Decisions made in Washington, D.C., have lasting effects on Maine’s clean air and water, our thriving forests and wildlife, and on the health of Maine people, our economy, and our way of life.
The Natural Resources Council of Maine works closely with Maine’s Congressional delegation to advance legislation and policies that will accelerate a clean energy future, expand access to the outdoors, and protect our nation’s wildlife.
In the last few years, NRCM mobilized our supporters to help pass the most significant climate action in U.S. history, secure bipartisan funding for infrastructure, and conserve new public lands. These investments in our future are already benefiting communities and people across the state.
Mainers Celebrate 45th Anniversary of Clean Water Act
Describe Enormous Progress and Serious Threats to Clean Water in Maine NRCM news release Lewiston, ME — Today on the banks of the Androscoggin, once labeled the most polluted river in America, a diverse group of Mainers described the importance of the Clean Water Act. The Act became law on October 18, 1972, when Congress Read More
Gutting the Clean Power Plan Puts Off the Steps Needed to Avert Climate Disasters
Bangor Daily News editorial The Trump administration can’t simply wipe the need to reduce the U.S.’s greenhouse gas emissions off the books. So, last week’s announcement from Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt that the agency is repealing the Clean Power Plan is less an edict and more of a reiteration of the Trump administration’s Read More
As the “Tailpipe of the Nation,” Maine Deserves Cleaner Air
By moving to repeal the Clean Power Plan, Trump is doing the bidding of the coal industry and big polluters. By Conrad Schneider, advocacy director for the Brunswick-based Clean Air Task Force and Jacqueline Guyol, campaign organizer at Environment Maine Portland Press Herald op-ed Last week, the Trump Environmental Protection Agency took steps to eliminate the Read More
Zinke’s Silence on the Monument Creates Uncertainty for Northern Maine
By Jim Dill, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed If you visit Penobscot Avenue in Millinocket on a gorgeous autumn weekend this year, odds are you’ll see far more people than you may have seen a year ago. Cars are parked on the street and people are bustling about downtown. Most of the Read More
Environmental Groups Decry Proposal to Repeal Clean Power Plan
by Susan Sharon Maine Things Considered This week Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan, the cornerstone of the Obama administration’s efforts to address climate change. While not unexpected, the decision is coming under fire as ideologically driven and a boon for the fossil fuel industry at a critical Read More
NRCM Response to Pruitt Announcement of Rollback of Clean Power Plan
Statement of Lisa Pohlmann, Executive Director, Natural Resources Council of Maine “In Scott Pruitt’s ideal world, polluters have total control of America’s energy and environmental policy. That is a disaster for Maine, which is not only downwind from many of those polluters, but is also blessed with abundant clean, local, renewable energy supplies, rather than Read More
Trump’s “Dirty Budget” is a Grave Threat to the Health of Our Planet
By Josie Cowles and May Young, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed As young people, we’re often told we are responsible for the future, even though we can’t vote yet. We are teenagers, and because we will inherit this planet, healthy or not, we’re expected to clean up the messes left by those Read More
NRCM Warns: Lawsuit Likely if Commercial Logging Permitted in National Monument
BY STAFF Mainebiz news story Lisa Pohlmann, executive director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine, served notice to the Trump administration that allowing “commercial logging” in the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument would “almost certainly trigger a lawsuit.” Pohlmann’s warning is in response to a leaked report from Secretary of the Interior Ryan Read More
Leaked Recommendations for Maine Monument Met with Confusion
by Susan Sharon Maine Things Considered, Maine Public Supporters of Maine’s Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument say a leaked memo from Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to the White House is confusing and only creates more economic uncertainty in the region. Leaked to media outlets three weeks after it was supposed to be made public, Read More
Senator Susan Collins
413 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-2523
Email Senator Collins
Augusta: (207) 622-8414
Bangor: (207) 945-0417
Biddeford: (207) 283-1101
Caribou: (207) 493-7873
Lewiston: (207) 784-6969
Portland: (207) 618-5560
Senator Angus King
133 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-5344
Email Senator King
Augusta: (207) 622-8292
Bangor: (207) 945-8000
Biddeford: (207) 352-5216
Portland: (207) 245-1565
Presque Isle: (207) 764-5124
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree
2162 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-6116
Email Congresswoman Pingree
Portland: (207) 774-5019
Waterville: (207) 873-5713
Congressman Jared Golden
1223 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-6306
Email Congressman Golden
Bangor office: (207) 249-7400
Caribou office: (207) 492-6009
Lewiston office: (207) 241-6767
Federal Climate & Clean Energy Issues
Bold Climate Action
From our lakeshores to the ocean coastline, the impacts of climate change are already being felt in Maine’s communities and the high costs of oil and gas hitting Mainers’ pocketbooks.
We all value our connection to community and Maine’s natural environment. To stay strong and well prepared for the future, we need to act quickly and boldly on climate.
NRCM partners with Mainers, businesses, and other local organizations to push Congress and the federal government to take ambitious climate action that will create millions of new jobs, deliver home-grown clean energy to power our future, and protect our health.
Working together with our supporters, NRCM has successfully advocated for the largest investment in climate in U.S. history and billions in infrastructure funding to make our communities more resilient. Moving forward, we will continue to hold Congress accountable to their responsibility to accelerate the transition to clean energy to avert the worst impacts of climate change.
The release of Maine’s Climate Action Plan in December 2020 (with an updated Plan released in November 2024) laid out a positive path forward for tackling climate change and growing our economy. Continued federal action on climate will give Maine’s communities the tools and resources they need to advance cost-effective clean energy solutions.
Climate Change and Its Effects on Maine
Maine’s communities are especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change because of our close relationship with the natural environment.
Our coastal communities—vital to our tourism economy—are threatened by increasingly severe storms and sea-level rise while our lakes are seeing increasingly warmer waters.
Extreme weather is straining our public emergency responses and infrastructure.
Learn How Climate Change Impacts:
Federal Water, Land, & Wildlife Issues
Protecting Wildlife
Each species has an important ecological role to play in the web of life. Globally, one million species are at risk of extinction due to climate change, pollution, habitat loss, invasive species, and exploitation.
One tool that has and can continue to help address this biodiversity crisis is the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). The ESA, signed into law in 1972, has been incredibly successful at protecting species in Maine and across the nation from the brink of extinction.
NRCM is working with national environmental groups to support adequate funding for the ESA and additional funding for wildlife protection through proposals like the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act.
Clean Water
Federal Clean Water Act
NRCM created a badge for organizations to use free of charge to celebrate the Clean Water Act 50th anniversary in 2022.
Clean, healthy waterways are vital to our day-to-day lives, central to our identity, and integral to our future. More than 50 years ago, the magnitude of pollution in the Androscoggin and other Maine rivers reached a tipping point, helping to galvanize passage of the Clean Water Act on October 18, 1972.
Maine's U.S. Senator Edmund Muskie played the critical role in writing and securing passage of this landmark legislation for the nation. In the years since, thanks to the incredible work of countless individuals, organizations, and businesses, Maine’s rivers, lakes, streams, and coastal waters have achieved remarkable progress, which deserves celebration. But we still have additional work to do to ensure clean water for future generations.
In 2022, NRCM joined with partners across Maine to create a statewide celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act that focused on the importance of clean water, strong environmental laws, investment in clean water infrastructure, and committing to continued progress. At a celebration in Lewiston on September 29, 2022, we celebrated 100 Clean Water Champions. Read full remarks by NRCM Advocacy Director Pete Didisheim.
Conserving Land
NRCM and our partners helped pass the Great American Outdoors Act, providing permanent funding for the popular and effective Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). The bill, which was championed by every member of Maine’s Congressional delegation, also provided sorely needed funding to invest in maintenance and upkeep of popular national parks and public lands.
Fully funding LCWF will result in much-needed land conservation, public access improvements, local industry support, and the creation of more outdoor spaces that benefit us all and contribute to a vibrant economy.
