan, Temple Stoellinger, and Jonathan Wood, Opening the Range: Reforms to Allow Markets for Non-Use of Federal Grazing Permits, 1-2023 Utah L. Review 197 (2023). American Agricultural Law Association, Professional Scholarship Award, 2023; Environmental Law and Policy Annual Review, Top 20 Articles of 2023.

Temple Stoellinger, "Federal Public Land Agency NEPA Authorities: The Current State of Affairs," Public Land Law, Regulation, and Management 2-1 (Found. for Nat. Res. & Energy L. 2022).

Arthur Middleton, Temple Stoellinger, Drew Bennett, Laura Giglotti, Sam Maher, Travis Brammer, Hilary Byerly, and Bryan Leonard, The Role of Private Lands in Conserving Yellowstone's Wildlife in the 21st Century, 22(2) Wyo. L. Rev. 237 (2022).

Tara Righetti, Temple Stoellinger, and Rob Godby, Adapting to Coal Plant Closures: A Framework to Understand State Energy Transition Resistance, 51(2) Environmental Law Review 957 (Fall 2021).

Bryan Leonard, Shawn Regan, Christopher Costello, Suzi Kerr, Dominic P. Parker, Andrew J. Plantinga, James Salzman, V. Kerry Smith, and Temple Stoellinger, Allow "Nonuse Rights" to Conserve Natural Resources, 373(6558) Science 958 (2021).

Tara Righetti, Robert Keiter, Jason Robison, Temple Stoellinger, and Sam Kalen, Unbecoming Adversaries: Natural Resource Federalism in Wyoming, 21(1) Wyo. L. Rev. 290 (Spring 2021).

Temple Stoellinger, H. Jo Albers, Arthur Middleton, and Jason Shogren, Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: Conserving Big-Game Migrations as an Endangered Phenomena, 31(2) Duke Environmental Law and Policy Forum 81-161 (Fall 2020).

Arthur Middleton, Temple Stoellinger, Harshad Karandikar, Bryan Leonard, Holly Doremus, and Claire Kremen, Harnessing Visitors' Enthusiasm for National Parks to Fund Cooperative Large-Landscape Conservation, Conservation Science and Practice (2020). Research brief.

Temple Stoellinger, Michael Brennan, Sara Brodnax, Ya-Wei Li, Murray Feldman, Bob Budd, and Sam Kalen, Improving Cooperative State and Federal Species Conservation, 19(1) Wyo. L. Rev. 184 (2020). Research brief.

Temple Stoellinger, L. Steven Smutko, and Jessica M. Western,Collaboration Through NEPA to Achieve a Social License to Operate on Federal Public Lands, 39 Pub. Land & Resources L. Rev. 203 (2018).

Temple Stoellinger, Wildlife Issues are Local – So Why Isn't ESA Implementation? 44.3 Ecology Law Quarterly 681 (2017). Research brief.

Temple Stoellinger and David "Tex" Taylor, A Report on the Economic Impact to Wyoming's Economy From a Potential Listing of the Sage Grouse, 17 Wyo. L. Rev. 79 (2017).

Tara Righetti, Dalia Patino-Echeverri, Rob Godby, Temple Stoellinger, and Kipp Coddington, The Role of Energy Models: Characterizing the Uncertainty of the Future Electricity System to Design More Efficient and Effective Laws, 8 Geo. Wash. J. of Energy & Envtl. L. 56 (2017).

Temple Stoellinger, Tara Righetti, and Kipp Coddington, The Expanding Role of the Social Cost of Carbon in Energy Project Development, 29(1) The Electricity Journal 63 (2016).

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Other Works

Temple Stoellinger, Sam Kalen, Olivia Thomas, and Jason Czarnezki, Managing the Visitor Experience in Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Beyond, 41(1) A.B.A. NR&E 29 (2026).

Temple Stoellinger, Insights: Grizzly Bears and the Connectivity Paradox, 40(2) A.B.A. NR&E 10 (2026).

Temple Stoellinger, A Century of Managing the Checkerboard: An Interview with the Rock Springs Grazing Association, Western Confluence (2026).

Temple Stoellinger, Insights: Supreme Court to Review NRC Storage Authority, 39(4) A.B.A. NR&E 10 (2025).

Temple Stoellinger, Vantage Point: Indigenous People and Environmental, Energy, and Natural Resources Law, 39(3) A.B.A. NR&E 10 (2025).

Temple Stoellinger, Diversifying State Trust Land Revenue Through Conservation Use: Insights from Law, PERC Brief (Oct. 23, 2024).

Temple Stoellinger, From Serengeti to Yellowstone: An Interview with Dr. Tony Sinclair and Dr. Arthur Middleton on Bridging Migration Ecology Across Continents, Western Confluence (2024).

Birch Malotky, Temple Stoellinger, Steve Smutko, Westen Eaton, Kate Gamble, and Selena Rose, Comment Submitted to the Bureau of Land Management: Governor's Task Force on the Rock Springs Resource Management Plan, University of Wyoming Ruckelshaus Institute of Environment and Natural Resources (January 2024).

Travis Brammer, Sharon Buccino, Temple Stoellinger, Heather Bradford, Joe Budd, Colton Edwards, Jacob Stewart, Zack Wurtzebach, and Drew Bennett, An Analysis of State and Local Policies to Maintain Ecology Connectivity, University of Wyoming Ruckelshaus Institute of Environment and Natural Resources (2024).

Temple Stoellinger, Reciprocity and Sovereignty; An Interview with Wes Martel on Tribal Wildlife Conservation, Western Confluence (2023).

Rebecca Watson and Temple Stoellinger, NEPA: A Comprehensive Guide and Resources, The Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law (2022).

Temple Stoellinger, Federal Lands in Public Hands; The Long History of Congressional Intent to Keep Public Lands Public; An Interview with Bob Keiter, 9 Western Confluence (Fall 2018).

Temple Stoellinger, "Having Your Voice Heard: How to Effectively Get the Agency's Attention in a NEPA Comment to Affect the Final Decision," National Environmental Policy Act 9-1 (Rocky Mt. Min. L. Fnd. 2017).

Temple Stoellinger, Micah Christensen, and Conner Nicklas, Fish Creek Water Quality Legal Analysis (June 2017).

Temple Stoellinger, Of Ranchers and Researchers, Trespassing to Collect Data in Wyoming is a Crime, 6 Western Confluence 43-44 (Summer 2016).

Temple Stoellinger, When Your Outdoor Adventure Becomes More Than You Seek, Wyoming Lawyer, 20 (June 2016).

Center for Law and Energy Resources in the Rockies, EPA's Proposed Clean Power Plan: What it Might Mean for Wyoming (April 2015).

Bailey Schreiber and Temple Stoellinger, Rails-to-Trails: Derailed?, 1 Western Confluence 20 (Summer 2014).

Temple Stoellinger, Policy Brief: The Implications of a Sage Grouse Listing For Energy Development, National Agricultural & Rural Development Policy Center, Brief 33 (June 2014).

Temple Stoellinger, Seeing Through the Regional Haze, Wyoming Lawyer, 34 (Feb. 2014).