Caitlin grew up in Northern Wisconsin, on the shores of Lake Superior, in an area dependent on agriculture, but abundant in water. Caitlin developed a love for water resources and an enthusiasm for rural life at a young age. She earned her Bachelor’s in Science in 2016 from Northland College, in Ashland Wisconsin where she studied Natural Resource Sciences, including many water sciences. Soon after, Caitlin moved to Oregon, where she first came in contact with the struggles of managing water in an arid landscape.
Caitlin’s first dabble in water law focused on harmonizing water quality management with agricultural use in Washington. Caitlin worked with Washington Farm Bureau Attorneys as they participated in the Washington Department of Ecology’s advisory board for the creation of Best Management Practices for agricultural nonpoint source water pollution. Caitlin later began working in water rights (water quantity) law at the Freshwater Trust in Portland, Oregon. Her work there focused primarily on determining funding for cooperative agricultural water conservation projects in an effort to update irrigation systems, increase efficiency of water use, and improve instream conditions for fish habitat at little-to-no cost to the farmer.
Caitlin received her Juris Doctorate and Certificate in Natural Resource and Environmental Law from the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis and Clark College in 2019. She is admitted to the Nevada State Bar, the Federal District of Nevada, the Idaho State Bar, the Federal District of Idaho, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Her areas of practice include: agricultural, municipal, and irrigation district water use permitting, extensions, perfection, transfers, compliance, and protection; vested claim and historical water use research and adjudication; groundwater interference and connection; water use in designated, critical and limited areas; public lands (easements/right-of-way, permitting use, grazing); agribusiness and business incorporation and formalities; and litigation.
Education:
J.D., Northwestern School of Law, Lewis and Clark College, Portland Oregon 2019
- Certificate in Natural Resource and Environmental Law
- Student Bar Association, Faculty Advisory Committee
- Public Interest Law Project, Benefit Auction Director
- Probate and Estate Planning Society, President
- Lewis and Clark Scholar List, Dean’s Scholarship recipient
- DuBoff Jones Endowed Scholarship Recipient
- Capstone: One Fish, Two Fish, Netted Fish, Loose Fish: Net Pen Fish Farming in the Puget Sound and its Effects on the Pacific Salmon Fishery
B.S. cum laude, Northland College, Ashland, Wisconsin: Natural Resource Science 2016
- Dean’s List
- Veritas Honor Society
- Eco-Visionary Scholarship recipient
- Environmental and Outdoor Program Scholarship recipient
- Sigurd Olson Environmental Scholarship recipient
- Thesis: Integrated Ecosystem Land Management Plan for Sigurd Olson Legacy Property, Seely, WI
Bar Admissions
- Nevada
- Federal District of Nevada
- Idaho
- Federal District of Idaho
- Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Caitlin’s Posts
Caitlin Skulan’s Posts on the Water-Law Blog
