Western Organization of Resource Councils Education Project

The resource councils are a network of rancher and citizen groups who will use the grant to minimize the impacts of oil and gas development on public lands. With Foundation support, the organization would take advantage of new Department of the Interior oil and gas leasing reforms to protect 600,000 acres of sensitive lands in Wyoming, Colorado, and Montana from leasing; increase the bonding and mitigation requirements for fossil-energy companies; and build a broader base of support among ranchers for public and private land protection. The councils plan to coordinate closely with the Western Energy Project, a Hewlett Foundation-supported West-wide fossil energy reform effort.

The Powder River Basin in northeast Wyoming produces almost half of the coal burned in the United States, accounting for 13 percent of the country’s carbon emissions. This grant would support the organization’s efforts to reduce the volume of coal mined in the Powder River by one-third over the next twelve years, thus reducing emissions in the United States by 4 percent. The Western Organization of Resource Councils will partner with its member organizations and a broad array of regional and national conservation groups to challenge coal leases in the Powder River Basin, ensure the price for coal leased there reflects market and external costs, and organize a wide range of voices, including ranchers, in efforts to reduce coal production.

The Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC) is a regional network of grassroots community organizations that includes 15,000 members and 39 local chapters. This general operating support grant enables WORC to help its member groups succeed by providing training and coordinating work to build sustainable Western communities that balance economic growth with the health of people and stewardship of their land, water, and air resources.