John Shurts '83 is the General Counsel in the Legal Division of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. His undergraduate degree in history is from The Colorado College, and he holds both a law degree from Lewis and Clark Law School and a Ph.D. degree in American History at the University of Oregon, with an emphasis on environmental and legal history. His dissertation on the origin and development of Indian reserved water rights was recently published by University of Oklahoma Press as INDIAN RESERVED WATER RIGHTS: THE WINTERS DOCTRINE IN ITS SOCIAL AND LEGAL CONTEXT, 1880S-1930S. John is an adjunct professor at both the law school and the undergraduate campus of Lewis and Clark College, teaching courses in energy law, natural resources law, environmental history and natural resources policy and politics.