Partner Jackson Hole Office 25 South Willow Street, Suite 200 P.O. Box 68 Jackson,WY 83001 Phone: 307-734-4504 Fax: 800-840-5396 mbrennan@hollandhart.com

PRACTICE AREAS

Wildlife Endangered Species Environmental Natural Resources Governmental Affairs

Mr. Brennan has broad experience with virtually all aspects of the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act and their application to natural resource development activities conducted on public and private lands under permitting authorities such as the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, the National Forest Management Act, the Federal Power Act, the Natural Gas Policy Act, the Mineral Leasing Act, and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. He has also worked extensively with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the wildlife and natural resource conservation provisions of other environmental and public land laws. Mr. Brennan's clients include water resource providers and members of the natural gas, hydropower, mining, oil, real estate development, and other industries.

Mr. Brennan has been active in the environmental and natural resources field since 1983. Following a clerkship with the Honorable Stephanie K. Seymour, United States Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, he joined Holland & Hart in 1983, and practiced environmental law in the firm's Denver and Washington D.C. offices. In 1989, he accepted an appointment with the Bush Administration to serve as the Executive Assistant to the Director of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service within the Department of the Interior. Mr. Brennan left federal service in March of 1993 to return to Holland & Hart.

While at the Department of the Interior, Mr. Brennan served as the personal representative of and advisor to the Director of the Fish & Wildlife Service. His responsibilities included management and resolution of numerous high profile and highly complex conflicts arising under the Endangered Species Act and other authorities of the Department. These responsibilities required him to work with virtually all elements of the Service, the Solicitor’s Office, other bureaus of the Department, particularly the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Reclamation, and with Congress. Mr. Brennan testified before Congress on behalf of the Service and the Department of the Interior.

Mr. Brennan represents clients in Washington, D.C. and throughout the United States. His experience and knowledge make him uniquely qualified to assist clients with virtually all aspects of the Endangered Species Act, including species listing and critical habitat designation, federal permitting concerns, takings liability, and litigation regarding the foregoing. He is well situated to advise and represent clients regarding the broad array of wildlife conservation issues that arise under federal and state wildlife conservation statutes and environmental laws.

HONORS

Who’s Who of America Lawyers (2008-2009)

International Who’s Who in Environmental Lawyers (2004-2009)

Best Lawyers in America (2007-2010)

PROFESSIONAL AND CIVIC ACTIVITIES

Member, American College of Environmental Lawyers

Member, American Bar Association

Member, District of Columbia Bar Association

Member, Wyoming Bar Association

Member, Colorado Bar Association

Member, Nevada Bar Association

Elected to and serves on Holland & Hart’s five member Management Committee

Inaugural member of the American College of Environmental Lawyers, a very small, select group of national environmental law practitioners

PUBLICATIONS AND SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

Mr. Brennan has spoken and written extensively on the Endangered Species Act, wildlife conservation, the National Environmental Policy Act, and other natural resource and environmental law issues. He appears regularly at conferences around the United States.

“Shifting Standards for Implementing NEPA’s Scientific Analysis Requirements,” Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Institute (2007).

“Managing the Wildlife Refuge System: Is Anything Compatible Anymore?” for the American Bar Association’s Natural Resources & Environment Journal, Fall 2005.

“Square Pegs and Round Holes: Application of the ‘Best Scientific Data Available’ Standard in the Endangered Species Act,” for the Tulane Environmental Law Journal (2004).

“Using the Endangered Species Act as a Vehicle in the Pursuit of Ecosystem Management,” Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Institute (1995).

EDUCATION

University of Oregon School of Law (J.D. 1982)
  Order of the Coif
  Managing Editor, University of Oregon Law Review

Colorado College (B.A. 1978)
  Phi Beta Kappa