UW Professor Stoellinger Named Trustee of National Legal Foundation

In recognition of her expertise in the field and a rich history of engagement, Temple Stoellinger, a University of Wyoming associate professor and a Wyoming Excellence Chair, has been appointed as a trustee-at-large of the Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law (FNREL).

The appointment celebrates Stoellinger’s excellence in scholarship, teaching, mentorship, outreach and service. Stoellinger is on the faculty of UW’s College of Law and Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources.

FNREL is a collaborative, educational, nonprofit organization dedicated to the scholarly and practical study of the laws and regulations relating to mining, oil and gas, energy, public lands, water, environmental and international law. In her capacity as a trustee-at-large, Stoellinger will help to advise the Board of Directors leading FNREL.

“Professor Stoellinger is the kind of academic who contributes to the work of the foundation -- a recognized mentor to students, an active scholar on natural resource issues critical to the foundation’s audience, and someone who knows how to convene lawyers and law students around cutting-edge natural resource and energy topics,” says Rebecca Watson, who was president of FNREL from 2019-2020 and is now special counsel at Welborn Sullivan Meck & Tooley PC. “Her elevation to trustee is a recognition of all she has contributed and will contribute to the foundation’s educational mission.”

In 2022, Stoellinger and Watson published a comprehensive guide to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) with FNREL, one of many influential publications Stoellinger has contributed to the topic and to FNREL. Other publications include a current state of affairs of federal agency NEPA authorities and a guide to optimizing NEPA public comments.

Stoellinger also has held a number of appointments with FNREL, serving on the program committee for FNREL’s Special Institute on Air Quality Issues Affecting Oil, Gas and Mining Development in the West and as a member of the Natural Resources Law Teachers Committee.

Her speaking engagements with FNREL cover topics such as NEPA; the future of oil and gas leasing; public lands; wildlife law; and big-game migration corridors.

“As a trustee-at-large, I am looking forward to continuing to support FNREL’s efforts to foster legal education, scholarship and collegiality in the natural resources and energy law community,” Stoellinger says. “In particular, I am excited to find opportunities to involve and highlight the work of University of Wyoming students and alumni who are doing exceptional work in the natural resource and energy law space.”

Stoellinger also was recently named a Senior Fellow of the Property and Environment Research Center and appointed to the American Bar Association’s Editorial Board for the Natural Resources & Environment publication.