How a member leader built rural, conservative support for a solar-friendly land-use code in Montrose County, Colorado By Eric Warren, WORC communications manager In November 2025, Montrose County residents poured into the county Fairgrounds Banquet Hall, greeting one another and … Continued
Above: Voices of Harwood – From left to right: Mark Coolidge, Nancy Coolidge, Mike Swartz, Amanda Swartz, and Eric Sinner. After city officials raced to approve a hyperscale data center in their town without public input, a small community in … Continued
Colorado shows that county zoning codes can build momentum for the renewable energy movement By Michael Nelson, WORC campaign organizer When discussing clean energy policy, the spotlight often falls on federal tax credits or state renewable energy targets. Yet across … Continued
Dakota Resource Council helps two counties garner huge economic benefits through an agreement it proposed for a wind farm in North Dakota By Ted Brewer, WORC communications director In 2008, a group of landowners in the township of New Rockford, … Continued
Sec. Burgum continues to give oil and gas companies what they want, no matter the cost to the public and rural communities. By Sarah Hunkins, WORC Washington D.C. Representative On June 24, 2026, the Department of the Interior and the … Continued
Residents argue that BLM’s revision to the Biden-era oil and gas rule will once again incentivize producers to leave toxic messes. Members of the Western Organization of Resource Councils condemned a move by the Interior Department to revise the Bureau … Continued
Above: Benziger and Gann picking up the approved petition with ballot language and Mijares’ response, officially beginning the signature-gathering window. Left to right: Montrose County Clerk and Recorder Tressa Guynes, Linda Gann, Phoebe Benziger, and Montrose County Chief Deputy Clerk … Continued
Rapid City People’s Alliance launches, taking on local special interests that are hindering the lives of the working class. Above: RCPA member leaders at the organization’s launch event on January 31. By Ted Brewer, WORC communications director In late 2025, … Continued
New network will “organize and support Native-led civic engagement efforts.” By Deb Love Western Native Voice was established in 2011 by a powerful group of Native women with a vision to nurture and elevate Native leadership, amplify Native voices, and … Continued
Above: WORC board chair Roxa Reller stands near a solar array with her husband, Mark Reller. Longtime Northern Plains Resource Council leader Roxa Reller brings tenacity and vision, and a deep sense of place to WORC’s board chair position. By … Continued