Mike Brennan
Senior Advisor
michael.brennan@ag.tamu.eduAs program director for the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute, Mike Brennan directs the institute’s Wildlife Conservation and Mitigation Program. His work focuses on the development of innovative conservation strategies for the resolution of complex threatened, endangered and sensitive species conservation challenges nationwide.
Mike, who lives in Wilson, Wyoming, has practiced environmental and natural resources law since 1983. He is a nationally recognized practitioner in matters involving the Endangered Species Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, and other U.S. federal and state wildlife laws.
He obtained his law degree from the University of Oregon School of Law. He has worked with the law firm of Holland & Hart, LLC, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and recently as principal of Michael J. Brennan, P.C., Conservation Law and Policy. In that capacity, he pursued the development of broad-based, collaborative efforts involving species conservation and advised both public and private sector clients regarding strategic planning and policy development, and the shaping of conservation policy to promote and encourage effective private and public sector conservation efforts.
Mike is a member of the American College of Environmental Lawyers and an adjunct professor of and senior advisor to the University of Wyoming’s Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources and the Ruckelshaus Institute.
Research Reports
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Improving Cooperative State and Federal Species Conservation Efforts
May 2020
Temple Stoellinger, Michael Brennan, Sara Brodnax, Ya-Wei Li, Murray Feldman and Bob Budd, Improving Cooperative State and Federal Species Conservation Efforts, 20(1) Wyo. Law Rev. 183 (2020).
Field Notes
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Creative Solutions for Species Management: The ESA Toolbox
Jun 1, 2025
Today, the DOD manages over 500 species listed as either threatened or endangered under the ESA and hundreds more “species-at-risk” that may warrant federal protection in the future. The DOD is committed to providing conditions compatible with conducting military training, testing, and operational missions while ensuring the conservation of ecosystems on which these species depend. However, in some circumstances, overlap between military mission activities and species habitats can result in area access and training constraints. Creatively managing the military mission and species conservation can reduce—or even eliminate—potential conflicts.