Our Mission
Born from the frustration of rural communities who felt silenced in decisions about their own land, VOICES provides a platform to stand up for local control and protect our way of life.
In rural Washington, we are fighting to reassert local choice over energy development, defending the vital role of hydroelectric power, and telling the whole truth about impacts of industrial wind and solar development.
The Threat
What’s At Stake
A radical legislative agenda has put rural Washington in the crosshairs of a massive energy and land use transformation, only enabled by the cancellation of local permitting authority for wind and solar energy projects. These policies regard family, self-employed farms as obstacles to the expansion of corporate and government power.
To protect our way of life, we must overcome the vast power imbalance between our family farmers who have been under siege by the global wind/energy complex trying to annex the wealth producing capacity of our land. By re-empowering communities to choose for ourselves, we can help deliver truly reliable, clean and affordable electricity, help America feed the world, and ensure that our rural communities flourish once again.
Who We Are
Voices was founded by Rep. Mary Dye (R-9th LD, WA), who has fought tirelessly for family farmers as the Ranking Member of the House Environment and Energy Committee.
Our Executive Director Michelle Kiesz is a fourth generation wheat farmer who has been an advocate for the completion of the Columbia Basin Project to help revitalize our agricultural economy.
To support the growing chorus of local residents, business owners and community leaders joining our cause, VOICES is supported by a team of energy policy experts and community organizers with decades of experience fighting the toughest land use battles across the country.