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Mark Stermitz is Senior Counsel in the Missoula office, in the Energy and Environmental Practice Group. Mark is one of the firm’s most experienced litigators and is often responsible for leading high-profile energy and environmental cases. 

Mark has more than 40 years of complex litigation experience. Besides the many years he has practiced in Montana, Mark served as a trial attorney for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., handling environmental cases across the country. After his time at the Department of Justice, Mark became Assistant General Counsel for the Port of Portland, Oregon, handling environmental and land use matters for the Port’s marine, aviation, and development divisions.  From there, Mark joined the Glaser Weil law firm in Los Angeles, where in addition to civil and environmental litigation, he was responsible for the energy and environmental aspects of MGM Mirage’s $8.5 billion, 67 acre Las Vegas CityCenter development. Mark joined Crowley Fleck in 2010 and was first co-leader of the firm’s Energy and Environmental Practice Group upon its creation.. 

Mark is admitted to practice in Montana, California, Oregon, and North Dakota. He has been named one of the Best Lawyers in America® for Environmental and Natural Resources Law every year since 2013. He has been an AV Preeminent Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Rating™ and AV Preeminent Martindale-Hubbell® Judicial Edition Rating™ attorney for many years.  He also tries to maintain an active pro bono practice. In 2014 he was named a Champion of Justice for the 35th Anniversary of the Montana Justice Foundation. He serves as the Program Co-Chair for an annual seminar on Land Use Law in Montana. 

Mark is proud to be a native Montanan, a U.S. Navy veteran, and a former smokejumper. In his free time Mark enjoys Montana’s many opportunities for outdoor activities.

  • Best Lawyers in America®, Environmental Law and Natural Resources Law
  • AV Preeminent Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Rating™
  • AV Preeminent Martindale-Hubbell® Judicial Edition Rating™
  • U.S. Attorney General’s Special Achievement Award
  • Montana Justice Foundation, Champion of Justice, 2014

  • State Bar of Montana
  • Oregon State Bar Association
  • California State Bar Association
  • North Dakota State Bar Association
  • American Bar Association

  • Board member, Missoula Senior Center
  • Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks West Fork Bitterroot River Regulation Committee

  • Program Chair, “Land Use Law In Montana,” Missoula, MT, November 2018-present
  • Presentation, “Permitting Strategies for Large, Controversial Projects,” Seattle, WA, March 2017
  • Panel, “Legal Obstacles to Energy Development,” Billings, MT, March 2016
  • January 2013 – Presentation, “Eminent Domain Compensation in Western States,” Western Governors Assoc., Scottsdale, AZ, January 2013
  • Author, Paris Climate Accord, Best Lawyers, September 1, 2017

  • Held, et al. v. State of Montana, et al. 2024 MT 312 (Mont. 2024)
  • Protect the Clearwater v. Mont. DEQ and LHC, Inc., 2024 MT 181
  • Belk v. Mont. DEQ, 2022 MT 38 (Mont. 2022)
  • Defenders of Wildlife v. U.S. Army Corps of Eng., 2018 WL 1615962 (9th Cir. 2018)
  • Montanore Minerals Corp. v. Bakie, 867 F.3d 1160 (9th Cir. 2017)
  • Western Montana Community Partners, Inc. v. Austin, 2017 WL 2616951 (9th Cir. 2017)
  • Nat. Wildlife Federation v. National Marine Fisheries Service, (D.Ore.), 2017 WL 1829588
  • Indigenous Environmental Network V. U.S. Dept. of State, 317 F.Supp.3d 1118 (D. Mont. 2018)
  • Masters Group Intn’l, Inc. v. Comerica Bank, 380 Mont. 1, 352 P.3d 1101 (2015)
  • Mines Management Inc. v. Fus, 376 Mont. 375 (2014)
  • Northern Plains Resource Council v. Mont. Bd. Land Commn’rs, 366 Mont. 399 (2012)
  • United States v. ConocoPhillips Company, 2011 WL 4709887 (D. N.D. 2011)
  • Dembrowski v. City of West Hollywood, 2010 WL 1212411 (Cal. Ct. App., 2nd Dist.)
  • Grant School Dist. No. 3 v. Dombeck, 2005 WL 660677 (9th Cir. 2005)
  • Center for Biological Diversity v. Pirie, 191 F.Supp.2d 161 (D.D.C. 2002)
  • Carlton v. Babbitt, 147 F.Supp.2d 4 (D.D.C. 2001)

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