Huron Pines Resource Conservation & Development Council Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
382502172
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Gaylord, MI, USA
Phone
9894482293
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Natural Resources Conservation and Protection

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,039,722
Expenses
$5,557,712
Assets
$9,115,803
Liabilities
$1,129,805

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • BRAD JENSEN (EXECUTIVE DI): $161,998 total reported compensation
  • LISHA G RAMSDELL (ASSOCIATE DI): $129,348 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

It is our mission at huron pines to conserve and enhance northern Michigan's natural resources to ensure healthy water, protected places and vibrant communities. For alomst 50 years, our work across the forests, lakes and streams of northern Michigan has helped improve economic, environmental, educational and recreational opportunities. When we engage people in conservation stewardship, we support sustainable, empowered communities rich with protected natural resources.

What it reported doing in 2025

Protected places program: through careful prioritization, planning and execution huron pines protects and restores some of northern Michigan's most iconic places including the jack pine plains of the au sable river, the dunes of negwegon state park, the shores of lake huron and the forests of pigeon river country. These wild places provide the ideal habitat for threatened and endangered species like hines' emerald dragonfly, piping plover, pitcher's thistle, eastern massasauga rattlesnake and kirtland's warbler. Huron pines engages communities and conservation partners across the region to support these threatened species. One way we do this is by leading the huron coastal and huron heartland invasive species networks, which bring together regional partners to improve wildlife habitat through invasive species management and native habitat restoration. Huron pines also engages in direct land protection through conservation easements, ownership of our own nature preserves and by assisting communities and partners with the acquisition of land for protection and public use.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 75% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 62
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 51
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 75.7%; rating input score 76
  • Program expense ratio: 81.2%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $48.57 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 8%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.64; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.2%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.1% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.4% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19.2% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 75.7% of revenue deployed · 81.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $4.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $162K · 18 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.5M reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 51/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 51/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 44/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 55/100.