Our Focus
Our Focus
Ferguson & Coppes, PLLC is A Natural Resource Law Firm.
Ferguson & Coppes is a natural resource law firm. Natural resource law governs how we as a society use and manage those parts of the environment that have various economic or societal benefits. Most commonly our work includes the water, land, plants and animals that occupy Montana’s landscape, both as a part of the private and public domain. The importance of these resources to Montana’s citizens, businesses, and environment means that ownership and management of these resources must be adjudicated carefully, responsibly, and with expertise. Ferguson & Coppes is here to help you do just that.
Water Law
Water Law is the cornerstone of Ferguson & Coppes. For over 20 years, our attorneys have provided high-quality representation in every conceivable water related issue for clients throughout the State of Montana. Our attorneys have considerable experience representing individuals and groups in complex water cases, whether in adjudication proceedings before the Montana Water Court, contested-case hearings before the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC), or in water distribution controversies in District Courts. Simply put, if you have an issue that deals with water, one of our attorneys can help.
Property Law
Property law represents an important component of natural resource law, governing the use and management of private rights, whether in land or water. In connection with the firm’s natural resource law foundation, Ferguson & Coppes attorneys are experts in all aspects of Montana property law. Our attorneys commonly handle drafting, negotiation and litigation surrounding real property transactions, easements, ditches, boundaries, roads, fences, and access.
Environmental and Administrative Law
Environmental law is a legal specialty that deals broadly with the regulation, management and protection of the natural world. Due to Montana’s large acreage of federally owned lands and the presence of numerous federally protected species, environmental issues in Montana often involve the federal court system. And, due to the regulatory oversight of executive agencies over these resources, these matters involve the world of administrative procedure.
Our attorneys have significant experience both working with federal agencies to accomplish client goals and litigating against them in federal court when that process does not bear fruit. Combining experience, our attorneys represent clients in a variety of issues involving the Clean Water Act (CWA), Endangered Species Act (ESA), National Forest Management Act (NFMA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and Administrative Procedures Act (APA).
Similarly, Montana has state-based analogs to these laws in the Montana Water Quality Act, the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA), and the Montana Administrative Procedures Act (MAPA). The attorneys at Ferguson & Coppes are well versed at litigating these administrative record review cases, having victoriously represented clients from trial through appeal in some of Montana’s largest and most complex administrative natural resource matters.
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