Adam Gustafson
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Energy and Natural Resources Division
Adam R.F. Gustafson is a graduate of the University of Virginia. He earned a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School. He clerked first for a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and then for a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Gustafson became an associate at a firm, where he specialized in appellate litigation. He joined another firm that focused on constitutional and administrative law and regulatory policy, where he became a partner.
Gustafson served as Deputy General Counsel at the Environmental Protection Agency, working to develop and defend air quality regulations and providing counseling on administrative law, international, tribal, and other matters. He later became Senior Counsel for Environmental and Regulatory Affairs at Boeing.
Gustafson has served as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Energy and Natural Resources Division since February 2025.
In the News…
U.S. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Energy and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) Adam Gustafson spoke about the U.S. Forest Service’s Gold Butterfly Project, which a federal court authorized last month to manage the Bitterroot National Forest in Ravalli County in southwest Montana.
“Responsible forest management produces much-needed timber, makes housing more affordable, prevents wildfires, and saves lives,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Gustafson. “We are combating efforts to weaponize procedural statutes against the responsible use of America’s vast natural resources. The court in this case properly remanded to the Forest Service in March to allow the agency to correct limited errors, which were quickly addressed. In last week’s decision, the court rightly deferred to the Forest Service’s analysis of environmental effects.”
“The project authorizes almost 5,300 acres of commercial harvest, almost 2,100 acres of non-commercial treatments, prescribed burning, and replanting. Nearly 60% of the treatments are in the wildland-urban interface, and more than 90% are in a treatment area designated under the Healthy Forest Restoration Act,” the Justice Department explained. “Continuing over the course of several years, the project will reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire affecting nearby communities, provide timber products and related jobs, improve water quality, and restore forest habitats.”
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Gustafson? You can let him know at:
The Honorable Adam Gustafson
U.S. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Energy and Natural Resources Division
Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20530
