HOME ON THE RANGE HONORED AS MONTANA'S GREENEST BUILDING;One of Only 41 LEED-Platinum Certified Buildings in U.S.

CONTACT:     Dan Feinberg; Northern Plains staff; 406.248.1154
One of Only 41 LEED-Platinum Certified Buildings in U.S.
Uses 21% the Energy of a Conventional Building

Billings- Home on the Range, the sustainable and energy-efficient home of the Northern Plains Resource Council and Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC), is the greenest building in Montana.

Northern Plains and WORC announced today that Home on the Range has been awarded LEED ® Platinum certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).  LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the USGBC's system for rating and certifying the design and construction of the world's most energy-efficient and high-performing buildings. 

Home on the Range is the only LEED Certified Platinum building in Montana, Wyoming, the Dakotas, and Minnesota. Only 40 other buildings in the United States have received LEED Platinum certification.

Home on the Range uses 21% of the energy of a conventional, comparably-sized, commercial building built to code.  Additionally, the building consumes 41% of the water of a regular commercial building.


Home on the Range did not limit itself to energy conservation.  The building also uses sustainable and recycled materials:

* Maintained 100% of the shell of the original building;
* Salvaged or recycled 92% of construction waste;
* Sourced 34% of  materials from within a 500-mile radius;
* Used low-emitting paints and materials in building.

Of 41 buildings in the United States that have attained LEED Platinum certification, Home on the Range was the very lowest in cost.

The building cost $140 a square foot to build. If Home on the Range had built from scratch using a conventional design, and had not been refit from the shell of the old building, the calculated cost is $175 a square foot.

"We are living our values. Our organization knows first hand the real impacts of energy development since our members live over the surface of coal and oil and gas.  We need to change our direction away from old technology that is inefficient and contributes to global warming pollution," said Mark Fix, Rancher on the Tongue River south of Miles City and Chair of Northern Plains Resource Council. "Forty percent of greenhouse gases result from buildings. We want to show folks how they can create change."

"We are a demonstration of what small business, nonprofit organizations, and churches can do on a limited budget. If we can do it, there should be opportunities for them too," said Eileen Morris, member of Northern Plains Resource Council and an active member of the Home on the Range Design Team. "However, we are a small nonprofit and are in the process of retiring the mortgage. This building is an incredible asset to Billings and to Montana.  We welcome anyone who is interested in promoting green buildings to contribute."

Northern Plains, a grassroots conservation and family agriculture group, organizes Montana citizens to protect water quality, family farms and ranches, and our unique quality of life.

WORC is a regional network of seven grassroots community organizations that include 9,500 members and 45 local chapters. WORC helps its member groups succeed by providing training and coordinating issue work.

For more information on Home on the Range and its green, sustainable features, to inquire about contributing, or to schedule a tour for your classroom, family, or group, please contact Cort Felts at 406.248.1154. More information is available at www.greenhomeontherange.org.

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