Powder River Basin Resource Council

What it reported doing in 2024

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

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 87.3%; rating input score 87
• Program expense ratio: 92%; rating input score 92
• Fundraising efficiency: $58.29 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 9th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: Limited
• 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
  • 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: Missing
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 6.6%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.97; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 9.6%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings