Remembering Owen Schmidt (1947-2026)
By Steve Odell
Owen Schmidt, a longtime supporter and friend of the US District Court Historical Society, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on May 7, 2026. Owen was a fixture in the Oregon environmental law community during his accomplished, multi-decade career, during which I had the good fortune to work with him on myriad environmental and natural resources cases in the District Court for the District of Oregon. Most of these cases involved litigation involving consequential and often controversial decisions regarding management of the many National Forests within the state. In addition to serving as in-house counsel for the Forest Service at the USDA-Office of General Counsel, Owen also served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, such that he left a major imprint on the development of environmental law in the District. This was especially true in the realm of the National Environmental Policy Act, often referenced as the Magna Carta of U.S. environmental law, on which Owen was recognized nationally as a foremost expert, and led many seminars for lawyers and environmental consultants.
More than just an impressive command of the law, though, what made Owen an outstanding environmental attorney was his deep background in environmental science and abiding affinity for nature, in particular wild birds. In addition to earning a JD from Lewis & Clark Law School, Owen had both a Bachelor’s and Master’s of biology from Minnesota’s St. Cloud State University. It was in pursuing these degrees that he gained a special affinity for studying and working in the field with birds, a passion that remained with him his entire life. Indeed, at the time of his death he was preparing to embark on his 47th annual birding trip to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Owen’s love of birds intersected with another lifelong interest and avidity, photography.
It was in this realm that Owen served the Society for many years as the official photographer at our annual gala dinners and other events. We owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude for having captured so many important moments in the history of the Society as well as many of the individuals who have contributed so greatly to the District. It must be added that Owen provided us with his incredible photographic talents for many years, always in a wholly voluntary capacity. You can see the range of his work for us at https://usdchs.org/prior-picnics
Notwithstanding Owen’s various talents and contributions on so many fronts, I want to offer a few thoughts on his personal attributes that made him such a prized colleague and friend as well. As his photography work for the Society exemplifies, Owen was always eager to take up a laboring oar to be of assistance however he possibly could, without any concern for receiving credit. He was also of unwaveringly good cheer, even in some highly fraught and stressful high-stakes litigation scenarios. In addition, even though Owen was usually just as passionate about his legal views as he was about his many avocations, he always expressed them in a way that was thoughtful, civil, and focused on the merits. He was extremely conscientious about everything he put his mind to and had a sincere desire to serve and educate others, particularly on the subjects that meant so much to him. Finally, Owen was a genuinely kind and generous spirit, and will be deeply missed.
