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 north east 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 and has four local community groups throughout wyoming that are affiliated with powder river. 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 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 letters to the editors and editorials to local and state wide newspapers and internet journals addressing the issues our organization is working to address. 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 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 conservation issues that powder river basin resource council is addressing. We also maintain a library in our office containing historical and current documents related to water, land, sustainable agriculture and resource development issues. Powder river basin resource council has two office locations in wyoming. The main office is located in sheridan and we have an office and staff in laramie. Powder river's work is overseen by the board of directors for the powder river basin resource council. 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 ranges from 100 to 200 people. In 2018, our 46th annual meeting theme was, "our water, our land, our legacy- and featured conservation photographer, mike forsberg, as the keynote speaker. 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 to selected participants in the wyoming state science fair whose projects meet the criteria for the award. Each year judges from powder river 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. 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 alter”