What is the Foundation
Organized in 1955 as a non-profit
Colorado corporation, the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation is an
educational organization dedicated to providing scholarly research of
the laws and issues affecting domestic and international mineral and
water resources. The goals of the Foundation are to foster and encourage
a scholarly and yet practical study of the law and applicable
regulations relating to oil and gas, mining, water, public land
management, land use, conservation, environmental protection, and other
related areas.
The Foundation is a cooperative organization governed by a Board of
Trustees which currently consists of representatives from 31 law
schools, 13 bar associations, 19 mining and oil and gas associations,
plus 25 trustees-at-large (selected from attorneys, landmen, law
professors, and government representatives prominent in natural
resources), past presidents, and honorary trustees. The Foundation
maintains a small staff at its offices in Westminster, Colorado, about
equidistant from two of its governing law schools.
In fulfilling its goals, the Foundation carries out varied programs
designed to interest corporate and private lawyers, landmen, management,
government personnel, law faculty, students, and others involved in
mineral and water resources. These programs include institutes, short
courses, and workshops in various U.S., Canadian, and Latin American
locations. The Foundation has developed and published the Gower Federal
Services, the American Law of Mining (2d Edition), the Law of Federal
Oil and Gas Leases, the Proceedings of its Annual Institutes, books,
operational and model forms, substantive newsletters, and other special
materials. The Foundation also makes available scholarships to qualified
law students and research grants to law schools and faculty, and
supports programs for natural resources law teachers.
All institutes, short courses, treatises, and other publications are
developed and presented by volunteers who are authorities in specialized
areas of law. They are made possible only because of the dedication to
the Foundation of experts who volunteer many hundreds of hours on RMMLF
institutes, publications, forms, and other projects. These volunteers
continue to serve the Foundation because of its reputation for striving
to achieve balanced objectivity, practicality, and the highest quality
in its many projects. In the process, a tremendous camaraderie and
loyalty has developed among the Foundation’s constituency which dates
back for many years.
As the Foundation enters its 55th year, consider becoming an Annual
Member, serving on a Foundation committee, and joining a growing group
of individuals, law firms, companies, government agencies, and
organizations dedicated to supporting legal scholarship in the natural
resources community. The goals of the Foundation cannot be achieved
without the active support of its Annual Members. Our thanks and
appreciation are extended to all of you!
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