Idaho Organization of Resource Councils members are celebrating a major victory for local food production. The Health and Welfare Committees in both chambers of Idaho’s state legislature unanimously passed rules making sales of non-hazardous homemade goods direct to consumers legal in the … Continued
Dakota Rural Action members scored a victory on Jan. 26 when the Brookings, SD, City Council approved a one-year pilot program to allow residents to raise chickens in their backyard. DRA’s Brookings Chicken Advocates have been organizing to legalize backyard chickens … Continued
This week, Dakota Resource Council members spoke out against a proposed 9,000-hog factory farm in Cass County, North Dakota, west of Fargo. DRC members are concerned about the community, economic and environmental impacts of the hog farm. But this single pig farm isn’t their only … Continued
On January 22, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its much anticipated draft rule to curb flaring and venting associated with oil and gas development on federal and tribal lands. WORC and its member groups have been pushing the … Continued
About 120 people gathered at the Northern Plains Resource Council building in Billings last Friday to dedicate a totem pole carved by members of the Lummi Nation in Washington state. The totem pole is a gift from the Lummi to members of the Northern Cheyenne in … Continued
Landowners and downstream water users were successful in gaining a review of the status of reclamation by federal and state agencies overseeing mining at Cloud Peak Energy’s Spring Creek Mine in southeastern Montana. Federal Judge Susan Watters affirmed an earlier decision … Continued
A team of scientists led by Dr. Dan Jaffe, professor of Atmospheric and Environmental Chemistry at the University of Washington, carried out a study of pollution emitted from coal trains and freight trains in the Columbia River Gorge. The study … Continued
Read the full statement from Powder River Basin Resource Council, Northern Plains Resource Council, and WORC here. Today, the Department of Interior announced a complete review of the federal coal program. The review comes in response to calls from citizens … Continued
Early this morning, once-giant coal mining company Arch Coal, Inc. filed for bankruptcy in St. Louis, Missouri. The move was widely anticipated following a missed interest payment to the company’s lenders in mid-December, but is nevertheless grim news for communities … Continued
Landowner members of the Northern Plains Resource Council filed a petition asking the Surface Transportation Board (STB) to permanently close the file on the Tongue River Railroad (TRR). For 38 years the TRR has prevented landowners from making investments and … Continued