Montana Environmental Information Center Inc

MEIC IS A NONPROFIT, NONPARTISAN ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCATE. ITS MISSION IS TO PROTECT AND RESTORE MONTANA'S CLEAN AND HEALTHFUL NATURAL ENVIRONMENT. ITS MOST SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITIES INCLUDE: MONITORING AND INFLUENCING MONTANA STATE GOVERNMENT ACTIONS (INCLUDING USING LITIGATION AS A LAST RESORT); EDUCATING THE PUBLIC ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES; AND HELPING OTHER NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS WITH SIMILAR CONCERNS. MEIC WORKS ON A WIDE RANGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES INCLUDING: GLOBAL WARMING AND CLIMATE CHANGE; ENERGY POLICIES AND PROMOTING RENEWABLE ENERGY; AIR POLLUTION; WATER POLLUTION; HARDROCK AND COAL MINING; LOCAL LAND USE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT; MANAGEMENT OF STATE-OWNED LANDS; AND DEFENDING MONTANANS' RIGHTS TO A CLEAN AND HEALTHFUL ENVIRONMENT AND TO PARTICIPATE IN GOVERNMENT. MEIC'S FINANCIAL SUPPORT COMES FROM ITS MEMBERS AND OTHER NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.

MONITORED AND INFLUENCED THE DECISIONS AND ACTIVITIES OF MONTANA STATE GOVERNMENT (PRIMARILY), AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND MONTANA LOCAL GOVERNMENTS (SECONDARILY), THAT AFFECT THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT. MEICS STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS TALKED TO, MET WITH, AND WROTE TO GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS DURING THE YEAR, ATTENDED PUBLIC HEARINGS AND MEETINGS, SUBMITTED WRITTEN COMMENTS ON PROPOSED GOVERNMENT ACTIONS, AND WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR GENERATING THOUSANDS OF COMMUNICATIONS FROM MEIC MEMBERS AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC TO GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS. IN ADDITION, MEIC WAS A PLAINTIFF OR INTERVENOR IN A NUMBER OF LEGAL ACTIONS INVOLVING GOVERNMENT DECISIONS.

EDUCATED INDIVIDUALS ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES, THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, POLLUTION ISSUES, AND THEIR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS. MEIC PUBLISHED IN PRINT AND ELECTRONIC FORM FOUR ISSUES OF OUR QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER THAT WAS DISTRIBUTED TO AS MANY AS 6,000 INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS, SPONSORED NUMEROUS PUBLIC EVENTS, MADE PRESENTATIONS TO STUDENT AND CIVIC GROUPS, DISTRIBUTED A HUNDRED OR MORE ELECTRONIC ACTION ALERTS, AND MAINTAINED AN ACTIVE PRESENCE IN VARIOUS SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS (INCLUDING OVER 11,000 PEOPLE ON FB). ADDITIONALLY, MEIC WAS THE SOURCE OF INFORMATION FOR OVER 100 STORIES IN PRINT AND ELECTRONIC MEDIA OUTLETS, IN MONTANA AND THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, AND WAS SPECIFICALLY MENTIONED IN NEWS STORIES, OR ITS STAFF QUOTED, OVER 100 TIMES.

SUPPORTED INDIVIDUALS AND OTHER NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS TO ADDRESS LOCALIZED ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES OF CONCERN TO THEM. MEIC ASSISTED OVER 200 INDIVIDUALS DURING THE YEAR THROUGH ONE-ON-ONE ADVISING OR WITH AN MEIC STAFF MEMBER MEETING WITH A COMMUNITY-LED GROUP, PROVIDING INFORMATION, STRATEGIC AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, AND SERVICES.