Stu Gillespie

Supervising Senior Attorney

Rocky Mountain Office

Stu Gillespie, supervising senior attorney for Earthjustice's Rocky Mountain office, stands outside Utah's Third District Court in Salt Lake City, with his arms crossed, looking directly at the camera.

Bar Admissions

CO

Stu Gillespie

Supervising Senior Attorney Rocky Mountain Office

Perry Wheeler
Public Affairs and Communications Strategist
pwheeler@earthjustice.org

Stu Gillespie is a supervising senior attorney with Earthjustice’s Rocky Mountain office in Denver, Colorado. His practice focuses on protecting our public lands and wildlife, while ensuring clean water for all.

Prior to joining Earthjustice, Stu was a trial attorney with the Department of Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Division, where he represented the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and other agencies in a variety of public lands cases.

At Earthjustice, Stu has successfully represented Tribal clients in their efforts to prevent hard-rock mining and the rollback of Clean Water Act protections. He also halted a large-scale development that threatened to dry up the San Pedro River — one of the last free-flowing rivers in the southwest and a crucial migratory corridor for millions of songbirds. And he successfully defeated the Trump administration’s first attempt to rollback federal protections for streams and wetlands across the nation.

A distinguished graduate of Harvard University and the University of Colorado Law School, Stu clerked for the Colorado Supreme Court and then the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico. Prior to his legal career, Stu was a professional road cyclist racing in Europe.

Perry Wheeler
Public Affairs and Communications Strategist
pwheeler@earthjustice.org

Bar Admissions

CO

Quoted in the News

December 16, 2025

NPR

Colorado approves ‘first-in-the-nation’ water safeguards. Could they be a model for other states?

“This is hopefully a powerful message to other states that they can and should do this, and we can all be in this together and protect our collective waters.”
April 14, 2025

The Lens

A Mississippi flood relief project could harm 90,000 acres of valuable wetlands. Is it worth the tradeoff?

“This proposed project is going to impact over 90,000 acres of wetlands. That’s three times the amount that EPA prohibited in the veto. For them now to reverse course and say the veto doesn’t apply is unheard of.”
January 30, 2025

The Colorado Sun

Colorado law protects state streams, lakes and wetlands no matter who is in the White House, lawmakers say

“If the Corps is really handing out permits without checking compliance to the Clean Water Act, it could hurt Colorado, so the state will have to be vigilant.”
May 8, 2024

The Salt Lake Tribune

Bear River pipeline no longer an option to aid in northern Utah growth

“Until Utah gets serious about addressing upstream water diversions, the lake and all that depends on it will remain at risk,”
January 28, 2024

The Denver Post

After the Supreme Court gutted federal protections for half of Colorado’s waters, can state leaders fill the gap?

“Clean water is one of those things we take for granted, and you don’t really notice until you don’t have it.”
September 7, 2023

Grist

Environmentalists sue Utah for failing to protect the shrinking Great Salt Lake

“The public trust is being increasingly called upon to address this crisis, and it’s up to the courts to enforce it.”

Latest Press Statements

A wide landscape photo of a large brown beach where the lake used to be
February 25, 2026

Groups Seek to Halt Recently-Passed Utah Laws from Derailing Great Salt Lake Lawsuit

Motion filed for temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction over unconstitutional application of H.B. 392 and S.J.R 5
June 30, 2025

Groups File Suit Over Approval of “Boondoggle” Yazoo Pumps Project

EPA and Army Corps illegally approved costly project without considering practicable alternatives
A wide landscape photo of a large brown beach where the lake used to be
March 27, 2025

Judge Rejects Effort by Utah Officials to Derail Great Salt Lake Lawsuit

Utah sought to dismiss lawsuit over its failure to protect the Great Salt Lake
An aerial view of the Great Salt Lake in Utah.
September 17, 2024

Court Hearing Today: The Future of the Disappearing Great Salt Lake

Environmental and community groups argue their case against the State of Utah
A wide landscape photo of a large brown beach where the lake used to be
May 6, 2024

Three-Dozen Law Professors File Amicus Brief in Support of Great Salt Lake Lawsuit

Professors argue public trust doctrine requires the state to intervene on excessive water use