John Leshy - Bibliography

Publications

  • Books

  • LEGAL CONTROL OF WATER RESOURCES: CASES AND MATERIALS (West Academic 3rd ed. 2000 – 7th ed. 2025) (with Barton H. Thompson, Robert H. Abrams & Sandra B. Zellmer and, on earlier editions, Joseph Sax). Link
  • FEDERAL PUBLIC LAND AND RESOURCES LAW (Foundation Press, 3rd ed. 1992 – 8th ed. 2022) (earlier editions with George C. Coggins and Charles F. Wilkinson, later editions with Robert L. Fischman and Sarah Krakoff). Link
  • OUR COMMON GROUND: A HISTORY OF AMERICA’S PUBLIC LANDS (2022). Link
  • DEBUNKING CREATION MYTHS ABOUT AMERICA’S PUBLIC LANDS (2018) (published version of Wallace Stegner Lecture, University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, March 14, 2018). Link
  • THE ARIZONA STATE CONSTITUTION (G. Alan Tarr, ed., Oxford University Press 2d ed. 2013) (1993). Link
  • THE MINING LAW: A STUDY IN PERPETUAL MOTION (1987). Link

  • Chapters in Books

  • A Brief History of America’s Public Lands, in 7 THE JUDGES’ BOOK: SCHOLARSHIP FOR THE BENCH, 83 (2023) (published annually by the Center for  Litigation and Courts at U.C. College of the Law, San Francisco). Link
  • Are U.S. Public Lands Unconstitutional?, in 3 THE JUDGES’ BOOK, 95 (2019) (summary version of article in 69 Hastings L.J. 499 (2018)). Link
  • The Future of Winters, in THE FUTURE OF INDIAN AND FEDERAL RESERVED WATER RIGHTS: THE WINTER CENTENNIAL 307 (Barbara Cosens & Judith V. Royster eds., 2012). Link
  • Preface to the First Edition, of  ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT: LAW, POLICY, AND PERSPECTIVES xv (Donald C. Baur & Wm. Robert Irvin eds., 2010). Link
  • The Future of Mineral Development on Federal Lands, in THE EVOLUTION OF NATURAL RESOURCES LAW AND POLICY 346 (Lawrence J. MacDonnell & Sarah F. Bates eds., 2010).  Link
  • Department of the Interior: Natural Resources Serving Society, in CHANGE FOR AMERICA: A PROGRESSIVE BLUEPRINT FOR THE 44TH PRESIDENT 388 (Mark Green and Michele Jolin eds., 2009). Link
  • FDR’s Expansion of Our National Patrimony: A Model for Leadership, in FDR AND THE ENVIRONMENT 177 (Henry Henderson & David Woolner eds., 2005).  
  • Putting the Antiquities Act in Perspective, in VISIONS OF THE GRAND STAIRCASE–ESCALANTE: EXAMINING UTAH’S NEWEST NATIONAL MONUMENT 83 (Robert B. Keiter, Sarah B. George, & Joro Walker eds., 1998).  
  • The Arizona Constitution, in ARIZONA LEGAL RESEARCH GUIDE 1 (Kathy Shimpock–Vieweg & Marianne Sidorski Alcorn eds., 1992). Link
  • Mining’s Diminished Future, in REOPENING THE WESTERN FRONTIER 242 (Ed Marston ed., Island Press 1989) (appeared in High Country News, Oct. 24, 1988, at 28).  
  • Natural Resources Policy, in NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE ENVIRONMENT: THE REAGAN APPROACH 13 (Paul R. Portney ed., 1984). Link
  • Sharing Federal Multiple–Use Lands — Historic Lessons and Speculations for the Future, in RETHINKING THE FEDERAL LANDS 235 (Sterling Brubaker ed., 1984). Link
  • Special Water Districts—The Historical Background, in SPECIAL WATER DISTRICTS: CHALLENGE FOR THE FUTURE 11 (James N. Corbridge ed., 1983).  

  • Book Reviews

  • Book Review, 23 Ariz. St. L.J. 1163 (1991) (reviewing John S. Goff ed., THE RECORDS OF THE ARIZONA CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1910 (1991)). 
  • Book Review, 27 Jurimetrics J. 77 (1986) (reviewing Howard Ball, JUSTICE DOWNWIND (1986)).   Link
  • Book Review, Wash. Monthly (Nov. 1986) (reviewing Mark Reisner, CADILLAC DESERT: THE AMERICAN WEST AND ITS DISAPPEARING WATER (1986)).  
  • Book Review, Amicus J. (Summer 1985) (reviewing Frank Welsh, HOW TO CREATE A WATER CRISIS (1985)).  
  • Book Review, New Times Phoenix (Feb. 1982) (reviewing Philip L. Fradkin, A RIVER NO MORE: THE COLORADO RIVER AND THE WEST (1981)).  

  • Journal Articles

  • Public Lands and Native Americans: A Guide to Current Issues, 47  Pub. Land & Resources L. Rev. 1 (2024). Link, SSRN
  • America’s Public Lands: What History Suggests about Their Future, 34 Colo. Env’t L. J. (2023). Link, SSRN
  • America’s Public Lands: A Sketch of Their Political History and Future Challenges, 62 Nat. Res. J. 341 (2022). Link, SSRN
  • America’s Public Lands: A Look Back, A Look Ahead, 67 Rocky Mtn. Min. L. Inst. (2021). Link, SSRN
  • Building Better Conservation Easements for America the Beautiful, Harv. Envtl. L. Rev. Online (2021) (with K. King Burnett & Nancy A. McLaughlin), https://journals.law.harvard.edu/elr/2021/09/15/building-better-conservation-easements-for-america-the-beautiful/. Link, SSRN
  • Public Land Policy After the Trump Administration: Is This a Turning Point?, 31 Colo. Nat. Resources Energy & Envtl. L. Rev. 471 (2020). SSRN
  • Interior’s Authority to Curb Fossil Fuel Leasing, 49 Envtl. L. Rep. News & Analysis 10631 (2019).  Link
  • The Interaction of U.S. Public Lands, Water, and State Sovereignty in the West: A Reassessment and Celebration, 41 Pub. Land & Resources L. Rev. 1 (2019) (Frank and Elvira Jestrab Water Lecture, University of Montana Law School, September 26, 2018). Link
  • Are U.S. Public Lands Unconstitutional?, 69 Hastings L.J. 499 (2018). Link, SSRN
  • Legal Wilderness: Its Past and Some Speculations on its Future, 44 Envtl. L. 549 (2014).  Link, SSRN
  • Reflections on Social Change and Law Reform, 84 U. Colo. L. Rev. 217 (2013). Link, SSRN
  • Federal Lands in the Twenty-First Century, 50 Nat. Resources J. 111 (2010). Link, SSRN
  • Notes on a Progressive National Water Policy, 3 Harv. L. & Pol’y Rev. 133 (2009). Link, SSRN
  • In Praise of Joe Sax, 14 Hastings W.–Nw. J. Envtl. L. & Pol’y 13 (2008). Link, SSRN
  • Interstate Groundwater Resources: The Federal Role, 14 Hastings W.–Nw. J. Envtl. L. & Pol’y 1475 (2008). Link, SSRN
  • Where’s the Beef? Facilitating Voluntary Retirements of Federal Lands from Livestock Grazing, 17 N.Y.U. Envtl. L.J. 368 (2008) (with Molly S. McUsic). Link, SSRN
  • A Conversation About Takings and Water Rights, 83 Tex. L. Rev. 1985 (2005). Link, SSRN
  • Contemporary Politics of Wilderness Preservation, 25 J. Land Resources & Envtl. L. 1 (2005). Link, SSRN
  • Natural Resources Policy in the Bush (II) Administration: An Outsider’s Somewhat Jaundiced Assessment, 14 Duke Envtl. L. & Pol’y F. 347 (2004) . Link, SSRN
  • The Federal Role in Managing the Nation’s Groundwater, 11 Hastings W.–Nw. J. Envtl. L. & Pol’y 1 (2004) (reprinted in 14 Hastings W.-N.W. J. Envtl. L. & Pol’y 1323 (2008)). Link, SSRN
  • A Property Clause for the Twenty-First Century, 75 U. Colo. L. Rev. 1101 (2004). Link, SSRN
  • Mining Law Reform Redux, Once More, 42 Nat. Resources J. 461 (2002). Link, SSRN
  • The Babbitt Legacy at the Department of the Interior: A Preliminary View, 31 Envtl. L. 199 (2001). Link, SSRN
  • Shaping the Modern West: The Role of the Executive Branch, 72 U. Colo. L. Rev. 287 (2001). Link, SSRN
  • Water Rights for New Federal Land Conservation Programs: A Turn-of-the-Century Evaluation, 4 U. Denv. Water L. Rev. 271 (2001) . Link, SSRN
  • Water Rights for New Federal Land Conservation Programs: A Turn-of-the-Century Evaluation, 4 U. Denv. Water L. Rev. 271 (2001). Link, SSRN
  • The Babbitt Legacy at the Department of the Interior: A Preliminary View, 31 Envtl. L. 199 (2001) . Link, SSRN
  • Public Lands at the Millennium, 46 Rocky Mtn. Min. L. Inst. 1 (2000). SSRN
  • Challenges to Environmental Law, 25  Envtl. L. 967 (1995). Link, SSRN
  • Natural Resources Policy in the Clinton Administration: A Mid-Course Evaluation from Inside, 25 Envtl. L. 679 (1995). Link, SSRN
  • Whither the Public Lands, 41 Rocky Mtn. Min. L. Inst. 3-1 (1995) (with Jerome C. Muys).  SSRN
  • The Prior Appropriation Doctrine of Water Law in the West: An Emperor with Few Clothes, 29 J. West 5 (1990).   SSRN
  • The State of Constitutional Law in the States of the United States: Are There Any Lessons for Australia?, 20 U. W. Austl. L. Rev. 373 (1990). Link, SSRN
  • Water and Wilderness/Law and Politics, 23 Land & Water L. Rev. 389 (1988). Link, SSRN
  • The Making of the Arizona Constitution, 20 Ariz. St. L.J. 1 (1988). Link, SSRN
  • Reforming the Mining Law: Problems and Prospects, 9 Pub. Land L. Rev. 1 (1988). Link, SSRN
  • Arizona Law Where Ground and Surface Water Meet, 20 Ariz. St. L.J. 657 (1988) (with James Belanger). Link, SSRN
  • Granite Rock and the States’ Influence Over Federal Land Use, 18 Envtl. L. 99 (1987). Link, SSRN
  • Indigenous Peoples, Land Claims and Control of Mineral Development: Australian and U.S. Legal Systems Compared, 8 U. New S. Wales L.J. 271 (1985). Link, SSRN
  • Irrigation Districts in a Changing West—An Overview, 1982 Ariz. St. L.J. 345 (1982).  Link, SSRN
  • Wilderness and its Discontents—Wilderness Review Comes to the Public Lands, 1981 Ariz. St. L.J. 361 (1981). Link, SSRN
  • Unraveling the Sagebrush Rebellion: Law, Politics and Federal Lands, 14 U.C. Davis L. Rev. 317 (1980).  Link, SSRN
  • Management of Federal Coal Reserves, 24 Rocky Mtn. Min. L. Inst. 139 (1978) (with Leo M. Krulitz).  
  • Interlocutory Injunctive Relief in Environmental Cases: A Primer for the Practitioner, 6 Ecology L.Q. 639 (1977). Link, SSRN
  • The Federal Judiciary and National Forest Management, 75 J. Forestry 195 (1977). Link
  • Non-NEPA Legal Aspects of Federal Coal Leasing and Development Policy: An Environmental Attorney’s Analysis, 9 Nat. Resources Law. 495 (1976). Link
  • A Black Mark: Failure of the Federal Coal Leasing Policy, 17 Env’t 6 (1975) (with Terry R. Lash).
  • Computers and Federal Regulation, 21 Admin. L. Rev. 287 (1969) (with Calvin Davison & Stephen L. Babcock). Link, SSRN

  • Newspaper & Magazine Articles

  • Opinion, Close to Home: Settling Was the Best Option for Point Reyes Ranchers, PRESS DEMOCRAT (Jan. 21, 2025) (with Molly Ross and David Watts), https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/opinion/sonoma-marin-point-reyes-dairies-ranches-settlement/?utm_source=article_share&utm_medium=copy-link [https://perma.cc/SP5C-ZWVT]. Link
  • Opinion, Utah Wants the Supreme Court to give It Land Owned by All Americans, N.Y. TIMES, (Jan. 8, 2025) (on file with author), https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/08/opinion/utah-parks-supreme-court.html?searchResultPosition=1. Link
  • Opinion, Protect Vulnerable Federal Public Lands, N.Y. TIMES (Dec. 15, 2024) (on file with author), https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/15/opinion/trump-biden-legacy.html?smid=url-share. Link
  • Opinion, The Federal Government Can Protect the Okefenokee, ATLANTA J.-CONST. (May 13, 2024) (on file with author), https://www.ajc.com/opinion/opinion-the-federal-government-can-protect-the-okefenokee/A5SIG2JG2VEUBAN5JUHWLGKFLI/. Link
  • Opinion, Utah Wants to Disable the Law that Led to the Creation of Four of Its Magnificent National Parks, N.Y. TIMES (Mar. 5, 2023) (on file with author), https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/05/opinion/national-parks-bears-ears-monuments.html. Link
  • Opinion, The Facts About the Antiquities Act and the Courts, SALT LAKE TRIB. (Apr. 10, 2021), http://sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2021/04/19/john-d-leshy-facts-about/ [https://perma.cc/4ZWU-UYCD]. Link
  • The Public Lands – A Look Back and Ahead, COLO. PLATEAU ADVOC., Spring/Summer 2021, at 29, https://www.grandcanyontrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AdvocateMagSpring2021Digital.pdf [https://perma.cc/LN4F-AUJE]. Link
  • Opinion, A Trump Plan Breaks a Great Deal for Ranchers and Park Lovers, N.Y. TIMES (March 3, 2020) (on file with author), https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/03/opinion/environment-ranchers-trump.html. Link
  • Still Made for You and Me?, AM. SCHOLAR (Sep. 14, 2020), https://theamericanscholar.org/still-made-for-you-and-me/ [https://perma.cc/MT6M-UA4A]. Link
  • Opinion, Outdated Mining Law Lets Industry Use and Abuse Public Lands for Free, THE HILL (May 6, 2019), https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/442230-outdated-mining-law-lets-industry-use-and-abuse-public-lands-for/. Link
  • Opinion, A Paradigm Shift in the Politics of Public Lands, THE HILL (Feb. 28, 2019), https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/432052-a-paradigm-shift-in-the-politics-of-public-lands/. Link
  • Opinion, The Endangered Antiquities Act, N.Y. TIMES (Mar. 31, 2017) (with Mark Squillace) (on file with author), https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/31/opinion/the-endangered-antiquities-act.html. Link
  • Unsatisfied Mining Industry Wants More from the Taxpayer, MORNING CONSULT, Mar. 23, 2017 (with Roger Flynn).  
  • Exploding the Myth that Federal Lands are Unconstitutional, COLO. PLATEAU ADVOC., Spring 2017, at 11, https://www.grandcanyontrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AdvocateMagSpring2017Digital.pdf [https://perma.cc/49HH-6SJ8]. Link
  • Opinion, The Trump Judiciary Threatens Federal Public Lands, THE HILL (Nov. 28, 2017) (with John D. Echeverria), https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/362191-the-trump-judiciary-threatens-federal-public-lands/amp/. Link
  • Opinion, Our Turn: 2 Bills Undermine Arizona’s Water Supply, ARIZ. REPUBLIC, Feb. 23, 2016 (with Robert Glennon), https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2016/02/23/glennon-leshy-arizona-legislation-undermines-water-security/80608728/ [https://perma.cc/S8DU-JEFT]. Link
  • Opinion, Lands Transfer to States? It Would Take Another Dred Scott Decision, SALT LAKE TRIB. (Jan. 30, 2016), https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=3463803&itype=CMSID [https://perma.cc/72KQ-955L]. Link
  • Tracing Our Common Ground, U.S. HASTINGS ALUMNI MAG. (Spring 2015), at 22, https://repository.uclawsf.edu/alumni_mag/139/. Link
  • Mining Law Reform Reaches a Critical Phase, COLO. PLATEAU ADVOC., Summer 1991 (on file with author).
  • Solving Water Rights Conflicts, J. AM. WATER WORKS ASS’N, Mar. 1991, at 36 (with Les Lampe, Gary R. Clark, Glen H. Fiedler & Duane Georgeson).   Link
  • Implications of Arizona Public Service v. Long  for Water Management in Arizona, Effluent: Yours, Mine, Ours, ARIZ. CH. AM. WATER RES. ASS’N, Oct.1989.
  • Mining’s Diminished Future, HIGH COUNTRY NEWS, Oct. 24, 1988, at 28 (reprinted in REOPENING THE WESTERN FRONTIER 242 (Ed Marston ed., 1989)).
  • Strategies to Protect Streamflows in Arizona’s Dwindling Riparian Area, ARIZ. WATERLINE, Fall 1986 (reprinted in Ariz. St. U. L.F., Fall 1986).  
  • The Law and the Hydrological Staircase, ARIZ. WATERLINE, Spring 1986 (on file with author).
  • Implications of Federal Water Project Cost–Sharing for Arizona, ARIZ. WATERLINE, Summer 1985 (on file with author).
  • Working in the System, ENV’T. ACTION, 1977 (on file with author).

  • Miscellaneous

  • Secretary Bernhardt Says He Doesn’t Have a Duty to Fight Climate Change. He’s Wrong, VIBRANT ENV’T BLOG (Jun. 19, 2019), https://www.eli.org/vibrant-environment-blog/secretary-bernhardt-says-he-doesnt-have-duty-fight-climate-change-hes [https://perma.cc/7ZNC-YVF6]. Link