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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Bighorn River Alliance

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 365177006
MT · NTEE C32Z
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Anne Marie Emery, Executive Director / CEO ($82,957) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 98 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 73rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Anne Marie Emery — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

98 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 98 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$5,608 total compensation of comparable organizations → $150,704 $82,957
$23,44310th
$53,78725th
$70,591Median
$85,21775th
$103,63090th
$82,957This org · 73rd
p10$23,443
p25$53,787
p50$70,591
p75$85,217
p90$103,630
$82,957

Comparable organizations

Each figure is Form 990 Part VII columns D + F (reportable pay plus other compensation and benefits; column F may include amounts from related organizations), normalized to MT cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.

OrganizationStateRevenueMatched titleComp
(reported)
Comp
(adjusted)
FY
Gloucester Fishing Community Preservation Fund Inc MA$490,600 Executive Director/director $105,000 $87,532 2024
Santa Clara River Conservancy CA$481,302 Executive Director $128,469 $102,912 2024
Lloyd Center For The Environment Inc MA$494,849 Executive Director $90,056 $77,292 2023
Elakha Alliance OR$479,406 Executive Dir. $100,833 $89,434 2023
Coastal Watershed Council CA$497,221 Executive Dir. $110,000 $90,720 2023
Atchafalaya Basinkeeper Inc LA$477,796 Executive Director $71,560 $73,100 2024
Friends Of The River Foundation KS$497,665 Executive Di $48,000 $49,528 2023
Lake Waramaug Task Force Inc CT$476,333 Executive Director $91,115 $81,594 2023
Southeastern Wisconsin Watersheds Trust Inc WI$498,776 Executive Director $103,329 $100,110 2024
Lifewater Inc AR$474,680 President/ceo $65,583 $68,388 2024
Leading From Within CA$500,842 Executive Director $119,583 $98,623 2023
Calapooia Watershed Council OR$470,356 Executive Dir. $82,683 $71,232 2024
Deschutes River Alliance OR$505,975 Executive Director $116,200 $100,107 2024
Lake Stewards Of Maine - Maine ME$506,329 Executive Director $88,730 $82,425 2024
Arkansas River Watershed Collaborative CO$467,784 Executive Director $84,464 $75,135 2024
Chesapeake Stormwater Network Inc MD$511,702 Executive Director $122,526 $103,529 2025
Powder Basin Watershed Council OR$512,511 Executive Dir. $65,505 $58,100 2023
The California Water Impact Network CA$512,727 Secretary $58,881 $47,168 2024
Savannah Riverkeeper Inc GA$461,387 Executive Di $53,880 $50,258 2024
Luckiamute Watershed Council OR$458,859 Exec Directo $28,333 $24,409 2024
Middle Colorado Watershed Council CO$454,149 Executive Director $93,526 $85,654 2023
Colorado Watershed Assembly CO$453,242 Executive Director $72,000 $65,939 2023
Takshanuk Watershed Council AK$523,201 Executive Director $72,668 $66,354 2023
Lake Champlain International Inc VT$525,561 Executive Director $76,122 $73,178 2023
International Wildlife MI$527,373 Executive Di $56,000 $53,622 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MT cost of living and 2024 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.

Methodology

Comparable organizations were drawn from electronically filed IRS Form 990 returns and matched on sector (NTEE code), budget (a size-adaptive revenue band that tightens as the organization grows), and geography (same-state first, broadening only when too few peers qualify); every organization within the band forms the peer set. To compare fairly across regions and years, peer compensation is normalized to MT cost of living (BEA Regional Price Parities, 2023) and to the subject's filing year (CPI-U). The figure benchmarked is Form 990 Part VII, Section A, columns D + F — reportable pay plus other compensation, benefits, and deferred amounts (column F may include amounts from related organizations) — with the chief executive matched by role. Related-organization amounts (column E) and institutional trustees are excluded. Full methodology: peerbasis.org/methodology.

Sample, role match & sensitivity

Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:

BasisSubject percentile
Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default73rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)61st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted70th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted71st

If the percentile moves materially across these definitions, the result is sensitive to methodology choices, and the board should weigh which basis best fits its facts.

Rebuttable presumption of reasonableness · 26 CFR 53.4958-6

Compensation paid by a tax-exempt organization is presumed reasonable — shifting the burden to the IRS — when three requirements are met. This report supplies the comparability data for the second. The board should record the following in its minutes concurrently with its decision:

Draft board minutes — executive compensation

  1. The compensation of the Executive Director / CEO (Anne Marie Emery) was approved in advance by [the Board / Compensation Committee], composed of members with no conflict of interest with respect to the arrangement.
  2. Prior to its determination, the authorized body obtained and relied upon appropriate comparability data, namely the PeerBasis Compensation Comparability Determination dated June 9, 2026, comparing compensation against 98 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C32), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $82,957 is reasonable (approximately the 73rd percentile of comparable organizations) and documented the basis for this determination concurrently, on [date], by a vote of [__ for / __ against].

Sources: IRS Form 990 e-file data (apps.irs.gov); IRS Business Master File (NTEE classification). Every figure traces to an original public filing — click any organization above to verify it on ProPublica. PeerBasis is a service of Prismind Analytics; its methodology is published, was commissioned for independent adversarial review, and discloses its own limitations. This report is comparability data to support a board's good-faith determination under IRC 4958; it is not legal or tax advice. Generated by PeerBasis on June 9, 2026.