IDAHO CONSERVATION LEAGUE INC

Per our current strategic plan, the Idaho Conservation League has two conservation and two organizational priorities. Each of these is supported by a number of activities aimed at achieving the priorities within our varied program areas.

Conservation Priorities
1. Continue to be "Idaho's leading voice for conservation." ICL's conservation successes are based on steadfastly and strategically advancing our long-term goals, like wilderness protection, and on being nimble as we exploit breaking policy opportunities that fit with our strategic criteria. We will continue to work on a broad portfolio of conservation issues that advance our mission and influence.
2. Broaden the base. ICL's power and influence are, in great part, based on the well-established fact that we represent many thousands of people who love Idaho. Our success depends on being able to inform, inspire and empower growing numbers of people

Organizational Priorities
1. Broaden the base. Fundraising is a core strategy for enabling ICL to do business. ICL depends on financial support from many sources. To grow our impact and offset expected declines in foundation revenue, we have to broaden ICL's base of financial supporters.
2. Maintain exceptional staff and board members. Activities under this priority address succession, staff structure, retention and training, leadership among other nonprofits, board recruitment, board support, board structure, and organizational culture.

The Idaho Conservation League uses several core strategies for accomplishing our priorities:

Carrot and Hammer—The Idaho Conservation League will first seek to find collaborative, win/win solutions where possible. Where collaboration fails to yield solutions, ICL will use stronger advocacy including litigation to protect and restore Idaho's environment.

Education and Organizing—Much of ICL's strength is from people who act on and support our vision. We will continue to build our base of support through developing our membership and building a wider constituent base.

Partnering with Others—ICL recognizes the value of other nonprofits, corporations and agencies with shared goals. We will partner with others and provide leadership in partnerships and coalitions to advance our shared vision. In doing so, we will share successes and credit.

Advocacy—ICL will continue advocacy work that advances issues and solutions to protect and restore Idaho's environment. We will empower our members, communities and constituents to act on behalf of the environment in advancing policies and action.

Litigation—ICL will take legal action when appropriate. We will pursue cases of significant importance to protect Idaho's environment, especially situations that can be precedent setting or that are of such importance that ICL must act. Litigation has served as both a catalyst to collaboration as well as an alternative strategy. Litigation must be approved by the board of directors.

Learning Organization—ICL is committed to innovation and continuous learning. While successful strategies from prior efforts will continue to work in many future efforts, we recognize that new ways of working will be required. We will be bold and experiment to advance our vision. In doing so, we will identify lessons learned and incorporate them into our best practices.

The Business of ICL—ICL's credibility as a leader in Idaho is based in part on our being a well run nonprofit. ICL is a respected leader in nonprofit best practices, and we are commonly asked to advise and work with partners to share lessons learned. Professional management of revenues and expenses, human resources, restricted and nonrestricted assets, our offices and more are part of who we are.

Impact Investing—ICL has a growing portfolio of assets—property, endowment, reserve, and climate fund—that totals over $4 million at the start of this plan and can be expected to grow beyond $5 million by the end of the plan. ICL's investment strategies have been conservative and consistent for the last decade. The board and staff will explore ways in which ICL can use invested assets, impact investing, and other means to further ICL's mission. ICL will also be exploring options—crowdsourcing and others—for fundraising.

Founded in 1973, the Idaho Conservation League is Idaho's leading voice for conservation. ICL is Idaho's only statewide environmental advocacy organization engaging such a breadth of conservation values that define Idaho.

ICL has a budget of $1.925 million, 24 staff, and offices in Boise, Ketchum and Sandpoint. We are a leader in developing collaborative strategies that bring together diverse stakeholders, building broad social and political support for environmental protection.

ICL's professional staff and works on a broad portfolio of conservation issues. These include urban open space and landscape-level public land protection; threats to wildland values like irresponsible logging, mining and motorized recreation; toxics, energy, water and air protection; policy measures such as state takeover of public land; and more. ICL's executive director, Rick Johnson, has served since 1995 and was ranked 19 on a list of “100 Influential Idahoans," reflecting the credibility of the organization.

A core strength of ICL's policy work is the ability to remain nimble and open to breaking opportunities. In fact, some of ICL's greatest victories have arisen from being able to move when unexpected opportunities presented themselves. In addition, ICL is known to be a collaborator that successfully works with a wide range of stakeholders, regardless of political party, profession, or ideology.

Our website includes a list a accomplishments throughout the more than 40-year history of the Idaho Conservation League. We are especially proud of our accomplishments in this decade:

• In 2017 and 2018 ICL signed two settlements with utilities and state regulators to place two of the three coal power plants serving Idaho on a path to retire by the mid 2020s while increasing investments in efficiency and clean energy sources.

• Won a court decision against Atlanta Gold finding that the mining company was illegally discharging arsenic from its mine into Montezuma Creek, a tributary to the Middle Fork Boise River. Ruling in ICL's favor, the U.S. District Court held that Atlanta Gold violated the Clean Water Act 567 times in the past five years, ordering Atlanta Gold to clean up its act and pay a $502,000 penalty. The ruling marks the second time that the court has found Atlanta Gold guilty of illegal pollution at its mine. In a 2012 lawsuit, the court also ruled in favor of ICL, finding that the mine had violated the Clean Water Act on 2,000 occasions and levying a penalty of $2 million. In addition to Clean Water Act violations, this latest ruling also found Atlanta Gold in contempt of court for failing to adhere to the court's 2012 order directing Atlanta to comply with water quality laws.

• Won a court decision that pushes EPA to enact the provision of the nation's hazardous waste cleanup law—the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, 1983)—that requires bonding by several industries including hardrock mining, chemical manufacturing, petroleum and coal products manufacturing and electric power generation, to cover cleanup costs.

• In 2015, permanently protected one of America's most pristine and wild landscapes, the Boulder-White Cloud Mountains, as wilderness. In 2017, facilitated the buyout of three grazing allotments in the Boulder-White Clouds region totaling 117,733 acres (82,825 acres in wilderness) in some of the best salmon habitat remaining.

• Organized opposition coalition in response to the Idaho Legislature's proposal to take over 28 million acres of federally administered public lands in Idaho.

• Spearheaded a campaign to make the Pend d'Oreille Bay Trail continuous and accessible by turning lakefront property linking the cities of Sandpoint and Ponderay into public land.

• Worked with phosphate mining companies to dedicate profits to improving habitat in the Blackfoot River.

• Defeated a proposal to burn garbage at the Ada County landfill which would have resulted in tons of toxic air pollution and ash.

• Worked with private donors and ranchers to permanently remove cows from the fragile Owyhee wilderness area.

• Helped effect new rules nationally to deal with the problem of airborne mercury.