The Future of Indian and Federal Reserved Water Rights: The Winters Centennial

Authors and Contributors

353 Craig Alexander, Section Chief, Indian Resources Section, Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Department of Justice. Prior to joining the Indian Resources Section, Mr. Alexander helped create the Office of Tribal Justice at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he served as Deputy Director and Acting Director. He received his JD from Duke University School of Law and clerked for then-Chief Judge James L. Oakes, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. John Allen (Assiniboine), Tribal Council, Fort Belknap Indian Community. Mr. Allen’s father was the Tribal Chairman for many years. Mr. Allen now holds an Assiniboine at-large seat on the Tribal Council and is Chairman of the Natural Resources Committee. He has been designated by the council to take the lead on future issues with the water rights compact with the state of Montana. In addition, Mr. Allen is a rancher and irrigator in Montana. Reed D. Benson, Professor of Law, University of New Mexico School of Law. Professor Benson joined the University of New Mexico law faculty in 2008, where he serves as faculty editor in chief of the Natural Resources Journal. He spent the previous six years at the University of Wyoming College of Law, the last two as Winston S. Howard Distinguished Professor. He teaches courses Authors and Contributors 354 AUTHORS AND CONTRIBUTORS relating to water resources law and administrative law and has also taught legislation and environmental law. Professor Benson has written several articles on water law and policy in the West and is a new coauthor for the sixth edition of the Water Resource Management casebook, with Dan Tarlock, Jim Corbridge, and David Getches (Foundation Press 2009). He has spoken at numerous conferences, focusing primarily on environmental aspects of water management by state and federal agencies. He visited the University of Utah College of Law in 2006 as the first Wallace Stegner Center Young Scholar. Professor Benson earned a BS with honors in economics and environmental studies from Iowa State and a JD magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School in 1988. Michael Bogert, Counselor to former Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne at the time of the Winters centennial. Prior to his appointment to that position, Mr. Bogert served as the Regional Administrator for EPA Region 10 in Seattle. He previously served as Counsel to then-Governor of Idaho Dirk Kempthorne and represented Kempthorne in the tribal water rights settlement with the Nez Perce Tribe. Prior to joining Kempthorne’s office, Mr. Bogert worked as Chief Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary for California Governor Pete Wilson, for Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger, and for Perkins Coie LLP in Boise. His JD is from the University of Idaho College of Law. Susan Cottingham, former Staff Director, Montana Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission. Ms. Cottingham directed the negotiation of five Indian water rights settlements and compacts with four federal land and resources agencies. She has also served as an advisor to the States of Alaska and Washington on tribal relations and water adjudication and is a member of the national Ad Hoc Group on Indian Water Settlements. Previously, she was Director of the Montana Environmental Information Center and served as Planning Director for the Town of Crested Butte, Colorado. Ms. Cottingham holds a BA from the University of Virginia. Philip S. “Sam” Deloria (Standing Rock Sioux), Director, American Indian Graduate Center. Mr. Deloria is the former Director of the American Indian Law Center, Inc. He was a founder of the Commission on State-Tribal Relations(1976)andfounderandfirstSecretary-GeneraloftheWorldCouncilof Indigenous Peoples. He is a member of the National Institutional Review Board of the Indian Health Service. Mr. Deloria has a law degree from Yale Law School. 355 AUTHORS AND CONTRIBUTORS James DuBois, trial attorney, Natural Resources Section, Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Denver Office. Prior to joining the DOJ, Mr. DuBois was in private practice for seven years. At DOJ, he has represented the United States in negotiations of three reserved water rights compacts between the United States and the State of Montana. He is presently representing the United States in water rights cases in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. Mr. DuBois received his JD from Lewis & Clark Law School in 1983. John Echohawk (Pawnee), Executive Director, Native American Rights Fund. Mr. Echohawk has participated in the settlement of eight of the eighteen Indian water rights cases. In law school, he...