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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Badlands National Park

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 830728866
SD · NTEE C01
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Kristen Conzet, Executive Director / CEO ($76,635) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 18 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 83rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

18 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 18 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,519 total compensation of comparable organizations → $102,632 $76,635
$7,18810th
$15,77325th
$45,371Median
$73,11375th
$85,29390th
$76,635This org · 83rd
p10$7,188
p25$15,773
p50$45,371
p75$73,113
p90$85,293
$76,635

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 SD 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
Save The Yellowstone Grizzly MT$153,826 Board Treasu $12,000 $12,066 2023
Ohio Forestry Association Foundation Inc OH$171,122 Executive Director $2,550 $2,519 2023
Whidbey Environmental Action Network WA$175,262 Executive Director $87,880 $73,397 2023
Spanish Peaks Alliance For Wildfire CO$195,214 Executive Director $18,586 $16,148 2024
Happiness Project CO$195,474 President $47,255 $42,270 2023
National Environmental Policy And Law Center Inc MA$196,319 Clerk, Director, Litigation Director $122,431 $102,632 2023
Jews In Tech CA$103,220 Director $20,000 $15,648 2024
Big Bend Conservation Alliance TX$197,362 Executive Director $79,725 $72,261 2024
Urban Greenspaces Institute OR$200,278 Executive Di $8,666 $7,507 2023
San Leandro 2050 CA$202,590 Ceo $8,000 $6,444 2023
St Louis River Alliance MN$203,974 Executive Director $71,817 $66,199 2023
The Hourglass Foundation PA$205,053 Executive Di $82,708 $74,734 2024
Cayuga Lake Watershed Network Inc NY$206,879 Executive Director $73,320 $61,806 2023
New Mexico Recycling Coalition NM$209,215 Executive Director $96,382 $96,704 2023
Ashland Climate Collaborative OR$211,127 Executive Director $42,758 $35,979 2024
Whaleman International Ltd HI$211,410 President Director Treasurer $59,750 $48,471 2024
More Action For Regeneration Inc FL$219,764 Treasurer / Executive Director $40,000 $34,048 2024
1000 Friends Of Wisconsin WI$220,033 Executive Director $82,527 $80,402 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to SD 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 SD 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 default83rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)67th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted83rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted78th

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 (Kristen Conzet) 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 18 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C01), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $76,635 is reasonable (approximately the 83rd 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.