Practice Areas & Industries: Holland & Hart LLP

Practice/Industry Group Overview

The federal government owns about 30 percent of the nation's total surface area, totaling some 650 million acres. Four major federal land management agencies -- the United States Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service -- are responsible for managing about 95 percent of these lands.

The great majority of this public land is located in the western states, particularly in the Mountain West states where we have our offices. These lands are managed for multiple uses including livestock grazing, timbering, mineral production, oil and gas production, recreation, and wildlife habitat. Much of the business and leisure activity of the West is directly attributable to acreage owned and managed by the federal agencies.

With offices in seven public land states, we have developed one of the nation's premier public land practices. At the federal level, our practice takes us before all three branches of government and the principal public land management agencies. We also practice before the counterpart state land and resource management agencies.

Services Available

Our services include:

•  Representing clients in administrative proceedings before the Department of Interior, Forest Service, and state agencies
•  Litigation with the government or other parties concerning our clients' access to and use of public lands
• Lobbying on legislative matters before Congress and state legislatures
• Assisting clients with permits and special-use authorizations for public land activities
• Reviewing and commenting on public land management initiatives and programs that may affect our clients 

Experience

We have extensive experience in dealing with federal agencies in negotiations, rulemaking, legislative oversight and judicial intervention. Just as the land itself is unique, so is our ability to meet the challenges and take advantage of opportunities that originate with public lands. Our public lands experience covers:

Agriculture

Some 270 million acres of the federal lands, administered by the Bureau of Land Management and the United States Forest Service, are available for grazing by sheep and cattle. Steve Hart, a founder of Holland & Hart, was recognized as a leader in agricultural law. Through his knowledge and guidance, he established a legacy of service to the agricultural community both in their private holdings and in the utilization of federal lands.

Today, we work for the livestock industry directly and through our general public land law practice. We have a wealth of experience in the livestock permitting process for public lands and in handling such issues as grazing preference, mandatory qualifications, ownership of range improvements, annual operating plans, resource management plans, land use plans, and special use permits. We are well versed in the interplay of the Endangered Species Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, the myriad other environmental statutes, as well as the overarching procedural law contained in the National Environmental Policy Act.

Oil and Gas

We have been active in oil and gas legal matters since the firm was formed in 1947. Our practice involves regulatory and general business advice, transactional work, administrative proceedings and litigation.

Our oil and gas clients range from small independent producers to a number of the majors who are engaged in both domestic and foreign activities. Among these are clients we advise on a day-to-day basis with respect to their operations, development efforts and regulatory compliance matters.

We have worked on numerous projects in the public land states of the Mountain West, as well as other areas of the United States, Canada, and abroad, involving:

•  oil and gas leases
• farmouts and farmins
• operating agreements
• joint venture and participation agreements
• surface use agreements
• geophysical exploration agreements
• title opinions
• pooling and unitization matters
• exploration and development on public and Indian lands
• coal seam gas exploration and development
• drilling contracts
• related tax matters
• energy rulemaking and litigation on behalf of interstate pipelines, local distribution companies, industrial end users and producers
• administrative and judicial proceedings relating to oil and gas matters before various federal and state courts, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Bureau of Land Management, the Minerals Management Service, the Interior Board of Land Appeals, various state oil and gas conservation and public utility commissions, and other agencies

Mining

Josiah G. Holland, a founder of the firm, was recognized as the dean of western mining law. Following his leadership, we are involved in all phases of mineral activity, from the acquisition of mining property and the exploration for minerals through the development, extraction, marketing and transportation of mineral resources. Our mining practice includes:

• mining leases and options
• title opinions
• purchase and sale agreements
• workouts
• joint ventures
• processing and transportation agreements
• operating agreements
• mineral financing matters

 We have performed work on mining projects for domestic and foreign clients in the United States, Latin America, South America, the Pacific Rim, and Canada involving a wide variety of minerals including coal, base metals, uranium, oil shale and geothermal resources.

We are experienced in the legal aspects of mineral exploration and development on public lands. We have long been active in public land law issues and have held leadership roles in the Public Land Law Review Commission and other national associations.

We have lawyers with administrative, trial and appellate experience in a wide variety of mining-related matters, including coal supply agreements, leases, and public and private contests as to the validity and ownership of unpatented mining claims. Our environmental and mining practice groups together have extensive experience in permitting requirements applicable to mineral exploration and development projects.

Water

Headwaters of much of the water available for municipal, agricultural, recreational and wildlife use are found in the national forests of the United States. We are well versed in protecting water rights in the western states and, in particular, applying our skills to the tension between state water laws and federal interests.

We have expertise in buying and selling water rights, changing such rights to new uses and obtaining court approval of plans for augmentation and exchange, litigating to protect the quantity and quality of supplies, and advising and representing clients in a great variety of matters involving the diversion, distribution, storage and use of water.

We have experience in water rights matters in many of the western states; primarily Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Utah, and have been involved in major water rights adjudications in Colorado and Idaho. We have represented clients before the U.S. Supreme Court, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, various federal courts, state appellate courts and numerous district courts, including Colorado's and Idaho's special water courts.

We are experienced in the regulation of wetlands and other waters under Section 401 and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and with state and local restrictions on activities in wetlands. We have participated in administrative proceedings with state water officials, federal resource agencies, and local governmental boards, assisted clients in water quality issues, handled water utility, municipal, and special district matters and assisted clients in the federal and state permitting processes. We have obtained the required permits, licenses and approvals for construction and operation of water and hydroelectric projects.

Environment

Four Federal land management agencies -- the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service and Fish and Wildlife Service -- oversee substantial portions of the Mountain West. These agencies manage 60 percent of Utah, 48 percent of Wyoming, 35 percent of Colorado, 61 percent of Idaho, 28 percent of Montana and 80 percent of Nevada -- almost three hundred million acres. The agencies manage much of these lands for conservation and have established numerous restrictions and regulations governing their use. Often these regulations are environmental in nature.

We have more than 25 lawyers with extensive experience in environmental law covering matters arising under the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, "Superfund," the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, NEPA, the Endangered Species Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, the Wilderness Act, various antiquities, historic sites and historic preservation acts, the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, the BLM Organic Act and numerous other public land laws, both state and federal.

Our environmental work involves us in diverse projects and problems in nearly every state and the District of Columbia. We regularly advise clients on permitting and compliance matters.

We also assist clients who wish to shape or modify environmental laws and legislation. We are actively involved in all phases of regulatory work under federal and state environmental laws. We have assisted individuals, businesses and trade associations in preparing comments to proposed regulations. We help clients assess potential impacts of those regulations and, when necessary, we assist clients in challenging final rules and regulations in court.

We routinely monitor regulatory activities and advise clients of the status of state and federal legislation. We also have participated, on behalf of clients, in public hearings and meetings relating to the development of legislation and regulation.

Recreation

The Mountain West has for decades provided magnificent opportunities for organized and dispersed recreation. With the increased population growth of the Mountain West and the mobility of all Americans, the recreation industry has become a major source of economic activity on public lands.

For many years, we have represented the ski industry. As recreation has increased in its importance as an economic base in the West, so has our involvement in this industry. Additionally, we have assisted other recreational industries, including outfitters and guides and outdoor recreation groups, to develop and grow.

We assist our recreation industry clients in obtaining special use permits and concession authorizations from the land management agencies, represent them in appeals of agency management decisions, and advise them on recreational liability issues. An important element of our practice is our ability to facilitate the business of recreation on public lands.