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Natural Resources Section

About the Section

The Natural Resources Section represents virtually every major federal agency in federal district court, the Court of Federal Claims, and State courts throughout the country in litigation concerning novel and complex issues arising under more than 80 natural resource, environmental, and cultural resource statutes, various treaties and international agreements, interstate compacts, and congressional referrals.

Statutes for which NRS has Litigation Responsibility

Meet the Section Chief

Leadership

James Gette
Section Chief

Contact
Email the Division

James Gette, Section Chief, NRS, Photo by ENRD
Environment and Natural Resources Division seal
What We Do

On any given day, our attorneys could be working on cases involving:

  • The stewardship of our national parks, forests, rangelands, wildlife refuges, and offshore resources.
  • Vital federal programs ranging from nuclear materials management to military preparedness to national energy policy including renewable energy projects.
  • Original actions in the U.S. Supreme Court to resolve boundary and water allocation disputes in the western part of the country.
  • Real property claims arising under the Just Compensation Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which cover the full spectrum of governmental activity relating to land use and environmental regulation and involve issues such as military readiness, transportation infrastructure, and flood control.
  • The nation's trust relationship with Native Americans and Tribes.
By the Numbers
79
Attorneys
1,600
Cases
650M+
Acres of Public Lands
64
Government Entities Represented