Clyde O. Martz

Early History/Schooling:  Clyde Martz was born in Nebraska, and received a bachelors degree from the University of Nebraska in 1941.  As an undergraduate,  Martz had intended to go into business.  But when a professor helped him get a scholarship to Harvard Law School, he changed course and graduated from Harvard with a law degree in 1947.

Tenure as AAG:  Martz was appointed AAG in November 1967 and left at the end of the Johnson Administration in early 1969.  During his tenure the litigating sections of the Division were restructured in order to grant more litigating authority to trial attorneys, to reduce the duplication of work between the Division and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, and to reduce administrative paperwork.  Increased training also was provided to trial attorneys in an effort to get more attorneys into court, increase expertise, and increase the number of cases resolved by the Division.  Martz also was involved in a continuing dispute regarding the treaty fishing rights of the Yakima Indians, as well as a suit involving the condemnation of lands needed for the NASA facility at Cape Canaveral, Florida, and numerous cases involving mining claims.  

Career:  After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Martz put his education on hold and enlisted in the Navy, where he served on the submarine USS Tilefish in the Pacific.  During his service, he earned a Silver Star, Bronze Star, and Letter of Commendation.  After graduation from Harvard Law School in 1947, Martz served as a professor of natural resources law at the University of Colorado for 15 years.  In 1951, he published the first natural resources law casebook, Cases and Materials on the Law of Natural Resources, combining the previously discrete subjects of water law, mining law, and oil and gas law.  In 1962, he joined the firm of Davis Graham & Stubbs, LLP in Denver, Colorado.

After his tenure as AAG, Martz served as Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Colorado (1971-75) and as Solicitor of the Department of the Interior (1980-81).  He is now retired Senior Of Counsel in the natural resources department of Davis Graham & Stubbs.

Personal:  The Clyde O. Martz Teaching Award was established by the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation in 1994 in Martz’s honor.  The award is given to life-long contributors to the teaching of natural resources law.

This material is based on the review of a variety of historical sources, and its accuracy cannot be guaranteed.  If you have any corrections or additional information about this individual or about the history of the Division, please contact ENRD.