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.”

“Ravages of coal strip mining. Powder river currently has members throughout wyoming and several other states and is affiliated with four grassroots citizen groups in wyoming. Powder river basin resource council is the only group in wyoming that actively addresses both agricultural and conservation issues. The group unites both individuals with strong conservation convictions and agriculturalists with a deep respect for the land 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 publishes the powder river breaks on a bimonthly basis from january/february to november/december of each year. This 8 to 16 page newsletter contains information on the different projects undertaken by powder river in the past months. It is provided to members and is available to the public at designated drop sites. Powder river maintains a website at www.powderriverbasin.org that informs and educates the public on conservation issues that powder river basin resource council is addressing. Powder river basin resource council maintains three office locations in wyoming. The main office is located in sheridan and the others are in cheyenne and gillette. Powder river's work is overseen by the powder river basin resource council 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 that is held in the autumn of each year and is open to the public. Every year a keynote speaker provides insights and information on selected issues and is open to questions from the audience that normally exceeds 200 people. In 2015, andrew nikiforuk, award winning canadiaon author on energy and conservation, provided the key note. Powder river members write letters to the editors and editorials to local and state wide newspapers addressing the issues on which our organization is working on. Every year powder river sponsors scholarships at the wyoming high school state science fair for science projects that promote conservation and education on the prairie ecosystems of wyoming. The youth in conservation awards are a cash award given to participants in the wyoming state science fair whose projects best meet the criteria for the award. Each year powder river judges select the best projects out of the many they view at the state science fair. This fair is visited by thousands of students and adults each year. The youth in conservation award was started with funds received by powder river in memoriam of bill barlow, one of our founding members. The awards work to engage young people in public policy debates surrounding energy development and its impacts on wyoming's land, water and air resource. Criteria for the award is on the powder river website. In 2015 the awardees were dante sylvester, a senior at greybull high school, for his study on "silt application improve mine reclamation- and atalie thatcher, a junior lander high school, for her project, "in a flash, regrowth in ash". Cartridges for kids recycling - cfk (cartridges for kids) is a recycling program that powder river basin resource council has been participating in since april 2011 to help fund our youth in conservation program. We recycle cell phones, laptops, mp3 players, pdas, laser and inkjet cartridges, tablets, e-readers and notebooks. We recycle at four locations in the sheridan area. In 2015, powder river was instrumental in leading the people's efforts to reduce impacts of oil and gas development in wyoming and protect their health, safety and welfare. Powder river succeeded in getting an increased setback for oil and gas wells (albeit not as much as we hoped) and the new setback requirement requires mitigation measures for home”