US News & World Report has ranked Vermont Law School’s environmental law program as the best in the nation, according to a release Thursday from the school.

The 2010 edition of America’s Best Graduate Schools will appear on newsstands Tuesday.

Vermont Law School President and Dean Geoffrey Shields said in the statement, "We are committed to protecting the planet's most valuable resource -- our environment. I commend Environmental Law Center Director Marc Mihaly and our outstanding faculty."

Vermont Law School has placed first 12 times since the environmental specialty rankings began in 1991 and has never placed lower than second, according to the statement issued by the school.