By Lindsay Downing, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed After college and a few years of travel, my husband and I recently decided to return to my home town of Mount Chase to take over the family business — Mt. Chase Lodge. It was a difficult decision. We were coming home to a Read More
Maine Environmental News
Maine environmental news often comes quickly and with little warning. Stay up to date on Maine environment news.
From issues such as climate change, healthy waters, Maine forests and wildlife, and sustainability—and environmental policy that could impact them—you’ll find NRCM’s up-to-the-minute news releases to see our perspective on the most pressing issues facing Maine’s land, air, waters, and wildlife. This includes findings relating to our role as Maine’s watchdog of activities of state environmental agencies—we stand ready to blow the whistle when regulations are not enforced.
You can also find our news “round up,” News & Noteworthy, which puts the spotlight on media stories that do a particularly good job capturing current news about Maine's environment. We hope you find this part of our website helpful and informative!
Portland Becomes First City in Maine to Require Reporting on Large Buildings’ Energy Use
The council votes 6-3 to pass the ‘benchmarking’ measure, designed to collect baseline data that would be used to gauge trends and the effectiveness of efficiency upgrades. by Randy Billings, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story The Portland City Council voted 6-3 to become the first community in Maine to require large businesses and Read More
Tour Maine’s Newest and Largest Parcel of Federal Land
By Murray Carpenter New York Times story On an early fall day, with just a hint of red tinting the maples, the view from the summit of Deasey Mountain is spectacular. To the west stand the rugged, treeless basins and knife-edge spine of Mount Katahdin. Off to the south, you see Wassataquoik Valley in the near Read More
Global Expedition Arrives in Portland from the Arctic to Urge Mainers to Take Strong Action on Climate Change
Reporting from the Front Lines of Climate Change, Explorers Underscore Urgent Need for Climate Action News Release Portland, Maine – October 28, 2016 – Today, the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) hosted a group of courageous sailors arriving in Portland Harbor aboard their 50-foot sailboat, the S/V Pachamama, after traversing the Northwest Passage Read More
Maine Voters Find Common Ground on Clean Energy, National Monument
By Lori Valigra, staff writer Mainebiz news story PORTLAND — As Maine voters get ready to head to the polls, a new public opinion survey of likely Maine voters released on Tuesday shows strong, bipartisan support for the new national monument, solar power and other clean energy development, the Land for Maine’s Future Program and Read More
Poll Shows Maine Voters Strongly Support New National Monument, Solar Power, LMF, Maine’s Environment
NRCM news release Portland, Maine – Today, the Natural Resources Council of Maine released the results of a comprehensive public opinion survey on the attitudes of likely Maine voters on a broad range of environmental policy issues. With Mainers heading to the polls in two weeks, the survey documents broad, bipartisan support for protection of Maine’s Read More
Taking Down Dams and Letting the Fish Flow
By Murray Carpenter, staff writer New York Times news story BANGOR, Me. — Joseph Zydlewski, a research biologist with the Maine Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit of the United States Geological Survey, drifted in a boat on the Penobscot River, listening to a crackling radio receiver. The staccato clicks told him that one of Read More
Maine Community and Business Leaders Slam PUC for Proposed Solar Rollback
News release Hallowell, ME – Today, at a public hearing by the Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC), a large crowd of Maine residents, business owners, community leaders, and others gathered to oppose the agency’s proposal to roll back solar power rules called “net metering.” The hearing addressed the PUC proposal to phase out net metering, Read More
Public Utilities Commission Considering Changes to Solar Power Rules
by Chris Rose, staff writer WCSH news story New rules being considered by the Maine Public Utilities Commission could have a major impact on the future of solar power in the state. The changes would cut financial incentives for homeowners with solar panels. Advocates say without those incentives, people and businesses will be less likely Read More