Public Lands and Natural Resources Law

    Jeffrey B. Teichert has worked on some of the most important public lands litigation in recent years.  In 1999, Mr. Teichert filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the a successful petition for the United States Supreme Court to hear Public Lands Council v. Babbitt.  It was the first public lands grazing case to reach the Supreme Court in several decades.   Later that year, Mr. Teichert filed an amicus curiae brief on the merits of the case, defending the traditional livestock grazing preference.  In 2000, he participated in the moot court practice to prepare the lead attorney for oral argument before the Supreme Court.  Although the Supreme Court ruled against Public Lands Council and in favor of the Secretary of the Interior, its opinion upheld the traditional grazing preference and interpreted the Secretary's new regulations in a way that recognized the continuing validity of the preference under the Taylor Grazing Act and Federal Lands Policy Management Act. 

    While representing the Oregon Cattlemens' Association, Mr. Teichert was also instrumental in saving more than fifty cattle ranches (and a century old way of life) threatened by a lawsuit filed by the Oregon Natural Desert Association.  That lawsuit attempted to enjoin all livestock grazing in the Owyhee Wild and Scenic River Corridor.  Although the judge initially granted an injunction against grazing, he ultimately accepted the proposal of the Oregon Cattlemens' Association, allowing grazing to continue and requiring the federal Bureau of Land Management to approve the ranchers' long-standing proposal to pump water from the Owyhee River and keep the livestock out of the river's water gaps (except for trailing, which was also allowed to continue). 

    In addition to these two highly public cases, Mr. Teichert has successfully represented numerous livestock grazing associations and agriculture trade associations with interests in maintaining environmentally sound multiple use policies on federal and state public lands.  He has substantial experience working with the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Federal Lands Policy Management Act, the Taylor Grazing Act, the National Forests Management Act, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the Wilderness Act, and other enactments related to public land management.   While pursuing a Master of Laws Degree at George Washington University in 2000, Mr. Teichert received an A in his Natural Resources Law course.