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Meryl Compton (Colorado Law '27) Named 2025 Charles N. Woodruff Fellow

Annie Carlozzi — Fri, 10 Oct 2025 20:44:19 +0000

Meryl Compton (Colorado Law '27) Named 2025 Charles N. Woodruff Fellow Annie Carlozzi Fri, 10/10/2025 - 14:44

University of Colorado Law student Meryl Compton (’27) was awarded the Charles N. Woodruff Fellowship. The Charles N. Woodruff fellowship was established in memory of Charles Woodruff, a highly successful water resources lawyer, to promote excellence in the practice of natural resources law.

Meryl is a 2L student at the University of Colorado Law School. She is primarily interested in energy and public utilities law and hopes to contribute to regulatory solutions that facilitate a clean, equitable energy future. Meryl's interest in western land management and sustainable energy was inspired by her experience growing up in Colorado and spending time throughout the West.

Prior to law school, Meryl worked at Colorado-based company, E Source, where she managed a team focused on developing demand-side management data tools for energy utilities. She also contributed to research on beneficial electrification and regulatory solutions to promote decarbonization. Before E Source, she worked for the Public Interest Network doing environmental and consumer protection policy research.

Meryl graduated from Davidson College, where she majored in environmental studies and economics. At Colorado Law, Meryl is involved with the Environmental Law Society, Acequia Assistance Project, and Environmental Law Journal. She is also a Legislation and Regulation tutor. As the current Woodruff Fellow, she is working on a research project related to a federal insurance program for grazing land. She looks forward to connecting with everyone at the GWC this year!

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The 1922 Compact is Now the Obvious Elephant in the Negotiating Room

Annie Carlozzi — Tue, 07 Oct 2025 18:02:46 +0000

The 1922 Compact is Now the Obvious Elephant in the Negotiating Room Annie Carlozzi Tue, 10/07/2025 - 12:02

Eric Kuhn , Anne Castle , John Fleck , Kathryn Sorensen , Jack Schmidt , Katherine Tara

The Colorado River system is inching closer and closer to the “tripwire” in the 1922 Compact. This is the requirement that a specified volume of water pass Lee Ferry, the dividing point between the Upper and Lower Basins, every ten years. Declining flows and depletion of reservoir storage reserves, as well as the need to protect the Infrastructure of Glen Canyon Dam, are challenging our ability to operate the river system in a way that both preserves critical levels in Lakes Powell and Mead and avoids triggering the tripwire. This new paper by Eric Kuhn, Anne Castle, John Fleck, Jack Schmidt, Kathryn Sorensen, and Katherine Tara explains the issues, runs the numbers, and explains the conclusions. The only solution to this unavoidable conflict is a negotiated agreement among the seven Colorado River Basin states.

Read the full paper here.

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Meet the Fall 2025 GWC Research Assistants

Annie Carlozzi — Thu, 02 Oct 2025 16:11:51 +0000

Meet the Fall 2025 GWC Research Assistants Annie Carlozzi Thu, 10/02/2025 - 10:11

We are excited to welcome 5 Research Assistants to the GWC team this fall!

Corinne Griffin

Corinne grew up in Orlando, Florida, and found her passion for the environment after she assisted her community in flora rebuilding after hurricanes hit the state of Florida. She attended the University of Florida. She recieved a BA in Environmental Science, with a double minor in Agricultural and Natural Resource Law/Environmental Justice and Policy. She always knew she wanted to go to law school, but found a keen interest in environmental justice through her undergraduate honors thesis, where she wrote about how COVID-19 exacerbated environmental justice concerns across the United States. Through the GWC RA position, she hopes to learn more about public land law, mining law, tribal law, water law, and any environmental issues impacting the West.

Jake Lehrman

Jake first joined the GWC this past summer as a Research Assistant, where he focused on researching the public’s right to access waterways in Colorado and the broader Mountain West region. His work explored the legal, historical, and policy dimensions of public access, contributing to ongoing conversations about how to balance recreation and private property interests. Beyond his research, Jake volunteered at the 45th Annual Colorado Law Conference on Natural Resources, Turning Hindsight into Foresight: The Colorado River at a Crossroads, where he had the opportunity to learn about the complex issues surrounding the Colorado River's management. He also had the opportunity to offer a window into the Colorado Law student experience through writing blog posts on behalf of the GWC. Now continuing his work as a Research Assistant, Jake is excited to delve even deeper into the evolving landscape of public access rights to Colorado’s waters.

Tori Matson

Tori first connected with GWC after receiving the 2024 Harrison Fellowship for her 1L summer which allowed her to intern at the Legal Resources Centre, an environmental nonprofit organization in Durban, South Africa. In the Fall of 2024, she continued her involvement with the GWC through volunteering at GWC events including the Martz Symposium and Ruth Wright Lecture, where she wrote blog post summaries. She also helped plan and execute the "Effect of Executive Orders" event panel with GWC RA Catie Pursifull, which they also wrote a blog summary for. As a Spring 2025 Research Assistant, she contributed to GWC projects on pertinent public lands issues such as the nondelegation doctrine. She looks forward to continuing to support GWC's research and programming this upcoming year!

Lex Padilla

Lex is a second-year law student at the University of Colorado, originally from Phoenix, AZ, with a focus on toxic torts and environmental justice. She earned her B.A. in Political Science from the University of San Diego, where she also studied environmental science and conducted chemical research. Growing up amid drought and air pollution in Phoenix and studying near sites of environmental injustice such as Barrio Logan, CA and the Tijuana Sewage Crisis, shaped her commitment to advancing equity through environmental law.

Catie Pursifull

Catie is a Research Assistant in the Getches Wilkinson Center, researching under Director Chris Winter. She is currently looking into the expansion of renewable energy on federal public lands and the level of the government's compliance with their requirements of tribal consultation on tribal ancestral lands. This topic is especially interesting to her given her previous experience working with renewable energy developers, and she is excited to learn more about how/if developers can meaningfully and equitably engage in the consultation process with tribes.

In the past year, Catie planned an event with the GWC to debrief several environmental Executive Orders passed in the beginning of President Trump's second term and attended several of her acquaintances' events that the GWC has helped promote and sponsor. In this next year, Catie is excited to keep contributing to the events that the GWC puts on that bring the CU Law environmental community together, discussing the most pertinent environmental topics of the day. Catie will continue working in renewable energy transactions after graduation.

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State Legislators Focused on Trends and Emerging Concerns in Western Water

Annie Carlozzi — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 19:23:02 +0000

State Legislators Focused on Trends and Emerging Concerns in Western Water Annie Carlozzi Wed, 10/01/2025 - 13:23

Doug Kenney

The Council of State Governments (Western chapter), comprised of state legislators and legislative staff, recently convened in Jackson Wyoming to review a variety of challenging issues facing the western states, including water. The Getches-Wilkinson Center was asked to participate in the lively review of trends and emerging concerns in western water, with a focus on those issues most likely to demand action from state legislatures.

Three interrelated issues dominated the discussion. First, the increasing impact of climate change in the West, especially in the arid and semi-arid regions, is rapidly intensifying water scarcity challenges. This is best shown by the unfolding interstate crisis on the Colorado River, which is quite likely to require the individual basin states to implement new (and often painful) coping strategies. Second, this increased competition for water, when combined with other trends (in subjects as diverse as foreign trade and immigration) continue to strain the viability of ranches and farms throughout the West. Agriculture, especially small-scale family farms, are in decline in many (if not most) pockets of the West. And third, the “federal apparatus” of agencies, expertise, programs, and other resources to deal with these challenges is being aggressively culled, shifting the burden of problem-solving increasingly to the states and state legislators. It is, unfortunately, a perfect storm of bad news.

State decision-makers are finding these challenges particularly burdensome as they offer few opportunities for win-win solutions, and are of a scale (and cost) that is beyond the resources of many states. Nonetheless, dispute the troubling nature of the trends and emerging concerns, most participants remain hopeful that discussing experiences with each other through the CSG-West network will help identify viable paths forward.

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Sydney Stellato (Colorado Law '26) Named 2025 Conscience Bay Company Western Water Policy Fellow

Annie Carlozzi — Mon, 29 Sep 2025 17:29:15 +0000

Sydney Stellato (Colorado Law '26) Named 2025 Conscience Bay Company Western Water Policy Fellow Annie Carlozzi Mon, 09/29/2025 - 11:29

University of Colorado Law School student Sydney Stellato ('26) is this year’s Conscience Bay Company Western Water Policy Fellow. The Conscience Bay Company Western Water Policy Fellowship, initiated in 2023 by leaders of the Conscience Bay Company, is awarded each year to a Colorado Law student on the basis of academic performance, commitment to public service, and interest in the study of Western water law and policy. To the extent practicable, each Conscience Bay Company Western Water Policy Fellow will focus on a specific project in advancing innovative solutions for sustainable management of water in the Western United States.

Sydney Stellato is a 2L student at the University of Colorado Law School, where she is exploring her interest in water law, public lands, and the intersection of conservation and community. She graduated from the University of Texas with degrees in Sustainability Studies and Geography. While at UT, her studies centered on the relationship between people and waterways, culminating in a senior project where she developed a citizen science project to monitor stream health. Before law school, she worked with the Texas Conservation Corps where she focused on conservation, trail work, and sustainability programs. At CU, she is involved with the Environmental Law Society, OUTLaw, and the Environmental Law Journal. She looks forward to applying her background in environmental work to the Fellowship while learning how Western water law can balance resource management, conservation, and community needs. In her free time she enjoys skiing, hiking, and indoor rock climbing.

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Intro to Practice: Environmental Law

Annie Carlozzi — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 17:55:45 +0000

Intro to Practice: Environmental Law Annie Carlozzi Thu, 09/18/2025 - 11:55

Intro to Practice Lunch Series

Tuesday, October 7, 2025 12pm to 12:50pm

Room 301

Explore various areas of legal practice in this series designed for 1L students (but open to all). Each week, a different panel of attorneys will discuss their particular area of practice (including what they do), provide insight into what skills and experiences helped them build their career path, and talk about what attracts employers in each of the practice areas. In addition to providing students with a glimpse into various practice areas, this lunch series also provides students with several contacts in these practice areas and an easy networking opportunity.

Students are encouraged to attend as many of the sessions that interest them. Lunch will be available at each of the sessions.

September 23 – Intellectual Property
September 30 – Judicial Clerkships
October 7 – Environmental
- Peter Jaacks (’21), Jewell Jimmerson Natural Resources Law LLC
- Robert Rigonan (’18), Earthjustice
- Senator Dylan Roberts, Colorado General Assembly
- Gabriella Stockmayer (’11), Dietze and Davis, P.C.
October 14 – Alternative Pathways in Law

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Film Screening: YINTAH

Annie Carlozzi — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 18:27:58 +0000

Film Screening: YINTAH Annie Carlozzi Wed, 09/17/2025 - 12:27

Wednesday, October 8, 2025 4pm to 6:30pm in Wolf Law 301

Join ELS, NALSA, and the GWC for a discussion led by Hannah Adhers, American Indian Law Program Fellow, and Daniel Anderson, GWC Water Law Fellow, on the intersection between Indian law and environmental protection followed by the film YINTAH.

The Film:
YINTAH: A DOCUMENTARY ON A DECADE OF WET’SUWET’EN RESISTANCE
Spanning more than a decade, YINTAH follows Howilhkat Freda Huson and Sleydo’ Molly Wickham as their nation reoccupies and protects their ancestral lands from the Canadian government and several of the largest fossil fuel companies on earth.
Learn more and watch the trailer here: https://www.yintahfilm.com/

Snacks and drinks provided.

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Oct 15: Green Amendments for the Generations

Annie Carlozzi — Mon, 15 Sep 2025 18:39:36 +0000

Oct 15: Green Amendments for the Generations Annie Carlozzi Mon, 09/15/2025 - 12:39

Wednesday, Oct 15 at 12pm in Room 301

Join ELS and the GWC for a lunch talk with Maya K. van Rossum, author of Green Amendments and founder of Green Amendments For The Generations, and Wendy Kerner who is spearheading the movement for a Green Amendment in Colorado. They will give a presentation on Green Amendments, and we will have time for a brief Q&A.

Lunch will be provided!

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Analysis of Colorado River Basin Storage Suggests Need For Immediate Action

Annie Carlozzi — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 16:21:03 +0000

Analysis of Colorado River Basin Storage Suggests Need For Immediate Action Annie Carlozzi Thu, 09/11/2025 - 10:21

Jack Schmidt , Anne Castle , John Fleck , Eric Kuhn , Kathryn Sorensen , Katherine Tara

Water consumption in the Colorado River Basin continues to outstrip natural supply, causing steep declines in reservoir storage. This paper looks at the realistically accessible amount of storage in Lake Powell and Lake Mead and what happens if next year is the same as this year in terms of inflow and uses. The resulting picture is grim. In order to avoid extremely low reservoir reserves at the outset of the next set of operating guidelines, and the corresponding constraints on water use going forward, the prudent course of action is to reduce use immediately.

Read the full paper here.

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Acequia Assistance Project (AAP) Interest Meeting

Annie Carlozzi — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 17:36:47 +0000

Acequia Assistance Project (AAP) Interest Meeting Annie Carlozzi Tue, 09/09/2025 - 11:36

The Acequia Assistance Project (AAP) Interest Meeting is an opportunity for students to learn about the AAP, a student run environmental justice project of the Getches-Wilkinson Center. AAP participants (including 1Ls!) have the opportunity to perform subsbtantive, pro-bono legal work under the supervision of attorneys on a variety of cases and projects.

Monday, September 15 12-12:50pm in Room 207

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