by Anne Hedges
2025 was a tough year. Staffing changes in January left me holding the reins of MEIC as the legislative session kicked into high gear. The federal administration implemented Project 2025 with gusto, leaving many of our environmental and public health protections in tatters. Troops descended on peaceful cities. The word “ICE” now instills anger and fear instead of something in your drink. Rights are being trampled, and Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court ceded constitutional authority to the executive branch. It’s been a scary, undemocratic, maddening, destabilizing year. And yet…
We continue our work. This year more than ever, I am proud to be a part of MEIC. To have a chance to fight back. To speak up. To organize. To sue for justice. It’s been a privilege to have agency in these frustratingly difficult times.
To be clear, MEIC is strong and able to fight back because of our members (thank you) and our partnerships. From Climate Smart Missoula to Bitterroot Climate Action Group to Helena Interfaith Climate Advocates, their ideas and energy inspire our work. Montana Elders for a Livable Tomorrow are willing to speak up and show up when we need them most. Park County Environmental Council and Families for a Livable Climate help remind us of the importance of community and helping youth develop knowledge and strategies regarding the climate crisis. The Sierra Club has been with us through thick and thin.
Small but mighty groups like Protect the Clearwater, Save the Cabinets, and Cabinet Resource group protect their communities from gravel mines, silver mines, and damage to waterways and wilderness. They help focus us on why we fight: the right to protect areas we love from devastation and pollution. Citizens for Clean Energy has worked with MEIC on energy issues since the proposed Highwood Generating Station near Great Falls. New threats call for new (or renewed) partnerships, such as working with Honor the Earth, Watchdogs for Social and Environmental Justice, and MontPIRG to stop data centers’ impact on affordable, clean energy.
Thankfully, there are partners that we have counted on for decades: Northern Plains Resource Council and its affiliates across the state — as well as its dedicated members and staff — who remind us that working with communities is critical when fighting government incompetence or deregulation. We value the expertise of the Clark Fork Coalition and Upper Missouri Waterkeepers in protecting water resources, and Montana Conservation Voters’ quest to have political leaders who protect our right to a clean and healthful environment.
MEIC partners with scores of groups on more discrete projects to accomplish shared goals. The Montana League of Cities and Towns and Montana Farm Bureau Federation are partners in our quest to protect water resources from the ever-expanding and damaging exempt well loophole.
Regional groups like the NW Energy Coalition and Renewable Northwest help decipher complex energy materials and are always available to brainstorm new ideas.
And of course, Earthjustice and Western Environmental Law Center have some of the smartest, most dedicated lawyers on the planet, and we are eternally grateful for their representation, friendship, and inspiration. Lawyers at Upper Seven Law and Kim Wilson and Rob Farris-Olsen are indefatigable partners in our shared desire (and success) to maintain our constitutional right to know. And, of course, Roger Sullivan brought MEIC’s first lawsuit decades ago and continues to provide advice to MEIC and public interest attorneys across the state.
There simply isn’t room to list the scores of wonderful organizations who also deserve our thanks. Thanks to them all.
I’m proud that MEIC’s incomparable staff (pictured, mostly) have developed so many wonderful partners, whether in individual campaigns or on decades-long campaigns. We are better together, and together, we will continue to inspire and assist each other to get through the next few years.
This article was published in the December 2025 issue of Down To Earth.
