by Nick McCrea, BDN staff Bangor Daily News news story BANGOR, Maine — Uncertainty surrounding the route of a proposed 220-mile highway across Maine sparked vehement questioning, opposition and doubt during a Tuesday morning meeting at the historic Penobscot County Courthouse. Cianbro Corp. CEO Peter Vigue, the leading proponent of the east-west highway, spent much Read More
Forests and Wildlife
NRCM works to protect Maine’s natural areas and wild, undeveloped character, particularly in the North Woods. We support responsible land development and sustainable forest practices that protect sensitive ecosystems and wildlife. We work for increased public ownership of Maine lands, so future generations will know the Maine we love today.
Protection of Maine’s natural, remote areas was one of the issues for which NRCM was founded in 1959. More than 60 years later, much progress has been made but major threats to Maine’s land and water resources continue.
Read news & blogs about our work to protect Maine's forests and wildlife.
Alewives on the St. Croix: A “Mistake” Fixed
Five years later, the policy of blocking alewives was looking increasingly anachronistic. by Douglas Rooks Working Waterfront news story AUGUSTA — By May 1, alewives could have a clear path up the St. Croix River drainage for the first time in 18 years. After a contentious hearing March 25 which lasted almost four hours, the Read More
St. Croix Alewives Measure Clears Key Maine Panel
by Colin Woodard, staff writer Portland Press Herald news story AUGUSTA — A key legislative committee has endorsed a measure that would open most of the St. Croix River to alewives by the end of this month. The emergency legislation, LD 72, received unanimous approval from the legislators at Monday morning’s vote. It needs final Read More
Bill Aims to Get Lead Out of Maine Loons
It would ban fishermen from using sinkers and jigs made of lead, but some say the move is unnecessary. by Susan M. Cover, State House Bureau Portland Press Herald news story AUGUSTA — A former head of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine told lawmakers Thursday that fishermen should stop using lead sinkers and jigs that Read More
Alewives’ Passage in St. Croix Hinges on Passage of Bills in Augusta
by Colin Woodard, staff writer Portland Press Herald news story Though reduced in numbers, the St. Croix River’s alewives have a lot of friends. At a legislative hearing Monday, speaker after speaker rose in support of a bill that would open most of the fishways at most of the river’s dams immediately to the small Read More
Let Those Alewives Go
Bangor Daily News editorial The state committee charged with recommending whether to let alewives back into the upper reaches of the St. Croix River should base its decision on science, not anecdotes or politics, and approve a bill to allow the river herring unfettered access to spawning ground. Standing before the Committee on Marine Resources Read More
Maine Bill Seeks to Restore Alewives to St. Croix River
by Susan Sharon MPBN news story Scientists, tribal leaders and fishermen turned out in Augusta today in support of a proposal to immediately restore alewives to their traditional spawning grounds in the St. Croix River, along the eastern border with Canada. Alewives, or river herring, have been blocked for nearly two decades by a state Read More
East-west Highway Foes Pursue Access to Information
Much of a hearing on confidentiality also serves as a forum for criticisms of the proposed $2 billion project. by Michael Shepherd, State House Bureau Portland Press Herald news story Opponents of a proposed east-west highway across Maine packed a legislative hearing Friday to lobby lawmakers for more access to information about the controversial project. Read More
Bill Seeks to Lift Confidentiality from East-west Highway Partnership, but MDOT Says No Partnership Exists
By Robert Long, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story Lingering suspicions about plans to build a 220-mile east-west highway through central and rural Maine drew a large crowd to a legislative hearing Friday on a bill to make documents related to projects like it public. Sponsored by Assistant House Democratic Leader Jeff McCabe of Read More