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…