Powder River Basin Resource Council

“Members elect the board of directors at the annual meeting.”

“During the annual meeting members of the organization may propose resolutions outlining the activities and projects that they would like the organization to participate in or pursue. The resolution must be approved by a majority vote of the members and the resolutions are then used as guidance by the board of directors to determine the subsequent year's activities or projects.”

“The board reviewed a draft of the form 990 for accuracy and completeness prior to filing.”

“Executive director is responsible for monitoring the compliance of the conflict of interest policy, both internally and with the board of directors. As issues arise, they are carefully analyzed against the policy to ensure the appropriate response and/or reporting of such conflicts.”

“Board of directors reviews job performance and makes recommendation within budget constraints for key staff compensation.”

“The organization makes its governing documents and conflict of interest policy available upon request.”

“- the preservation and enrichment of wyoming's agricultural heritage and rural lifestyle. - the conservation of wyoming's unique land, mineral, water, and clean air resources consistent with responsible use of those resources to sustain the livelihood of present and future generations. - the education and empowerment of wyoming's citizens to raise a coherent voice in the decisions that will impact their environment and lifestyle.”

“Powder river basin resource council's (powder river) mission statement remains the guiding principle for our work: the preservation and enrichment of wyoming's agricultural heritage and rural lifestyle. The conservation of wyoming's unique land, mineral, water, and clean air resources consistent with responsible use of those resources to sustain the livelihood of present and future generations. The education and empowerment of wyoming's citizens to raise a coherent voice in the decisions that will impact their environment and lifestyle. Powder river was founded in 1973 by rural landowners of northeast wyoming working to protect their land, water, and air from the ravages of coal strip mining. Powder river currently has members throughout wyoming and several other states. In 2023 there were five local community groups throughout wyoming affiliated with powder river. Powder river basin resource council is the only group in wyoming that actively addresses agricultural as well as energy and conservation issues. The group unites both individuals with strong conservation convictions and ranchers and farmers with a strong land stewardship ethic around a shared vision to protect and improve wyoming's quality of life. Also, powder river is the only group that addresses split estate and private property rights in addition to public land issues. Powder river members write editorials and letters-to-the-editor regarding the issues we address, which are then published in local and statewide newspapers as well as online news sites. Powder river publishes the powder river breaks on a bimonthly basis from january/february to november/december each year. This newsletter contains information on the issues and projects undertaken by powder river. It is provided to members and is available to the public at libraries across the state and other designated drop sites. Powder river maintains a website at www.powderriverbasin.org that informs and educates the public on issues the organization addresses. Powder river also has a youtube channel where our educational events and videos are available. We also maintain a library in our office containing historical and current documents related to water, land, sustainable agriculture, and resource development issues at our office based in sheridan. Powder river's work is overseen by a 14-member board of directors. Board members are elected from and by the powder river membership for a two-year term. As a grassroots organization, members decide the direction and focus of powder river's work. Members bring resolutions for a vote of membership approval at the annual meeting held in november, which is open to the public. Every year a keynote speaker or panel provides insights and information on selected issues and is open to questions from an audience that normally ranges from 85 to 150 people. In 2024, we celebrated our 52st annual meeting: one big small town our keynote speaker was david romtvedt speaking on behalf of wyoming poet barabara smith. Every year powder river also sponsors awards at the wyoming state science fair for projects that promote conservation and education on the prairie ecosystems of wyoming. The youth in conservation awards are cash awards to selected participants in the science fair whose projects meet the criteria for the award. These awards honor students whose science fair projects study wyoming ecosystems, consider impacts of development on the natural environment or our agricultural heritage, or explore innovative energy alternatives. The winners in 2024, selected by powder river board members, were: greybull high school student tyler searfoss for his senior project in animal science "a continuing analysis of nematode viability: mitigation of agrochemical impacts across different soil profiles utilizing organic carbon and nitrate". The winner from tech trep academy in lander in the junior division was micah smedts "living with beavers: an educational intervention to change perception”