The Northwest Mining Association’s Board of Trustees voted to change the name of the association to the American Exploration & Mining Association, effective at the close of this year’s annual meeting in December in Reno, NV.

The composition of the association has changed from when it was first founded and now more than 60 percent of its membership resides outside of the traditional U.S. Northwest.

In an announcement distributed to NWMA members, NWMA officers said, “There is no question that today’s association differs greatly from 118 years ago when the association represented a few northwestern states and provinces or 30 years ago when membership began to expand, or even 10 years ago when membership expanded even further.”

Association members now reside or work in 42 states, seven Canadian provinces and 10 other nations. “We currently have more members in the three western states of Nevada, Colorado and Utah combined than in all of Washington, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and British Columbia,” said the NWMA.

According to those who responded to questionnaire, the association’s current name and brand does not accurately describe or reflect what the NWMA does or who its represents.

A professional design group has developed a new logo and brand to match the new name, which is scheduled to be presented to the association’s board this month for a final decision. The board of trustees voted 28-1 in favor of the name change.