Victory Roundup
MEIC continues to rack up victories for our clean and healthful environment. Many of these victories were legal victories that help build stronger regulations to protect our clean air, clean water, and livable climate. We are equally proud, though, of the increase of our community engagement activities, thanks to our wonderful members and supporters (like you!).
• MEIC successfully helped convince the U.S. Supreme Court to reject NorthWestern Energy’s attempt to stop new rules for toxic air pollution controls at the Colstrip plant.
• The U.S. and Canada agreed to an International Joint Commission (IJC) at the urging of Tribal and First Nation governments in Montana, Idaho, and British Columbia, and government agencies and NGOs, including MEIC . The IJC will investigate and develop solutions for extensive selenium water pollution flowing into Lake Koocanusa from Canadian coal mines.
• The Montana Supreme Court ruled in favor of MEIC , affirming a 2022 district court ruling that required NorthWestern Energy to pay a fine for failing to invest in Community Renewable Energy Projects (CREPs).
• The Bureau of Land Management announced that it will not issue new coal leases in the Powder
MEIC’s Deputy Director Derf Johnson testified in front of Congress twice in 2024, advocating against corrupt mining companies.
River Basin, the largest coal-producing region in the U.S. MEIC and coalition partners doggedly pursued this end to federal leasing over three presidential administrations and several rounds of litigation – and will endeavor to protect it against future administrations.
• MEIC launched our Community Connectors Program to engage a handful of dedicated individuals who will act as advocates and liaisons between MEIC and the communities in which we work.
• In collaboration with our allies and supporters,
MEIC helped thousands of Montanans across the state speak up for the environment in front of the Public Service Commission, Legislative Interim Committees, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), and the Montana Consumer Counsel.
• MEIC successfully beat back a harmful state law passed in 2023 (HB 576) that weakened protections for our waterways from coal mining pollution through litigation, organizing, and the federal approval process.
• MEIC and our partners leveled oral arguments in front of the Montana Supreme Court twice this year, for the protection of the Smith River and to stop NorthWestern Energy’s methane plant near Laurel.
• In December, the Montana Supreme Court affirmed the major findings of Held v. State of Montana, a youth-led trial that relied on MEIC ’s expertise and decades of our work with many of our allies’ on environmental advocacy in Montana.
Waving Hello and Goodbye
Welcome to our new staff and board members! Read more about our amazing staff and board members on our website: www.meic.org/about/our-people
Farris-Olsen
Board President: Jessie Wiles
Board MeMBers: Gary Aitken
Jessie Big Knife
Rob Farris-Olsen
Grace Gibson-Snyder
Diana Hammer
Steve Martinez
Eva Molina
Jim Sayer
Roger Sullivan
Beth Taylor-Wilson
Neal Ullman
MeiC staff: Ben Catton
Laura Collins
Nick Fitzmaurice
Anne Hedges
Shannon James Derf Johnson
Peyton Olson
Denise Roth Barber
Katy Spence
Julie Wintersteen
Our longtime Board President Kathy Juedeman stepped down in 2024 at the end of her term. We’ve so enjoyed having Kathy at the helm, and her kindness and thoughtful leadership will be missed. We’re delighted that Jessie Wiles has taken on the role of Board President.
We are also beginning 2025 by saying farewell to our Executive Director, Cari Kimball. Cari began working with MEIC in 2018 and took on the role of Executive Director in 2021. Cari is a stalwart supporter of MEIC, saying, “I have loved working alongside our brilliant staff team, visionary board members, and our energetic community of supporters for climate action and a more clean and healthful environment for Montanans. I’m going to miss working at MEIC (BIG TIME), but I’m transitioning away at a time when this organization has fantastic leadership, the whole-hearted commitment of its members, and a solid financial foundation.”
We’re going to miss Cari. Not only has Cari been a fantastic leader and coworker, but she’s been
a wonderful friend and always takes time to sincerely connect with those around her. We wish her all the best for her next chapter.
Ben Catton Research and Legislative Assistant
Laura Collins Sustainable Communities Advocate
Eva Molina Board Member
Shannon JamesClimate & Campaigns Organizer
Jessie Big Knife Board Member
Steve Martinez Board Member
Rob
Board Member
MEIC ’s Executive Director Anne Hedges with outgoing Executive Director Cari Kimball, former Board President Kathy Juedeman, Deputy Director Derf Johnson, and current Board President Jessie Wiles.
Financial Overview
MEIC is grateful for our generous donors, who provide the lion’s share of our funding! The full details of our financial standing are available online.
The Year Ahead
In some ways, it felt like we held our breath through all of 2024. The U.S. election cycle is perpetual and unforgiving, and trying to plan long-term campaigns around who might get elected casts a pall over many elements of environmental work. As the year drew to a close, it became clear that our federal elections were not going to favor environmental champions. In fact, Montana’s Congressional delegation and the new U.S. Presidential Administration have proven pro-fossil fuel, pro-pollution agendas that may undermine many of MEIC ’s campaigns.
The good news is that we survived one Trump Administration, and we can do so again. President Trump claims to champion a “policy of CLEAN AIR and CLEAN WATER,” and we intend to hold him accountable to that promise. MEIC is not alone in this effort; many groups intend to hold the line for our clean and healthful environment, as well as civil and human rights. Truth be told, we’ll need your support more than ever over the next few years. There is power in community and in sharing a unified voice speaking up for clean air, clean water, a livable climate, and environmental justice.
At the state level, 2025 begins with a Legislative Session that is off to an interesting start. There is no longer a Republican supermajority, and the Senate has proven to have some brave moderates. That said, the Session will always present challenges for us. The Legislature’s new online bill tracking system has taken some time to refine, and it’s unclear how long it will take to smooth some of the speedbumps. Most recently, we celebrated a legal win that will re-open bill drafts (“junque files”) to our lobbying team. This is an important victory for our Right to Know as Montanans and for our success at the Capitol.
Post-session, the MEIC team is looking forward to enjoying Montana’s summer to remind ourselves why we do this work: for this beautiful landscape that not only supports life, but enriches it.
2025 will bring challenges, new and old, but Martin Luther King, Jr., reminded us that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice” and justice for the a clean and healthful environment is worth fighting for.
- Anne Hedges, MEIC Executive Director
P.O. Box 1184 Helena, MT 59624
