100 Clean Water Champions

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act and the many people involved in this work, NRCM recognized Maine’s “Clean Water Champions” who have been leaders in river, lake, coastal water, and drinking water clean-up. 

To find these Champions, we asked people from all over the state to nominate champions in one of four categories: paid professionals, volunteers, posthumous recognition, and other. A selection committee chose 100 CWA Champions, listed below. Congratulations to all of these Champions!

 

Clean Water Champion	Title	Affiliation	County
William Adams*	Former Director	Lewiston Department of Public Works	Androscoggin
Beth Ahearn	Political Director	Maine Conservation Voters	Cumberland
Brian Altvater	Chairman	Schoodic RiverKeepers	Washington
Noela Altvater	Student	Wabanaki Youth in Science, University of Maine	Washington
John Banks	Former Director	Penobscot Nation Dept. of Natural Resources	Penobscot
Ed Bassett	Environmental Technician	Passamaquoddy Tribe of Indians, Pleasant Point Reservation	Washington
Nick Bennett	Healthy Waters Program Director	Natural Resources Council of Maine	Kennebec
Paul Bisulca	Advocate	Schoodic RiverKeepers	Penobscot
Curtis Bohlen	Director	Casco Bay Estuary Partnership	Cumberland
Roy Bouchard	Retired Biologist	Lakes Assessment Program, Maine DEP	Kennebec
Steve Brooke	Former Senior Planner	Maine State Planning Office	Kennebec
Rachel Burger	Founder	Protect South Portland	Cumberland
John Burrows	Executive Director of U.S. Operations	Atlantic Salmon Federation	York
Sergio Cahueque	Organizer	Defend Our Health	Cumberland
Aram Calhoun	Professor Emerita of Wetlands Ecology	University of Maine	Penobscot
Brownie Carson	Former Senator	Maine State Legislature	Cumberland
Jim Chandler	Former Education Coordinator and District Manager	Oxford County Soil and Water Conservation District	Oxford
John Cole*	Journalist, Co-Founder	Maine Times	Kennebec
Brenda Commander	Former Chief	Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians	Aroostook
Sandi Cort	Co-Founder	Friends of the Presumpscot River	Cumberland
David Courtemanch	Freshwater Scientist and Policy Analyst	The Nature Conservancy of Maine	Kennebec
Barry Dana	Former Chief	Penobscot Nation	Penobscot
Susan Davies	Former Water Quality Standards Coordinator	Environmental Assessment Division, Maine DEP	Waldo
Laura Rose Day	President and CEO	7 Lakes Alliance	Kennebec
Jeff Dennis	Biologist	Maine DEP Bureau of Land and Water Quality	Kennebec
Fred Dillon	Stormwater Coordinator	City of South Portland	Cumberland
Lee Doggett*	Ecologist	Maine DEP	Lincoln
Dusti Faucher*	Co-Founder	Friends of the Presumpscot River	Cumberland
Chief Kirk Francis	Chief	Penobscot Nation	Penobscot
Rick Freeman*	Professor of Economics	Bowdoin College	Sagadahoc
Ivy Frignoca	Casco Baykeeper	Friends of Casco Bay	Cumberland
Kiara Frischkorn	Organizer	Old Orchard Beach Cleanup	York
Susan Gallo	Executive Director	Maine Lakes	Cumberland
Cassie Gibbs	Aquatic Entomologist	University of Maine	Penobscot
Jenn Burns Gray	Former Staff Attorney	Maine Audubon	Cumberland
Nate Gray	Scientists	Sea Run Fisheries and Habitat, Maine DMR	Kennebec
Patty Hager	Former Board Chair	NRCM Board	Somerset
Bart Hague	President Emeritus	Maine Lakes	Oxford
Leeann Hanson	Training Coordinator	JETCC	Cumberland
Hoddy Hildreth*	Former State Senator	Maine State Legislature	Cumberland
Roberta Hill	Invasive Species Program Director	Lake Stewards of Maine	Androscoggin
Bill Hinkley*	Chemical Engineer	Maine Department of Environmental Protection	Lincoln
Michael-Corey F. Hinton	Tribal Nations Practice Group Leader	Drummond Woodsum	Cumberland
Colin Holme	Executive Director	Lakes Environmental Association	Cumberland
Landis Hudson	Executive Director	Maine Rivers	Cumberland
Paul Hunt	Environmental Services Manager	Portland Water District	Cumberland
Evelyn Jephson*	Former Board Member	Maine Board of Environmental Protection	York
Jennifer Jespersen	Volunteer Lake Monitor	Maine Lakes	Kennebec
Steve Kahl	Founding Director	George Mitchell Center for Environmental Research, University of Maine	Kennebec
Peter Kallin	Former Executive Director	Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance	Kennebec
John Kauffmann*	Author, Conservationist		Cumberland
Brian Kavanah	Director	Maine DEP Bureau of Water Quality	Kennebec
Martha Kirkpatrick	Former Commissioner	Maine DEP	Waldo
Ron Kreisman	Former Counsel	Natural Resources Council of Maine	Cumberland
Dan Kusnierz	Water Resources Program Manager	Penobscot Nation	Penobscot
Ferguson Lea	Executive Director	Androscoggin River Watershed Council	Androscoggin
Kenneth Locke*	Director of Environmental Services	City of Brewer	Penobscot
Peter Lowell	Former Executive Director	Lakes Environmental Association	Cumberland
Jon Lund	Former Attorney General	State of Maine	Kennebec
Rayburn MacDonald*	Former Chief Engineer	Maine DEP	Lincoln
Sue Mello	Program Manager	Boothbay Region Water District	Lincoln
George Mitchell	Former U.S. Senator	U.S. Congress	Kennebec
Barry Mower	Biologist	Maine DEP	Kennebec
Sandy Muller	Coordinator	Friends of Wilson Lake	Franklin
Wynn Muller	Vice President/ Treasurer	Friends of Wilson Lake	Franklin
Dana Murch	Former Supervisor	Maine DEP Dams and Hydropower	Waldo
Edmund Muskie*	Former U.S. Senator	U.S. Congress	Oxford
Chief Rena Newell	Chief	Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point	Washington
John Nutting	Former State Senator	Maine State Legislature	Androscoggin
Bucky Owen	Former Commissioner	Maine DIFW	Penobscot
Joe Payne	Former Casco Baykeeper	Friends of Casco Bay	Cumberland
Don Perkins	CEO	Gulf of Maine Research Institute	Kennebec
Will Plumley	Co-Founder	Friends of the Presumpscot River	Cumberland
Rob Pontau	General Manager	Brunswick Sewer District	Androscoggin
Greg Ponte	Former Maine Council Chair	Trout Unlimited	Kennebec
Jeff Reardon	Maine Brook Trout Project Director	Trout Unlimited	Kennebec
Evan Richert	Former Director	State Planning Office	Penobscot
Tom Saviello	Former State Senator	Maine State Legislature	Franklin
Matthew Scott	Former Chief Biologist	Maine DEP	Kennebec
Nickie Sekera	Co-Founder	Community Water Justice	Oxford
Luke Sekera-Flanders	Co-Founder	Community Water Justice	Oxford
Maggie Shannon	Former Executive Director	Maine Lakes	Kennebec
Michael Shaughnessy	Co-Founder	Friends of the Presumpscot River	Cumberland
Dwayne Shaw	Executive Director	Downeast Salmon Federation	Hancock
Madonna Soctomah	Former State Representative	Maine State Legislature	Washington
John Sowles	Former Director, Ecology Division	Maine Department of Marine Resources	Cumberland
Cheryl St. Peter	Volunteer Lake Monitor	Lake Stewards of Maine	Aroostook
Jeff Stern	Environmental Director	Androscoggin River Watershed Council	Cumberland
Matthew Streeter	Project Manager	Outlet Stream Project	Cumberland
Bill Townsend*	Former President	NRCM, Maine Rivers	Somerset
Sharri Venno	Environmental Planner	Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians	Aroostook
Chuck Verrill	President	Maine Rivers	Cumberland
Barb Welch	President of the Board of Directors	Lake Stewards of Maine	Lincoln
John White*	Volunteer	Southern Maine Beach Profile Monitoring Program	York
David Wilkins	Advocate	Edwards Dam and Kennebec Restoration	Lincoln
Scott Williams	Founder and Former Executive Director	Lake Stewards of Maine	Androscoggin
Laura Wilson	4-H Science Youth Development Professional	UMaine Cooperative Extension	Penobscot
Deb Wilson	Project Director	Damariscotta Mills Fish Ladder Restoration	Lincoln
Don Witherill	Former Director, Watershed Management	Maine Department of Environmental Protection	Kennebec
Tina Wood	Founder	Upstream	Kennebec
Angie Wotton	District Manager	Southern Aroostook Soil and Water Conservation District	Aroostook

 *Denotes posthumous recognition