Public Land & Resources Law Review

Gillian Ellison, Editor in Chief
Gillian was born in Shelby, Montana, and her family’s history of homesteading near Winnett instilled in her a lasting connection to place. She grew up between Montana and Seattle before earning a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in 2018, where she studied policy feedback theory and uranium contamination on the Navajo Reservation. She is now pursuing a JD at the Alexander Blewett III School of Law. An avid rock climber, Gillian has traveled widely across the American West, but Montana’s prairies, mountains, and rivers remain the ground of her identity. She lives in Missoula with her dogs, Erma and DeAnn, and her partner Joel. Of her home state, she recalls Janisse Ray’s words: “I carry the landscape inside me like an ache.”

Lori Blumenthal, Editor in Chief
Lori, originally from Connecticut, spent time working and exploring in Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, and Colorado before settling in Montana in 2016. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies and Political Science from the University of Vermont, and also holds a Master’s Degree in Education from Western Colorado University. With a background in farming, teaching, and managing school gardens, Lori eventually decided to pursue her passion for environmental advocacy by attending law school. She is enthusiastic about making a difference in the field of environmental law, focusing on critical issues such as water rights, energy sustainability, environmental justice, and wilderness preservation. When she's not immersed in her studies, you can find Lori outdoors, enjoying hiking, gardening, mountain biking, and snowboarding. She also loves experimenting in the kitchen, often resulting in delicious creations.

Sarah Leopard, Managing Editor
Sarah grew up in Clifton, Virginia, where she enjoyed hikes in the lush Virginia woods. After cultivating an interest in the natural world around her, she attended the University of Virginia, where she received her B.A. in Environmental Science. Her love for the gently rolling Blue Ridge mountains transferred to the rocky peaks of Montana when she moved to Helena for AmeriCorps, serving two terms in the Justice for Montanans program. Outside of her law school studies, she enjoys skiing, hiking, and running, especially when followed by a splash in a creek.

Kelly Brady, Managing Editor
Kelly was raised on a cattle ranch just outside of Winnett, Montana. Although he lived all over the country for education and work, Montana was the constant return point. Kelly earned a bachelor's degree in political science and international studies from the University of South Carolina. After working up and down the east coast for a number of years, he finally made it back to Montana permanently. Kelly spends his free time fishing and hunting on our state's beautiful public lands. Focused on transactional law around real estate and environmental law, he intends to practice in Central Montana to help communities thrive in Montana's complex regulatory and environmental landscape.

Sadie Giles, Publication Editor
Sadie was born in Maine and spent much of her childhood in the woods and on the lakes of northwestern Maine. She lived in Nebraska and northern and southern Arizona before coming up to Montana to pursue environmental law. She graduated from Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State with degrees in Business Law and Sustainability and a certificate in Sustainable Energy. Throughout all of this, she fostered a love for green energy and public lands. Sadie also loves rock climbing, hiking, and paddleboarding, and is a newbie skier. She spends much of her spare time nowadays with her 11-year-old boxer mix, Alli.

Alexis Karbowicz, Publication Editor
Alexis (Alex) grew up in Portland, OR, and spent her weekends hiking and skiing on Mt. Hood. She attended Carroll College and studied Anthrozoology, which is the bond between humans and animals. One of Alex's most rewarding experiences in college was fostering a Great Dane from the shelter while in Carroll's small dorm rooms! Alex spends her time outside of law school hiking, stand-up paddleboarding, and spending time with her sister, who also followed her to Montana for college and decided to stay. When being outside isn't an option, Alex loves to read, play board games, and cuddle with her cat. Alex is still uncertain about what her future in the legal field will hold, but appreciates the opportunity to explore the wide scope of law that impacts our beautiful public land!

Lila Bennett, Conference Editor
Lila is originally from northern Maryland, where she grew up on a farm raising all sorts of animals. She found her love for the West while working seasonal jobs managing cattle and horse herds in Wyoming, but always had a passion for conservation. Lila felt that combining her love of the outdoors and her passion for protecting special places could culminate into something productive, so after obtaining a political science degree at the University of Kentucky, she began her pursuit of a JD in the place she loves most. When not buried in her legal studies, Lila can be found on a rascally colt high in the Bitterroot Mountains or on a run deep in the Rattlesnake with her trusty hound, Otter.

Hannah Green, Conference Editor
Hannah grew up in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Dalton, Georgia. Living on a farm gave her an appreciation for agriculture and encouraged her to pursue a law degree and a Master of Public Administration to ensure more sustainable farming practices on a larger scale. She attended the University of Georgia as an undergrad and hopes to use her degrees in Political Science, Philosophy, and International Affairs to balance the policy and ethics behind agriculture. In her free time, you can find her baking, hiking with her dog, or traveling.

Anthony Shirey, Business and Technology Editor
Anthony is an Atlanta native and a recent Montana transplant. His passion for the outdoors stems from his background as a competitive rock climber and youth climbing coach, where he helped advocate on behalf of the climbing community for access to public lands for recreation. In his free time, he is an avid skier, film nerd, and occasional Brazilian jiu jitsu practice dummy. If you can solve the New York Times Sunday Crossword faster than him, he’ll buy you a beer!

Nicholas Brown
Nick is originally from Denver but moved to Big Sky, Montana shortly after graduating from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2016. From 2016 to 2024, Nick moved around the Gallatin Valley and enjoyed a variety of work opportunities spanning from farrier work and bartending to marketing and tech sales. Now in Missoula, Nick is attending law school to settle into a legal career that aligns with his interest in natural resources and land use in the Rocky Mountain West. When not in school, Nick prefers to be sitting in a boat on a river with his wife, Kate, and dog, Bubba.

Libby Tobey
Libby grew up in Salt Lake City, spending most of her early summers floating on the desert rivers of southern Utah. After finishing an undergraduate degree in environmental science, she spent several years as a wilderness river guide across the western U.S. and abroad. Years of guiding taught her that working in and protecting wild places are two sides of the same coin. In this spirit, she served in turn as an environmental educator, consultant, and legislative aide before moving to Montana and completing a master's degree in resource conservation. When not deep in the law textbooks, she spends as much time as possible on the rivers and in the mountains around Missoula!

Luke Zagar
Luke grew up in Puyallup, Washington and spent his time exploring the Cascade mountain range and the Western U.S. National Parks. He graduated from Eastern Washington University with degrees in philosophy and political science. Luke enjoys spending his free time outdoors, often highlighted by mountains, campfires, and his guitar. He hopes to pursue a career working in environmental policy and seeks to be an advocate for protecting wild spaces.

Craig Rigdon
Craig grew up in western Pennsylvania. After graduating with a biology degree from Indiana University, he worked as a wildlife biologist across the West. He then spent four years as a sawyer on a USFS Hotshot Crew before earning an M.S. in Environmental Studies and pursuing a Ph.D. in environmental history. Craig then spent a decade running a small custom furniture and woodworking business before entering law school. He enjoys getting into the mountains with his dog, Pete, and competing in endurance mountain bike races.

Erika Rader
Erika grew up near Madison, Wisconsin, before heading east to the University of Vermont. At UVM, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies while hiking through the Green Mountains and skiing down icy slopes. Erika has long been passionate about outdoor leadership development, guiding backpacking and canoeing expeditions for a tripping camp based in northern Wisconsin. As a leader, she had the opportunity to explore vast, magical landscapes, including Gates of the Arctic National Park in the Brooks Range of Alaska and the Barrenlands of Nunavut, Canada. These experiences, along with advocacy and educational work back in the Midwest, led her to pursue law school. In her free time, she enjoys running and biking around Missoula.

Remington Prochaska
Remington was born and raised in Western Washington, where he enjoyed fishing in the Puget Sound and camping whenever he could. He served eight years as a paratrooper in the U.S. Army, with five of those years overseas in the 173rd Airborne. Remington graduated from Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State University, earning a Bachelor of Science in Forensic Psychology. Drawn to the mountains and the outdoors, Montana called, and he answered. He is currently working on a Master of Science in Forensic Psychology at Arizona State University while pursuing his JD at ABIII. When he's not studying, Remington enjoys hunting, fishing, or playing golf.

Gardner Dee
Gardner grew up fly fishing and skiing in the Wasatch Range above Salt Lake City, Utah, while spending part of every summer in northwestern Montana’s Flathead Valley. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies from Whitman College in Washington State in 2018 before working and exploring in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado for a few years. With the country of Western Montana calling and a passion for public lands and resources law and policy, Gardner pursued an M.S. in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana and took the leap to law school after a year away. When not studying, Gardner can be found out on the rivers and in the woods of Western Montana, often with his dog, Annie.

MJ Fiedler
MJ grew up hunting, fishing, and skiing in Girdwood, Alaska. Spending her childhood outdoors gave her a deep appreciation for public lands. She came to Montana for the first time in 2019, originally planning to stay for one summer. Instead, she kept returning, working in Yellowstone, Big Sky, and Glacier before settling in Missoula to pursue a JD. When she isn't studying, she can be found hiking, fishing, or guiding trail rides in Glacier National Park.

Professor Kekek Stark
Kekek Stark is an Assistant Professor of Law with the Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of Montana. In this capacity he is the Co-Director of the following programs: the Indian Law Program; the Margery Hunter Brown Indian Law Clinic; and the American Indian Governance and Policy Institute. He is a Turtle Mountain Ojibwe and member of the Bizhiw (Lynx) Clan. Kekek is a former president of the Minnesota American Indian Bar Association, a forum Bush Foundation Leadership Fellow, and alumnus of Hamline University School of Law. He worked as an assistant professor with the American Indian Studies Department at the University of Minnesota – Duluth as well as an adjunct faculty member at several institutions. In addition to his teaching experience, Kekek served as the Attorney General for the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, as a policy analyst in the Division of Intergovernmental Affairs for the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, and as a policy analyst for the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians. As a practitioner of Indigenous law, he has firsthand experience in training students in how to work productively with Indigenous principles and procedures. Along the way, he has helped build institutions grounded in Anishinaabe law and has helped students and communities forge better relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous institutions and peoples, strengthening tribal sovereignty.

Professor Sandi Zellmer
Sandra Zellmer is a Professor and Director of Natural Resources Clinics at the University of Montana Alexander Blewett III School of Law, where she teaches public lands, wildlife law, torts, and related courses. Zellmer has published dozens of law review articles as well as several books, including A Century of Unnatural Disasters: Mississippi River Stories (NYU 2014) (with Klein), Water Law in a Nutshell (2015) (with Getches and Amos), Natural Resources Hornbook (2015) (with Laitos), Developing Skills in Environmental Law (2016) (with Glicksman), and Water Law & Policy Casebook (2018) (with Thompson, Abrams, and Leshy). She was appointed to the American College of Environmental Lawyers in 2020. She has served as a board member and law school trustee of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, and is a member scholar of the Center for Progressive Reform. She is also active with the American Bar Association Section on Environment, Energy, and Resources Committees on Public Lands and on Water Resources. Prior to Montana, Zellmer served on the faculty and held the Robert B. Daugherty Chair at the University of Nebraska College of Law. Before teaching, she was an attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division, litigating public lands issues for the National Park Service, Forest Service, and other federal agencies. She also practiced law in the Environmental Litigation Group at Faegre & Benson in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and clerked for the Honorable William W. Justice, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas.