Factsheets

We are fiercely proud of our Constitution, written by Montanans to serve Montanans. Now, half a century after ratification, there is a reckless extremist movement to rewrite our constitution. Read more about this landmark document and how you can take action to protect it.

Since the GNA was initiated in 2000, GNA community members and independent tailings experts have identified and advocated for responsible tailings waste storage at the Stillwater and East Boulder mines. In 2015, Stillwater Mining Company began planning for expansion of its tailings storage facilities at the Stillwater and East Boulder Mine sites. Read on to learn how the GNA is ensuring responsible mine waste management in this expansion.

The American beef market is a rigged system. Global corporations are using corrupt, illegal practices to overcharge consumers, fraudulently label imported beef, and steal from ranchers. Read on to learn why we should act now to stand up for family agriculture, healthy food, consumers’ rights, and Montana’s working landscapes by restoring fairness, competition, and dignity to our cattle markets.

A simple, effective way to finance energy-efficient and water conservation upgrades to commercial buildings (including agricultural properties). C-PACE was passed into law in Montana in 2021. Read on to learn how to enact C-PACE programs in our counties.

NorthWestern Energy has hatched a scheme to build a series of destructive methane plants in Montana, the first of them in Laurel. Methane is a climate pollutant, an increasingly unreliable and expensive form of energy production, and dangerous to the health of our communities.

Striving to further strengthen the proactive and precautionary approach of the GNA’s existing Water Program, the Water Quality Adaptive Management Plans seek to maintain baseline water quality in groundwater and surface water, while going above and beyond state and federal requirements to ensure the East Boulder and Stillwater Rivers remain healthy and pristine.

Country-of-Origin Labeling for beef and pork is currently a voluntary program and it’s simply not working. Imported beef and pork can be labeled “Product of USA” even if it’s meat raised somewhere else and only packaged in the United States. This fraudulent label betrays American ranchers, rural communities, and consumers by misrepresenting imported beef as American. We need honesty to be required for labeling beef and pork, as is required for all other products in Montana.

In late 2020, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality was tasked to finalize plans for the cleanup of Colstrip’s coal ash ponds which leak 183 million gallons of contaminated water each year. This document provides information about this process including data about the job creation potential of a “high and dry” cleanup approach that involves excavation of the ash ponds. It also provides information about the danger this contamination presents to ranchers and others who rely on local groundwater, making responsible cleanup imperative to the long-term health of the community.

Providing kids with local, healthy food options builds healthier communities, supports local agriculture, and bolsters local economies.

We know from our research that thorough coal ash cleanup (“high and dry”) is the best way to permanently address groundwater contamination. We also know this type of cleanup creates more jobs than simply leaving it in place (“cap-in-place”). But how many jobs does it create…and how much does it cost? Using data from Montana-licensed economists, hydrologists, and engineers, Doing it Right II: Job Creation through Colstrip cleanup provides answers to those questions. Here’s an overview.

In 2018, we partnered with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 1638 to research the job creation potential associated with coal ash cleanup. Here are the key takeaways from the 93-page case study analysis.

For years, Northern Plains members fought against Stillwater Mining Company to protect water quality and the communities in Stillwater and Sweet Grass Counties. In 2000, spurred by action taken by Northern Plains members, the two sides worked together and negotiated an agreement to extend protections beyond state requirements to protect property, water, and area communities, while allowing platinum and palladium mining to proceed. The Good Neighbor Agreement has protected land with conservation easements, instituted a busing program to vastly reduce traffic on winding valley roads, and provided for independent environmental audits.