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The Getches-Wilkinson Center and American Indian Law Program will be co-convening the 2026 Martz Symposium on Public Lands: "Towards a New Era for Public Lands - Restoration and Renewal" on Thurs, Oct 22nd and Fri, Oct 23rdÌýat the Wolf Law Building in Boulder, CO.

Toward a New Era for Public Lands – Restoration and RenewalÌýÌý

America’s public lands are entering a period of profound transition. Ecological change, evolving social and cultural values, Tribal co-stewardship, and shifting political dynamics are reshaping how we understand public lands and our responsibilities to them and to each other. This symposium explores what it would mean to move toward a new era for public lands grounded in restoration of the land and renewal of our shared responsibility to care for it.ÌýÌý

Day 1 focuses on the relationship between Indigenous Peoples and public lands, featuring recent case studies alongside conversations about lessons learned and opportunities to reform laws and policies to strengthen the role of Tribes and Indigenous Peoples in decisions shaping the future of their ancestral homelands and cultural resources.ÌýÌý

Day 2 focuses on the broader public interest in public lands, including the interests of future generations. All Americans benefit today from decisions made by earlier generations to uphold a shared public interest in the stewardship, management, and protection of public lands. Bringing together leading voices from academia, advocacy organizations, government, Tribal communities, and industry, Day 2 explores how we can best fulfill our responsibilities to future generations in an era of ecological and social change.ÌýÌý

Thursday, October 22nd and Friday, October 23rd
Wolf Law Building, Wittemyer Courtroom

Thursday, October 22ndÌý
8:00am: Registration Opens and Light Breakfast
8:45am-4:30pm: Martz Symposium on Public Lands
4:30-6:00pm: Reception for Registered Attendees

Friday, October 23rd
8:00am: Registration Opens and Light Breakfast
8:45am-3:30pm: Martz Symposium on Public Lands

Breakfast, snack, and lunch provided daily
Free parking onsite. Parking details will be sent out the week of the symposium.Ìý

Conference Agenda (subject to change)

Wednesday, October 21
Ruth Wright Distinguished Lecture in Natural Resources with Congressman Joe NeguseÌý
This is a free, public event.

Thursday, October 22 Panels Include:
Opening Keynote: Hilary Tompkins
Buffalo Restoration
Preservation of the Great Chaco Landscape
Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and the Blackrock Land Exchange

Friday, October 23 Panels Include:
Opening Keynote: Hal Herring
On Common Ground: A History of America's Public Lands
The Role of Fire in the Future of Public Lands
Fireside chat with John Podesta and John Leshy
Rebuilding the Institutions that Protect the Public Interest

Confirmed Speakers:Ìý

Jennifer Kakareka Balch, Director of the Environmental Data Science Innovation & Impact Lab (ESIIL), Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØ
Wendy Berhman, Executive Council, Coalition to Protect America's National Parks
Julia Bernal, Executive Director, Pueblo Action Alliance
Clint Carroll, Faculty Director, Center for Native American and Indigenous Studies, Associate Professor, ÌýDepartment of Ethnic Studies, Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØ
Andrea Delgado, Founding Partner, Hawk Eye Strategies, LLC
Blake Follis, Partner, Peebles Bergin Schulte & Robinson LLP
Pete Geddes, Chief External Relations Officer, American Prairie
Jill Grant, Jill Grant & Associates, LLC
Monte Gray, Lead General Counsel, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation
Bill Hedden, On Common Ground: An American Inheritance podcast
Hal Herring, Journalist
Patrick Holmes, Senior Program Officer, Resources Legacy Fund
Robyn Jackson, Executive Director, Diné C.A.R.E.
Sarah Krakoff, Moses Lasky Professor, Colorado Law School
John Leshy, Former Solicitor for the Department of the Interior
Scott Miller, Senior Regional Director, Southwest, The Wilderness SocietyÌý
John Podesta, Former Senior Advisory to the President for International Climate Change Policy
Vanessa Racehorse, Associate Professor of Law, Core Faculty Member of the American Indian Law Program, Colorado Law School
Ryan M. Running Wolf, Chief Mountain Guardian, Blackfeet Fish & Wildlife Department
Chairman Joey Sanchez, All Pueblo Council of Governors
Morgan Sanders, Senior Staff Attorney, Native American Rights Fund
Courtney Schultz, Director, School of Sustainable Futures, Professor, Forest and Natural Resource Policy, Colorado State University
Christina Stanton, Associate Professor of Clinical Law, American Indian Law Clinic, Colorado Law School
Tom Tidwell, Former Chief, U.S. Forest Service
Kyle Tisdel, Director, Climate and Energy Program, Senior Attorney, Western Environmental Law Center
Hilary Tompkins, Former Solicitor of the Department of the Interior, Partner, Hogan Lovells Cadwalader
Doug Vilsack, Former Colorado State Director, Bureau of Land Management, Bolo Strategies, LLC
Chris Winter, Executive Director, Getches-Wilkinson Center

Conference Agenda (subject to change)

Registration Rates September 1st - Oct 23rd
General (In person)Ìý Ìý Ìý$250
Remote Access OnlyÌý Ìý $100
Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØFaculty/Staff/Student (In person or Zoom)ÌýÌýÌýÌý Free
*Buff OneCard number may be requested for validation of current Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØ faculty/staff/student status.

Colorado CLE credits pending for the Martz Symposium.

Hotel Accommodations
There is a room block available at for attendees of the Martz Symposium. by Wednesday, September 23rd to receive the reduced conference rate.Ìý