Idaho Conservation League
“To protect the wild places, clean water, and wildlife that make Idaho home.”
1 live lawsuit, 6 comments to the agencies, 74 cents of every dollar to the work.
The origin
How they started
The Idaho Conservation League was founded in 1973 by a group that included former state senator Mary Lou Reed, growing into a statewide voice with roughly 30,000 members across all 44 counties. It works to protect Idaho’s public lands, clean water, and wildlife, from alpine lakes to wild rivers. Early on it helped pass land-use planning reform through the 1974 Sunshine Act, approved by 78% of voters. Based in Boise, it stays active on mining, forests, and wilderness.
Every year they sign one sentence and file it with the federal government: “ICL's mission is to create a conservation community and pragmatic, enduring solutions that protect and restore the air you breathe, the water you drink, and the land and wildlife you love.” as filed.
Where the money went, FY2025
The work, and what it cost
Recovering Idaho’s wild salmon and steelhead
$628K, 22% of spendingICL partners with Tribes, local communities, and regional organizations to recover Idaho’s wild salmon and steelhead.
Including $32,150 granted onward, most of it ($30,000) to Nez Perce Tribe.
Read it as they filed it
RECOVERING IDAHO'S WILD SALMON AND STEELHEAD: ICL PARTNERS WITH TRIBES, LOCAL COMMUNITIES, AND REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS TO RECOVER IDAHO'S WILD SALMON AND STEELHEAD. WE BUILD PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR REMOVING THE FOUR LOWER SNAKE RIVER DAMS AND ADVANCE INTERIM CONSERVATION MEASURES TO PREVENT THESE ICONIC FISH FROM GOING EXTINCT WHILE LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS ARE PURSUED.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Protecting Idaho’S Public Lands
$498K, 17% of spendingICL advocates for the sustainable management of Idaho’s public lands and the fish and wildlife that depend on them.
Including $1,000 granted onward.
Read it as they filed it
PROTECTING IDAHO'S PUBLIC LANDS: ICL ADVOCATES FOR THE SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF IDAHO'S PUBLIC LANDS AND THE FISH AND WILDLIFE THAT DEPEND ON THEM. OUR STAFF ENGAGE COMMUNITIES, STAKEHOLDERS, AND AGENCY ADMINISTRATORS ACROSS THE STATE TO ENSURE THAT FORESTS, RANGELANDS, WILDLIFE HABITAT, AND RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES ON FEDERAL LANDS ARE MANAGED RESPONSIBLY. WE ALSO PROMOTE THE CONSERVATION OF NATIVE SPECIES SUCH AS SAGE GROUSE, GRIZZLY BEARS, WOLVERINES, BISON, AND BULL TROUT.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Confronting Climate Change
$254K, 9% of spendingICL works to reduce Idaho’s contribution to the global climate crisis by advocating for cleaner, cheaper energy sources such as wind, solar, and geothermal power.
Read it as they filed it
CONFRONTING CLIMATE CHANGE: ICL WORKS TO REDUCE IDAHO'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE GLOBAL CLIMATE CRISIS BY ADVOCATING FOR CLEANER, CHEAPER ENERGY SOURCES SUCH AS WIND, SOLAR, AND GEOTHERMAL POWER. WE ENGAGE IN LAND-USE AND ENERGY POLICY DECISIONS TO SUPPORT RESPONSIBLE SITING OF RENEWABLE ENERGY AND TRANSMISSION PROJECTS, AND WE ADVOCATE FOR A WESTERN ENERGY MARKET THAT LOWERS ELECTRICITY COSTS AND EXPANDS ACCESS TO RENEWABLE RESOURCES ACROSS THE REGION.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Snake river, north Idaho lakes and water
$196K, 7% of spendingICL worked to make the snake river across southern Idaho safe, fishable and swimmable again, worked to ensure the enforcement of regulated discharges and reduce the amount of unregulated agricultural surface runoff and…
Read it as they filed it
SNAKE RIVER, NORTH IDAHO LAKES AND WATER: ICL WORKED TO MAKE THE SNAKE RIVER ACROSS SOUTHERN IDAHO SAFE, FISHABLE AND SWIMMABLE AGAIN, WORKED TO ENSURE THE ENFORCEMENT OF REGULATED DISCHARGES AND REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF UNREGULATED AGRICULTURAL SURFACE RUNOFF AND NITRATE-LADEN GROUNDWATER DISCHARGES TO THE SNAKE RIVER, WORKED TO CREATE A FRAMEWORK FOR A JOINT STATE/FEDERAL/TRIBAL/PRIVATE BASIN-WIDE TERRESTRIAL AND AQUATIC RESTORATION PLAN. WE ENGAGED IN A PROGRAM TO MONITOR THE HEALTH OF NORTHERN IDAHO LAKES AND RIVERS, AND ENCOURAGE POLICY THAT PROTECTS WATER QUALITY.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Follow the dollar
74 cents of every dollar goes to the work
Read it as a snapshot, not a scorecard. Splits move year to year with grants and campaigns, and healthy shops live all across this range.
$2,144,447 programs, $422,472 management, $328,267 fundraising. Form 990, FY2025.
The backers
Backed on the record by Pew Charitable Trusts, Wilburforce Foundation, William & Flora Hewlett Foundation and 3 others, latest filing FY25.
The people
Who does the work
Took the helm from Justin Hayes, who drew $125,950 in the final year on file.
Honesty note: leadership comes from each year’s federal filing, so it can run a year behind. If it’s out of date, tell us. Work at the Idaho Conservation League? Claim this page.
Those 343 volunteers are people who decided this ground was theirs to defend. If the Idaho Conservation League is fighting for your place too, the matchmaker will find your way in.
Find your way inThe record
The court record
Fights alongside Advocates for the West (3 shared cases), American Rivers (1 shared case), Center for Biological Diversity (1 shared case), Defenders of Wildlife (1 shared case) and Earthworks (1 shared case) and 2 more. Same case, same side, on the federal docket.
The filings
14 years of filings
Total revenue by fiscal year, as filed. Point at or tap the line for any year.
| Year | Revenue |
|---|---|
| 2011 | $1,398,710 |
| 2012 | $1,476,146 |
| 2013 | $1,589,126 |
| 2014 | $1,890,184 |
| 2015 | $2,511,602 |
| 2016 | $2,804,331 |
| 2017 | $2,495,091 |
| 2018 | $1,985,159 |
| 2019 | $2,799,632 |
| 2020 | $2,171,747 |
| 2021 | $3,124,816 |
| 2022 | $3,577,511 |
| 2023 | $4,455,535 |
| 2025 | $3,356,365 |
From $1.4M in 2011 to $3.4M in FY25, across 14 public filings (none on record for 2024).
On the Hill
The Idaho Conservation League has hired federal lobbyists: 5 filings from 2019 to 2020. The filings, at the Senate.
Most filed on natural resources.
The record
On the record with the agencies
6 comments on federal decisions since 2023, each filed under the group’s own name on regulations.gov. The latest on decisions we track:
Year by year
The record, in order
- 1973Idaho Conservation League is formed.the directory; the return’s own formation year is 1974
- 2001Kootenai Tribe of ID v. Glickman: intervenor, closed.the docket
- 2015Idaho Conservation League v. Lannom: plaintiff, closed.the docket
- 2016Western Watersheds Project v. Schneider: amicus, still in court.the docket
- 2018Idaho Conservation League v. Poe: plaintiff, closed.the docket
- 2022First appears in the grants of Wilburforce Foundation, William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, Campion Foundation and Resources Legacy Fund.the funders’ returns
- 2023First appears in Pew Charitable Trusts’ grants.the funder’s return
- 20242 comments, both to the Fish and Wildlife Service, under the group’s own name.regulations.gov
- 2025Save the South Fork Salmon v. U.S. Forest Service: plaintiff, closed.the docket
- 3 comments, all to the Fish and Wildlife Service, under the group’s own name.regulations.gov
- First appears in Wilderness Society’s grants.the funder’s return
- 20261 comment to the Fish and Wildlife Service, under the group’s own name.regulations.gov
Rust, a case still in court. Green, a funder’s return. Hollow, a filing. Every row is a record we hold: 5 federal cases with the group on the docket, 6 comments filed under its own name, 6 funders whose returns name it. Nothing here is written from memory.
Their ground
The places they defend
Plaintiff in the February 2025 federal lawsuit challenging the Stibnite Gold Project approvals for failing to protect Chinook salmon, bull trout, and clean water in the South Fork Salmon watershed, after years of EIS comments and permit appeals.
Who’s defending it On the ground · On watchCraters of the Moon National MonumentMobilized Idahoans to file Interior Department comments defending Craters of the Moon during the 2017 national monument review, arguing shrinkage would damage the economies of Blaine, Butte, Minidoka, and Power counties.
Who’s defending itMost urgent first: open comment windows, then live federal cases, then the threat level. See every threatened place on one map, and who stands for each.
The Idaho congressional delegation averages 4 of 100 on public lands. See the full scorecard
Ways in
How to help
Straight to their own donation page. Your dollar never passes through us.
Give on their site ↗Show upVolunteer with themFind their volunteer door on their own site.
Find it on their site ↗SpeakComment and callOpen comment windows and call scripts for fights like these, ready to send.
Public Lands Action NetworkFollowWatch the mapEvery threatened place in the country, tracked, with who stands for each.
Threatened Lands MapStand with the Idaho Conservation League
The mission is theirs. The backing is yours.