Culp & Kelly, LLP is a mission-driven law and policy firm that is focused on addressing the critical issues regarding water, environmental, and natural resource management in the American West.

Who We Are

We combine legal expertise, managerial experience, technical understanding, and a deep grounding in policy to represent and work with non-governmental organizations, foundations, municipalities, government agencies, industry, agricultural interests, and investors.

Culp & Kelly, LLP, and its subsidiary, CK Blueshift, LLC, operate as a joint enterprise that offers clients a unique integration of legal, policy, and technical solutions for water, environmental, and natural resource management challenges.

Our Services

Water Law & Policy

Environmental Law

Natural Resources

Climate Change & Water Risk

Agency & Congressional Relations

Strategic Advice

Meet Our Team

Joan Card

Managing Partner

Joan Card

Managing Partner
Licensed in Arizona, Colorado, Utah and Montana (currently inactive in Montana)

Joan is an environmental and natural resources attorney with more than 25 years of combined private sector, federal, state, local, and non-profit experience. Joan has held several senior executive positions in government agencies and is a solutions-oriented legal counselor and strategic advisor. Joan serves clients primarily in environmental and water quality regulatory matters and in innovative and resilient urban water management and natural infrastructure solutions. Joan is a Fellow in the American College of Environmental Lawyers.

Representative Experience

  • Advising a large municipal water provider on the Clean Water Act and CERCLA compliance and risk for an innovative water rights acquisition involving an inactive hard rock mine in Colorado
  • Assisting a large municipality in Arizona with EPA oversight and negotiations related to a complex, CERCLA National Priorities List VOC site and groundwater remediation program impacted by per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including review of studies, work plan review, and the work to negotiate modifications to the governing Record of Decision and governing federal Consent Decree
  • Assisting a large municipality in Colorado concerning a voluntary clean-up (VCUP) investigation and remediation related to PFAS occurrences in soil and groundwater at a former municipal fire department training facility in a densely populated urban area
  • Advising large, medium, and small municipal water and wastewater service providers with a variety of Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act permitting and compliance issues, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Endangered Species Act (ESA) for federally permitted water utility projects
  • Counseling both local and national NGOs with various environmental and natural resources issues, such as federal mining claims and mine permitting, watershed-based planning, natural infrastructure, NEPA reviews, conservation easements, and Clean Water Act mitigation bank projects

Peter W. Culp

Managing Partner

Peter W. Culp

Managing Partner
Licensed in Arizona

Peter is a nationally-recognized Western water law and water policy attorney, and has more than 20 years of experience working on a broad range of water law and policy, natural resources law and policy, U.S. environmental law, and federal Indian law matters. He represents a variety of municipalities, water agencies, industrial and energy companies, developers, investment firms, and non-profit organizations and foundations, and is a respected strategic advisor to clients facing the challenges of water and natural resource scarcity in the West.

Representative Experience

  • Representing a major urban water utility in water supply, water rights, and water policy matters related to the management of the Colorado River and the evaluation and management of climate-driven water risks
  • Participation in the development, negotiation, and implementation of five new international agreements (Minutes 316, 317, 318, 319, and 323) to the U.S.-Mexico Treaty of 1944 on behalf of binational conservation organizations
  • Assisting and advising national and regional nonprofit conservation organizations on matters related to the Law of the Colorado River, the development of related interstate agreements, and other water law and policy matters in the Western United States
  • Creating, implementing, and advising on water-related investments, developing innovative conservation finance tools and strategies, and assisting with the assessment of water supply risk and water-related investment risks for investment funds, nonprofit foundations, landowners, and business interests
  • Representing municipal and conservation interests in legislative matters related to environmental, natural resources, and regulatory issues
  • Developing and implementing a comprehensive West-wide program to improve the management of state trust lands across 11 Western states
  • Siting, permitting, and regulatory compliance for industrial, energy, and municipal facilities under state and federal environmental laws

Peter is a Fellow in the American College of Environmental Lawyers, and has served on a number of public and non-profit boards and commissions; this includes current service as a member of the board of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and the Board of Visitors for the University of Arizona College of Law. In connection with his extensive public policy work, Peter has been twice awarded the Partners in Conservation Award from the office of the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, the Nature Conservancy of Arizona’s Outstanding Conservation Achievement Award, and the Arizona Capitol Times Leader of the Year Award in Public Policy. He received the Michael J. Brophy Distinguished Service Award from the State Bar of Arizona in 2022.

Jennifer A. Diffley

Partner

Jennifer A. Diffley

Partner
Licensed in Arizona, California, and Nevada

Jennifer supports various public, private and nonprofit clients on natural resources management and water law and policy. Her work focuses on water scarcity issues in the Western United States, sustainable groundwater management, conservation program strategy and finance, and collaborative planning and advocacy around natural resources and water policy. She also has experience in utilities, government, and administrative law, and in social science, environmental science, and environmental education.

Representative Experience

  • Assisting and advising nonprofit conservation organizations in policy and programmatic efforts around the Law of the Colorado River and western states’ water laws
  • Developing and advocating for groundwater management policy reforms in Arizona and Nevada
  • Supporting facilitated negotiations around cooperative monitoring and management of land and water resources in Arizona between federal and local government entities
  • Advising nonprofit and municipal clients and developing public education materials on integrating water management and land use policies
  • Advising agricultural landowners and investment companies in water-related due diligence, regulatory compliance, and portfolio management

Mary E. Kelly

Partner

Mary E. Kelly

Partner
Licensed in Texas

With more than three decades of environmental law, policy, and advocacy experience, Mary is a nationally respected environmental lawyer and non-profit program manager. She provides environmental analysis and advocacy services to non-profits, philanthropic foundations, and other organizations. Mary’s areas of expertise include water law and policy, ecosystem restoration law and policy, U.S./Mexico border environmental issues, strategy development, grant writing, strategic fundraising and non-profit management.

Representative Experience

  • Advising a multi-organization collaborative on strategy, advocacy, fundraising and management for protecting and restoring the Colorado River Basin
  • Providing legal and policy services to a broad coalition of philanthropic foundations working to increase support for better water management and river restoration
  • Assisting a national conservation organization in development and execution of on-the-ground projects to conserve water and restore streams in the Upper Colorado River
  • Advising a national conservation organization on improving groundwater management in Texas

Kelly J. Kennedy

Partner

Kelly J. Kennedy

Partner
Licensed in Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico

Kelly practices in water, environmental, and natural resources law, helping clients understand and navigate complex challenges surrounding water scarcity, climate change, and sustainable development. She works with a wide range of clients, including municipalities, corporations, investment groups, policy institutes, and non-profit organizations. Her work focuses on water law and policy and its nexus with aridification management and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Representative Experience

  • Assisting and advising a large municipality in Arizona on complex Colorado River law and policy matters, including drafting contracts and participating in state and local negotiations
  • Supporting a large municipality in climate change mitigation and adaptation at the local, state, and federal level, including decision making under deep uncertainty
  • Advising a non-profit organization on the development and application of a nation-wide water-related technology application
  • Assisting in the development of models and data visualizations assessing potential shortage impacts to Colorado River water users
  • Developing and assisting corporate, municipal, and non-profit clients with resilient water management strategies
  • Assisting and advising investment firm in water-related due diligence and investment strategies
  • Supporting non-profit organizations with water-related legislation drafting

Laura S. Ziemer

Partner

Laura S. Ziemer

Partner
Licensed in Montana and Washington (currently inactive in Washington)

Laura is a nationally recognized expert in Western water law and policy, with experience as an environmental lawyer spanning more than three decades. Her areas of expertise beyond water law include administrative law and permitting, NEPA compliance and review, NGO program development, tribal reserved water rights, and a broad range of public and private land management and restoration experience.  Laura’s work includes building and executing strategic campaigns to drive change across legislative, regulatory, and administrative arenas, including work in sustainable groundwater management, recognition and protection of instream water use, water rights transactions, and new funding and authorities for watershed restoration.

Representative Experience

  • Advising conservation organizations on opportunities for, and alignment of, federal funding with program mission and strategic objectives across multiple federal agencies
  • Building conservation program design and grantmaking strategy on behalf of philanthropic entity
  • Advising multiple nonprofit organizations and diverse coalitions on strategic engagement for legislative change of several programs in the Conservation Title of the Farm Bill relating to western working lands sustainability, restoration, and viability in the face of extended drought
  • Assisting conservation organizations with permitting and NEPA compliance for aquatic restoration project implementation
  • Advising a coalition of conservation organizations in the areas of permitting streamlining for restoration and advancing mitigation outcomes under NEPA compliance.  
  • Analysis of federal funding through Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act for watershed restoration and strategic support for reauthorization efforts

With Support from CK Blueshift

Margot M. Molloy

Principal

Margot M. Molloy

Principal

Margot is a strategist, facilitator and executive coach with over a decade of experience working with Fortune 500 companies, non-profits, public agencies, and foundations. Her areas of expertise include incubating, implementing and managing complex new initiatives, supporting leadership in transition, and facilitating the development of strategic plans among diverse stakeholders. Margot also has extensive experience analyzing natural resources regulations and climate policy.

Representative Experience

  • Guiding the development of a multi-year funding plan for a new foundation focused on drought resilience in the West as well as facilitation of a cross-agency review and approval of funding plan
  • Facilitating OpenET collaborative led by NASA, the Desert Research Institute, and Environmental Defense Fund, working with leading scientists to develop an online platform for mapping evapotranspiration in the West
  • Developing and supporting new organizations by providing organizational; design, board recruitment and management, and staff/Board retreat design and facilitation
  • Providing executive coaching to first time Executive Director of a growing non-profit

Dr. Caroline Nash

Principal

Dr. Caroline Nash

Principal

Caroline is a hydrologist and geomorphologist with extensive experience implementing and evaluating process-based watershed restoration throughout the American West. She combines a robust technical and scientific knowledge base with community-engaged practices to develop projects and evaluation frameworks uniquely tailored to local conditions and objectives. Caroline's work includes translating lessons learned from these place-based efforts to provide guidance to foundations and government entities on policy and funding.

Representative Experience

  • Preparing a watershed management plan and subsequent federal grant applications for a regional collaborative that integrated local knowledge with publicly available data, peer-reviewed science and white papers
  • Designing process-based valley floor restoration projects on private, leased, state, and federal grounds
  • Permitting and administering contracts for ground-based construction, including heavy-equipment operators and volunteer crews; preparing as-builts for regulatory agencies
  • Developing, disseminating and publishing practice-oriented evaluation and monitoring frameworks for stream and vegetation health in collaboration with universities and federal agencies
  • Advising agencies and foundations on developing programs and initiatives to support investment in on-the-ground watershed management and restoration projects

Elijah Tangenberg

Associate

Elijah Tangenberg

Associate

Elijah is a water resources expert whose work focuses on developing and implementing innovative water conservation programs. His work at CK Blueshift centers on creating partner relationships and strategies for BlueCommons, a first of its kind ‘Blue Bank’  focused on financing a new generation of water efficiency projects.  He has worked with municipalities, non-profits and businesses to rapidly create water-saving projects tailored to their goals and operations. He also has experience analyzing the efficacy of water markets and groundwater management organizations in the American West.

Representative Experience

  • Worked with a large Arizona municipality to develop water conservation programs built on public-private partnerships
  • Developed collaborations between governments, non-profits and corporate partners on sensitive water resource issues
  • Researched the design and implementation of natural resource markets using the Institutional Analysis and Development Framework

Dr. Cam Wobus

Principal

Dr. Cam Wobus

Principal

Cam is a broadly trained earth scientist with expertise in hydrology, geomorphology, climate change, and economics. For over a decade, he has supported state and federal agencies, water utilities, and investors with the quantification and monetization of climate change impacts on flood risk, water availability, and ecosystem health. He has also supported state governments, tribes, and NGOs on multiple natural resource damage assessments and environmental impact assessments related to oil spills, industrial activities, and mining. He maintains a research affiliation at the University of Colorado, where he continues grant-funded research on behalf of NSF, NASA, and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Prior to joining CK Blueshift, Cam held positions as a Senior Scientist at Lynker Technologies and as a Principal at Abt Associates (formerly Stratus Consulting).

Representative Experience

  • Supporting a coalition of nonprofit conservation groups on environmental issues related to management of the Colorado River
  • Combining OpenET data with crop type and precipitation data to estimate the water footprint of agriculture and identify conservation opportunities in the southwestern United States
  • Participating in grant-funded research to use satellite and ground-based snow monitoring datasets to improve water supply forecasts for water utilities
  • Developed climate, ecosystem, and infrastructure models for the U.S. EPA climate science and impacts branch, to estimate the monetary impacts of climate change on various sectors of the U.S. economy
  • Served as an expert to support the State of Louisiana’s natural resource injury claims related to shoreline oiling, coastal erosion, and fish communities resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
  • Supported a coalition of NGOs, Alaska native organizations and industry groups in evaluating potential downstream impacts to hydrology and water quality related to a proposed copper mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska

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