Biography

A leading expert in environmental and natural resources law and policy, Barton H. “Buzz” Thompson, Jr., JD/MBA ’76 (BA ’72), has contributed a large body of scholarship on environmental issues ranging from the future of endangered species and fisheries to the use of economic techniques for regulating the environment. He is the founding director of the law school’s Environmental and Natural Resources Program, Perry L. McCarty Director of the Woods Institute for the Environment, and a senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. In 2008, the Supreme Court appointed Professor Thompson to serve as a special master in Montana v. Wyoming (137 Original). Professor Thompson is chairman of the board of the Resources Legacy Fund and the Resources Legacy Fund Foundation, a California trustee for The Nature Conservancy, and a board member of both the American Farmland Trust and the Natural Heritage Institute. He also serves as a member of the Science Advisory Board for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Before joining the Stanford Law School faculty in 1986, he was a partner at O’Melveny & Myers in Los Angeles and a lecturer at the UCLA School of Law. He was a law clerk to Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist ’52 (BA ’48, MA ’48) of the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge Joseph T. Sneed of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Key Works

• Barton H. Thompson, Jr., Tragically Difficult: The Obstacles to Governing the Commons, 30 Environmental Law 241-278 (2000).
• Barton H. Thompson, Jr., People or Prairie Chickens: The Uncertain Search for Optimal Biodiversity, 51 Stanford Law Review 1127-1185 (1999).
• Barton H. Thompson, Jr., The Endangered Species Act: A Case Study in Takings & Incentives, 49 Stanford Law Review 305-80 (1997).
• Barton H. Thompson, Jr., Institutional Perspectives on Water Policy and Markets, 81 California Law Review 671-764 (1993).
• Barton H. Thompson, Jr., Judicial Takings, 76 Virginia Law Review 1449 (1990).

In the News

• Montana Wins A Round In Water Lawsuit
  The Washington Examiner - Associated Press, June 04, 2009
• Montana Wins A Round In Water Lawsuit
  Forbes - AP, June 04, 2009

Courses & Programs

Courses

• Environment and Energy Workshop
• Property
• Water Law and Policy

Programs

• Environmental and Natural Resources Law & Policy Program (ENRLP), Robert E. Paradise Professor of Natural Resources Law and Perry L. McCarty Director, Woods Institute for the Environment

Publications & Cases

Recent Publications View All

• Barton H. Thompson, Jr., Ecosystem Services & Natural Capital: Reconceiving Environmental Management (Breaking the Logjam: Environmental Reform for the New Congress and Administration), 17 Environmental Law Journal 460 (2008).
• Jeff Koseff and Buzz Thompson, Transforming Ivory Towers to Eco-versities, Stanford Report, August 22, 2007.
• Katherine Ellison and Barton H. "Buzz" Thompson Jr., Sustainable Agriculture Should Become New Farm Bill Priority, San Jose Mercury News, July 26, 2007, p. 15A.
• Barton H. Thompson, Jr. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist: Prizing People, Place, and History, 58 Stanford Law Review 1695 (2006).
• Joseph L. Sax, Barton H. Thompson, Jr., John Dr. Leshy and Robert H. Abrams, Legal Control of Water Resources, St. Paul, MN: Thomson/West, 4th ed., 2006.
• Paul Goldstein and Barton H. Thompson, Jr., Property Law: Ownership, Use, and Conservation, New York: Foundation Press, 2006.
• Barton H. Thompson, Jr. Conservative Environmental Thought: The Bush Administration and Environmental Policy, 32 Ecology Law Quarterly 307 (2005).
• Barton H. Thompson, Jr. Uncertainty and Markets in Water Resources, 36 Mcgeorge Law Review 117 (2005).
• Barton H. Thompson, Jr., Water Management and Land Use Planning: Is it Time for Closer Coordination? in Wet Growth: Should Water Law Control Land Use? Craig Anthony Arnold, ed., Washington, DC: Environmental Law Institute, 2005.
• Barton H. Thompson, Jr. Watershed Protection: Capturing the Benefits of Nature's Water Supply Services, 29 Natural Resources Forum 98 (2005). (with S.L. Postel)

Affiliations & Honors

Professional Affiliations

• Chair, Science Advisory Board Committee on Valuation of Ecological Systems and Services, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Chair, Board of Directors, Natural Heritage Institute
• Co-Director, Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University
• Senior Fellow (by courtesy), Freeman-Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University
• Member, Science Advisory Board, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Member, Board of Trustees, California Chapter, The Nature Conservancy of California
• Member, Board of Directors, Resources Legacy Fund
• Member, Board of Directors, Resources Legacy Fund Foundation
• Member, Board of Directors, American Farmland Trust

Honors and Awards

• Recipient, John Bingham Hurlbut Award for Excellence in Teaching, Stanford, 1993