Bret Birdsong

Bret Birdsong is a Professor of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) William S. Boyd School of Law, where he has taught since 2000. A nationally recognized expert in public lands, natural resources, water law, environmental quality, property law, and administrative law, he has shaped environmental legal education and policy for over two decades.

Education:

• B.A., magna cum laude, Princeton University
• J.D., summa cum laude and valedictorian, University of California, Hastings College of the Law

Research Interests:

Professor Birdsong’s scholarship focuses on the intersection of law, conservation, and governance. His work explores the legal frameworks governing public lands and natural resources, emphasizing collaborative federal-state conservation planning, water rights and allocation, and climate change adaptation. He has written extensively on the Colorado River, sage grouse conservation, and the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, advocating for sustainable and equitable resource management.

Awards & Recognition:

• Secretary of Interior’s Outstanding Service Award for contributions to President Obama’s conservation agenda

Government Service & Policy Impact:

From 2009 to 2017, Professor Birdsong served as Deputy Solicitor for Land Resources at the U.S. Department of the Interior. In this role, he provided legal counsel to the Secretary of the Interior on high-profile conservation initiatives, including the creation and expansion of national monuments, the implementation of the sage grouse conservation program, and the development of renewable energy policies on public lands. His efforts led to groundbreaking legal frameworks for net conservation gain and environmental mitigation.

Teaching & Mentorship:

At UNLV, Professor Birdsong has influenced a generation of environmental law students as a co-author of the widely adopted casebook Natural Resources Law: A Place-Based Book of Problems and Cases. He teaches courses on natural resources law, water law, and environmental law, mentoring students in both academic and practical aspects of conservation law.