San Juan Citizens Alliance
“Protect the land and water of the San Juan Basin.”
The work
What they do
Advocacy for public lands in southwest Colorado. Works on oil and gas development, forest management, and water quality on San Juan National Forest and BLM lands.
Every year they sign one sentence and file it with the federal government: “The San Juan Citizens Alliance advocates for clean air, pure water, and healthy lands in the San Juan Basin through public outreach and education.”
Where the money went, FY2025
The work, and what it cost
Reading every lease sale
$620KClimate change: San Juan Citizens Alliance pursued retirement of polluting coal facilities in the Four Corners region, and cleaner sources of electricity for Colorado utility customers.
Read it as they filed it
Climate change: San Juan Citizens Alliance pursued retirement of polluting coal facilities in the Four Corners region, and cleaner sources of electricity for Colorado utility customers. In northwest New Mexico, SJCA supported completion of the San Juan Solar renewable energy project as replacement for now-retired coal-fired San Juan Generating Station. SJCA also supported and tracked additional solar development projects, including Foxtail Flats, which is projected to begin construction in 2026, as part of the regions transition to renewable energy. SJCA provided public outreach and education to members of La Plata Electric Association to encourage forward-looking policies to support local, renewable energy sources and supported LPEAs replacement of its long-term power supply contract from Tri-State with a new portfolio of local and renewable energy sources. SJCA also continued tracking abandoned oil and gas wells in New Mexico advocating for companies or the state to clean-up these old leaking wells. SJCA also tracked the proposed expansion of the Navajo Mine and participated in regulatory proceedings related to the proposed acquisition of Public Service Company of New Mexico to ensure continued progress toward a zero-carbon energy future.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Reading every lease sale
$177KPublic lands protection: San Juan Citizens Alliance spearheaded public outreach and education to improve conservation management across the San Juan National Forest and Bureau of Land Management lands in southwest Colora...
Read it as they filed it
Public lands protection: San Juan Citizens Alliance spearheaded public outreach and education to improve conservation management across the San Juan National Forest and Bureau of Land Management lands in southwest Colorado. SJCA continued to lead public opposition to the massive proposed Village at Wolf Creek development project, a planned city of 8,000 people atop Wolf Creek Pass that continues to be stalled almost 40 years after originally proposed. SJCA engaged the public to review and comment on development activities including proposed timber sales, oil and gas leases, and forest and recreation planning efforts to ensure the protection of wildlife habitat and quiet recreation uses, with a particular focus on the HD Mountains, the ponderosa pine forests west of Dolores, and the undeveloped alpine valley of Minnie Gulch above Silverton. SJCA also worked with the Forest Service on the Salter timber project to advocate for protection of some of the largest and oldest trees in the forest.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Keeping the wild alive
$91KWildlife: San Juan Citizens Alliance organized public outreach and education around the reintroduction of wolves to Colorado, and supported the development of conflict reduction strategies between ranchers and wolves to...
Read it as they filed it
Wildlife: San Juan Citizens Alliance organized public outreach and education around the reintroduction of wolves to Colorado, and supported the development of conflict reduction strategies between ranchers and wolves to improve coexistence. SJCA also engaged in efforts to advance wolverine reintroduction in Colorado, and advocated for improved management of domestic sheep to increase herds of native bighorn sheep.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Reading every lease sale
$53KAnimas River: San Juan Citizens Alliance engaged in the Colorado Dredge and Fill Rulemaking (Regulation 87), working with a statewide coalition to strengthen protections for wetlands and ephemeral streams and to ensure c...
Read it as they filed it
Animas River: San Juan Citizens Alliance engaged in the Colorado Dredge and Fill Rulemaking (Regulation 87), working with a statewide coalition to strengthen protections for wetlands and ephemeral streams and to ensure clear permitting requirements for future development projects that may impact water resources. SJCA participated in the Animas River Stakeholder Group in Silverton, worked with the Animas Watershed Partnership to support development of the Animas River watershed plan, and supported the Southwestern Water Conservation District in ongoing water quality data collection efforts.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Follow the dollar
89 cents of every dollar goes to the work
That ratio is a good sign, not a scorecard. Plenty of great groups run leaner and lumpier. What matters is the extremes, and San Juan Citizens Alliance is nowhere near one.
Backed on the record by Western Conservation Foundation, latest filing FY24.
$940,791 programs, $102,818 management, $14,460 fundraising. Form 990, FY2025.
The people
Who does the work
Honesty note: leadership comes from each year’s federal filing, so it can run a year behind. Orgs that claim their page can update it same-day. Work at SJCA? Claim this page.
Those 20 volunteers are people who decided this ground was theirs to defend. If SJCA is fighting for your place too, the matchmaker will find your way in.
Make it 21The filings
13 years of filings
13 years of filings
Total revenue by fiscal year, as filed. Point at the line for any year.
| Year | Revenue |
|---|---|
| 2011 | $447,611 |
| 2012 | $477,512 |
| 2013 | $325,356 |
| 2014 | $312,310 |
| 2015 | $351,073 |
| 2016 | $338,325 |
| 2017 | $493,803 |
| 2019 | $498,755 |
| 2020 | $653,077 |
| 2021 | $653,297 |
| 2022 | $698,518 |
| 2023 | $1,162,367 |
| 2025 | $1,166,565 |
From $448K in 2011 to $1.2M in FY25, across 13 public filings. The 2025 peak of $1.2M reads like one-time gifts, so trust the line, not the peak.
Fights alongside WildEarth Guardians (3 shared cases), National Wildlife Federation (2 shared cases), Natural Resources Defense Council (2 shared cases), The Wilderness Society (2 shared cases) and Center for Biological Diversity (1 shared case) and 6 more. Same case, same side, on the federal docket.
Their ground
The places they defend
The San Juan Basin watchdog on the ground in greater Chaco
Who’s defending it On the groundCanyons of the Ancients National MonumentShaped the 2010 management plan, has fought oil and gas leasing decisions inside the monument for two decades, mobilized against the 2017 monument review, and states it continues to defend CANM.
Who’s defending itSee every threatened place on one map, and who stands for each.
The Colorado congressional delegation averages 60 of 100 on public lands. See the full scorecard
The New Mexico congressional delegation averages 92 of 100 on public lands. See the full scorecard
Ways in
How to help
89 cents of your dollar goes straight to the work above.
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 San Juan Citizens Alliance
40 years on the ground, 20 volunteers, 89 cents of every dollar on the line. That is who is holding it. There is room for one more.