Read some highlights from this month’s news stories and opinion pieces related to the environment, including Maine’s air, land, water, and wildlife, in this month’s News & Noteworthy from the Natural Resources Council of Maine.
March 2021
Plastic pollution continues to be on the minds of many Mainers, including lawmakers who this week discussed a bill to ban single-use plastic water bottles. And this teen urges Maine to support the plastic bag ban passed by the Maine Legislature in 2019. And Maine US Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, the chair of the environment subcommittee of Congress’s Appropriations Committee, pledged that this committee will work on the important issue of plastic pollution in our world’s oceans.
Have you heard this great news for the Moosehead Lake region? Mountain bike trails are coming! What a fun way to explore this beautiful part of Maine. Learn more.
Did you know that more than three million people visited Maine’s State Parks last year? And camping reservations are up 70% this year already! Listen to this Maine Public story and then start planning your Maine outdoor adventures for this summer.
State Senator Rick Bennett wrote a recent Portland Press Herald op-ed in support of bills to stop foreign interference in Maine elections, like the $10 million Hydro-Quebec has spent to try to sway Mainers to support the controversial transmission corridor proposed by CMP, which would financially benefit both companies.
Governor Mills signed a bill into law that creates a process for developing racial impact statements for proposed legislation.
This week, the Waterville City Council voted to support a resolution about packaging recycling. They are the 25th Maine municipality to pass a resolution in support of Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging, a top priority for NRCM. Learn more about how your town can pass a resolution, and see the full list of towns in support. A recent letter in the Seacoast Online also supports the proposed EPR for Packaging law that NRCM and others have been working on.
On Monday, the Department of Marine Resources held a virtual public meeting to discuss the Kennebec River Management Plan amendment. NRCM is supportive of the removal of four dams from Waterville to Skowhegan. These antiquated dams are blocking fish passage for Atlantic salmon and other species. Hear more from NRCM Staff Scientist Nick Bennett in this News Center Maine story. Learn more about the public hearing in this Morning Sentinel article.
A Maine Superior Court judge ruled that the Bureau of Public Lands did not have the authority to sign a lease with Central Maine Power across public lands in order for CMP to build its controversial transmission corridor. There is also a bill being discussed in the Legislature (LD 471) related to the issue of leases on public lands. Learn more on our legislative bill tracking page, and read NRCM testimony in support of that bill, which had a public hearing today.
In another bill related to the CMP corridor, Maine legislators discussed a bill to limit foreign influence on Maine elections. Hydro-Quebec has spent millions of dollars to try to influence decisions around ballot measures related to the transmission line. NRCM’s Pete Didisheim testified on the bill (LD 194) this week.
NRCM Sustainable Maine Director Sarah Nichols was the guest on Maine Public’s Maine Calling, discussing Maine’s landfills and the challenges we face with effective waste management.
Let’s end this week with a book suggestion by NRCM CEO Lisa Pohlmann, who was featured in the Portland Press Herald’s Bedside Table book reads for the week.
Vaughan Woodruff, owner of Insource Renewables and a 2020 NRCM Conservation Leadership Award recipient, wrote an op-ed in today’s Portland Press Herald about the need to do more to hold Central Maine Power accountable.
As you may know, NRCM works to reduce plastic pollution in Maine and beyond. In 2019, Maine became the first state in the nation to ban foam food containers, and the fourth state to enact a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags. Due to COVID, the enforcement of the ban got pushed to July 2021. During the 2021 legislative session, three bills were introduced to remove the ban. This week, the Legislature’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee voted to keep the ban in place. Read more on this vote in this week’s Portland Press Herald.
Maine’s Allagash River was the first to receive federal Wild and Scenic River status and protection, and is currently the only river in Maine to receive that designation. That may change soon, with the York River receiving a positive vote by the US House of Representatives on a bill to give it “wild and scenic” designation.
Also in Washington, DC, Maine’s US Senator Angus King just this week was named the Chair of the subcommittee on National Parks, which oversees all US National Parks as well as national monuments like Maine’s Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument.
More news from Washington: Maine’s Senator Susan Collins confirmed that she will support President Biden’s nomination of Representative Deb Haaland for the Cabinet-level position of Secretary of the Interior.
February 2021
There are currently three bills being discussed at the Legislature that would repeal Maine’s statewide ban on single-use plastic bags. NRCM and many others testified in strong support of keeping the ban in place as we work to reduce the amount of plastic pollution that is harming our fish, wildlife, and environment.
The tributes for longtime conservationist and sportsman George Smith continue with a Central Maine Newspapers op-ed by Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Commissioner Judy Camuso and James Cote, an advocate for Maine sportsmen and women.
We start this week off with some sad news from Maine. Longtime conservationist and outdoorsman George Smith passed away after a courageous battle with ALS. Read more about George’s life and legacy. Read NRCM’s full statement about George.
Maine newspapers wrote about a pole for the proposed CMP transmission line being erected along the existing corridor and how that was met with mixed feelings by many people in the area.
Senator Susan Collins announced that Maine has three newly designated National Scenic Byways, including the Katahdin Woods and Waters Scenic Byway. Learn more about yesterday’s announcement.
To help reduce their impact on the climate and because of the low cost of leasing an electric vehicle due to rebates being offered by Efficiency Maine and the manufacturer, the Town of Kennebunkport will be adding two EVs to their fleet.
The Maine Legislature’s State and Local Government Committee voted yesterday to support LD 2, which would require all legislative bills to be reviewed and analyzed for how they might impact historically disadvantaged racial or ethnic groups. NRCM CEO Lisa Pohlmann submitted testimony in support of the bill.
Since we started with sad news, let’s end with another article about the Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument, specifically about exploring it during the winter. Read this Portland Press Herald article to learn more about planning your fun overnight adventure at the Monument.
The Bangor Daily News wrote a piece about the concerns Maine tribes have about Wolfden Resources’ proposal to mine at Pickett Mountain. Hear more from Dan Kusnierz of the Penobscot Nation and Sharri Venno of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, along with a sporting camp owner, from a recent NRCM webinar, as they share the reasons they oppose this mine. You can read more about this mining proposal in a recent story in the Maine Monitor.
Sam Steele of South Portland recently shared with NRCM a photo essay about his trip to view the lands along the route of the proposed CMP corridor.
Tux Turkel of the Portland Press Herald shares the latest on the controversial CMP corridor and NRCM and others’ work to stop it.
In more CMP news, the company recently announced huge new costs to renewable energy developers who are trying to add solar power to the grid. The governor and others are demanding answers as to why this happened. Read a recent Portland Press Herald op-ed about this same issue, “Maine needs CMP to be a partner to clean energy, not an obstacle,” by NRCM Staff Attorney Sue Ely, Kathleen Meil of Maine Conservation Voters, and Sean Mahoney of the Conservation Law Foundation.
NRCM Sustainable Maine Director Sarah Nichols recently shared her top five take-aways from the latest recycling and waste report by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. Read more about the report and how Maine has not yet met its recycling goals in this recent Maine Public news story.
Peter Blair of the Conservation Law Foundation shared his thoughts in a Bangor Daily News op-ed about why Maine’s plastic bag and foam food container bans are still the right policy for Maine.
Also this week, NRCM CEO Lisa Pohlmann and John Banks of the Penobscot Nation recently spoke with the Public News Service about the reasons they support Rep. Deb Haaland’s nomination as the Biden Administration’s Secretary of the Interior.
George Smith, in his latest column today, highlights two projects that the Natural Resources Council of Maine has been and currently is involved with: the Penobscot River Restoration Project and restoration of the Kennebec River. First, he writes about the new book, From the Mountains to the Sea, released late last year by Islandport Press, telling the story of the 16-year project to remove dams, build a nature-like fish bypass, and reopen 2,000 miles of habitat for sea-run fish. NRCM was a founding member of that project. And then George writes about a current opportunity to restore the Kennebec River above Waterville, with removal of four outdated dams there, which are blocking sea-run fish passage. Learn more about that project and how to get involved.
NRCM Forests & Wildlife Director Melanie Sturm wrote a letter to the editor of the Sun Journal calling on Maine’s Senators Angus King and Susan Collins to support the nomination of Congresswoman Deb Haaland as the new US Interior Secretary.
NRCM CEO Lisa Pohlmann cowrote a recent Portland Press Herald op-ed about the flawed review process for the controversial CMP corridor. Also authoring the piece were the President of the Appalachian Mountain Club and the chapter director of Sierra Club Maine. Read the op-ed.
Let’s end this News & Noteworthy with big congratulations to Amara Ifeji of Bangor who has been named a National Geographic Young Explorer. Learn more about Amari and her work.
January 2021
Yesterday, President Biden announced a series of climate-related executive orders, and NRCM applauded this effort, which will benefit Maine’s environment and economy. Read more in today’s Maine Public story. You can also read our news release to learn more.
More news about the new Biden-Harris Administration and how they plan to make sure environmental justice is part of their focus in their climate work is featured in a recent Washington Post story.
Jeff Reardon of Trout Unlimited and John Burrows of the Atlantic Salmon Federation wrote a recent op-ed in the Kennebec Journal about the importance of removing four dams on the Kennebec River to restore sea-run fish on the river above Waterville.
Also this week it was announced that Maine’s first community solar project began operation in Monson. Learn more about this project, which will serve Maine homeowners and small business subscribers.
Congratulations to the organizations that received grants to boost projects related to Maine’s environment, including making a Portland park more accessible and a program that helps children from low-income families have more access to outdoor adventure opportunities.
In news about the controversial CMP corridor proposal, a citizens group collected and delivered 100,000 signatures to Maine’s Secretary of State in order to add a referendum question to the ballot to stop the corridor.
In his first hours in office, President Biden recommitted the United States to the Paris Climate Accord, cancels the controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, and begins to reverse environmental rollbacks from the previous administration. All good news for the environment! Learn more in this New York Times story.
Speaking of rollbacks, NRCM recently joined in a lawsuit against the Trump Administration’s weak soot standards, which increase public health concerns from air pollution.
Two Maine legislators recently shared their views about Hydro-Quebec and why they should not be allowed to be involved in Maine politics. Hydro-Quebec stands to make billions of dollars from the controversial proposed CMP corridor.
In other CMP news, the citizens group collecting signatures for a referendum that would stop the corridor from being built turned in 100,000 signatures to Maine’s Secretary of State today.
And some good news about the CMP corridor: a federal appeals court has temporarily stopped construction of the CMP transmission line in response to a lawsuit filed by NRCM, the Appalachian Mountain Club, and Sierra Club-Maine.
If you haven’t yet ordered your copy of the new book about the Penobscot River Restoration Project, read a review of the book from a recent BDN column by George Smith. Then visit the Islandport Press website to order your copy.
News Center Maine spoke with NRCM’s Sarah Nichols about the former Fiberight facility in Hampden, which may have a new owner after being closed for several months.
The Natural Resources Council of Maine rolled out a new podcast format this week, with our Advocacy Communications Director Colin Durrant speaking with advocates about the latest news and information you need to know about Maine’s environment. These podcasts will be released every two weeks, and we will include links to them here in News & Noteworthy each week that they are released. Listen to today’s podcast, which covers 2021’s unique legislative session, a new effort to restore the Kennebec, and reflects on the seismic changes happening at the federal level.
The Natural Resources Council of Maine and our allies in the Kennebec Coalition were instrumental in the precedent-setting removal of the Edwards Dam on the Kennebec River in 1999. Now, federal regulators are looking at four dams further up the Kennebec that are blocking restoration of the Atlantic salmon population in that river. Read more in this Portland Press Herald story by Colin Woodard.
NRCM, along with Sierra Club Maine and the Appalachian Mountain Club continue to work to stop the CMP corridor, this time with a request to appeal an earlier decision about the construction. Read more in this Portland Press Herald news story.
The Maine Board of Environmental Protection denied a request submitted by NRCM and others to ban out-of-state waste at state-owned landfills. The Board did agree to add environmental justice as a standard in discussions of solid waste facilities. Read more in this week’s Portland Press Herald.
And we will leave this edition on a positive note: we had one last story about our virtual Polar Bear Dip & Dash, this time from Newscenter Maine.
