Biography

Senior Fellow (by courtesy), Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies

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 and senior fellow of the Woods Institute for the Environment, and a senior fellow (by courtesy) at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. In 2008, the Supreme Court appointed Professor Thompson to serve as the 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).

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., Water as a Public Commodity, 95 Marquette Law Review 17 (2011).
• Barton H. Thompson, Jr., Beyond Connections: Pursuing Multidimensional Conjunctive Management, 47 Idaho Law Review 265 (2011).
• Kaush Arha and Barton H. Thompson, Jr., Federalism under the Endangered Species Act, in The Endangered Species Act and Federalism, Kaush Arha and Barton H. Thompson, Jr., editors, London: RFF Press, 2011.
• Kaush Arha and Barton H. Thompson, editors, The Endangered Species Act and Federalism: Effective Conservation through Greater State Commitment, London: RFF Press, 2011.
• Kaush Arha and Barton H. Thompson, Jr., Toward Greater State and Local Commitment, in The Endangered Species Act and Federalism, Kaush Arha and Barton H. Thompson, Jr., editors, London: RFF Press, 2011.
• Barton H. Thompson, Jr., Sustainable Water Use: Envisioning a Sustainable Water Future for the American West, Water Report, May 15, 2011, p. 8.
• Ellen Hanak, Jay Lund, Ariel Dinar, Brian Gray, Richard Howitt, Jeffrey Mount, Peter Moyle, Barton “Buzz” Thompson, Managing California’s Water From Conflict to Reconciliation, San Francisco: Public Policy Institute of California, 2011
• Jay S. Golden, K. J. Dooley, J. M. Anderies, B. H. Thompson, G. Gereffi, and L. Pratson, Sustainable Product Indexing: Navigating the Challenge of Ecololabeling, 15 Ecology and Society 8 (online) (2010).
• James N. Sanchirico, Josh Eagle, Stephen R. Palumbi, and Barton H. Thompson, Comprehensive Planning, Dominant-Use Zones, and User Rights: A New Era in Ocean Governance, 86 Bulletin of Marine Science 273 (2010).
• James Salzman, Barton H. Thompson, Jr., Environmental Law and Policy: Concepts and Insights, 3rd ed., New York: Foundation Press, 2010.

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
• Perry L. McCarty 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