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.
With our coalition partners, NRCM has won many significant victories over the years, from helping establish the Allagash Wilderness Waterway to passage of legislation limiting irresponsible clear cuts. But the challenges of protecting Maine’s treasured wildlands and the wildlife that depend upon them have never been greater, nor the need more urgent.
We worked to establish a National Monument just east of Baxter State Park and continue our work to push for Land for Maine’s Future funding to acquire public lands, watchdog Maine’s public lands and the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, stop the ill-conceived East-West Highway from being built, weigh-in when harmful development is proposed in Maine’s North Woods, and ensure that any timber harvesting laws and policies are as protective as possible.
More than one-third of the state has changed ownership in the past 20 years. Corporations that have no stake in our local communities are buying up hundreds of thousands of acres. Slicing and dicing these natural areas can destroy the character of Maine’s North Woods forever.
This loss would affect not only the people of Maine but also our wildlife. The region is home to moose, bear, deer, and dozens of bird species—Boreal Chickadee, Spruce Grouse, Pine Grosbeak, Cape May Warbler, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher—for which the North Woods are the southernmost limit of their breeding range. Maine’s North Woods also provide many recreational opportunities for Maine people. Unchecked development threatens access to undeveloped, wild forests, lakes, and rivers for hiking, canoeing, camping, hunting and fishing.
While development pressures and the loss of public access continue to intensify, NRCM remains a voice for balancing economic development in Maine’s North Woods with conservation.
We invite you to learn more about our work to protect Maine’s North Woods and other natural areas, and to support our vital work for generations to come.
Supporters of Maine Monument Want Trump to Back Off
by A.J. Higgins Maine Public news story Members of the Katahdin-area business community want Maine and the nation to know that support for the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument is growing, even among those who initially opposed the 88,000-acre conveyance from Maine environmentalist Roxanne Quimby. Gail Fanjoy, president of the Katahdin Area Chamber of Read More
LePage Refused to Acknowledge National Monument’s Positive Impact
By Richard Schmidt, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed Last week, I was sitting behind Gov. Paul LePage when he testified at the House Subcommittee on Federal Lands hearing featuring the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. Our governor’s representation of inland, rural, and northern Maine as nothing more than a clear-cut, mosquito-infested Read More
Two Visions for Katahdin Region: Gov. LePage vs. Lucas St. Clair
By James McCarthy, staff writer Maine Biz news story Two sharply different visions for the future of the Katahdin region were presented during Tuesday’s Republican-led hearing in Washington, D.C., looking at presidentially declared national monuments, including Maine’s Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. Only four witnesses were invited to speak before the Federal Lands Subcommittee Read More
Mr. LePage Goes to Washington, Embarrasses Maine
By David Farmer Bangor Daily News column WASHINGTON – Gov. Paul LePage is racking up the frequent flyer miles with his recent spate of visits to Washington, D.C. I hope he earns a free upgrade or a ticket someplace nice because he’s certainly not doing himself – or our state – any favors with his Read More
LePage, Advocate Offer Dueling Testimony on Katahdin-area National Monument
Maine’s governor wants the designation rescinded for the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, while Lucas St. Clair says area businesses already are seeing positive impacts. by Kevin Miller, staff writer Portland Press Herald news story Maine’s Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument took center stage in the political debate over national monuments Tuesday in Read More
Hearing Slated to Consider National Monuments, Including KWW
Katahdin Area Chamber of Commerce President, Sporting Lodge Owner, Select Board Chair, and Others heading to Washington, DC to counter President Trump/Governor LePage Attacks on Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument Today the Federal Lands Subcommittee of the House Committee on Natural Resources is hosting a “witnesses by invitation only” hearing on presidentially declared national Read More
LePage’s Continued Monument Opposition Jeopardizes Katahdin Region’s Progress
By The BDN Editorial Board Bangor Daily News editorial The Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument has existed for only eight months. Already, the number of people who have visited the monument has surpassed the total population of many of the small towns near its borders. The number of winter visitors to the Mount Chase Read More
My Katahdin-area Business is Booming Thanks to Maine’s New National Monument
By Matthew Polstein, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed In the April 24 Bangor Daily News article “Trump, LePage actions threaten Maine’s national monument,” Gov. Paul LePage described the Katahdin Woods and Waters Monument as cut over forests of no particular interest. “There is nothing that is going to happen [with the monument],” Read More
Mixed Signals: Is Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument on “the List”?
MaineBiz news story Two days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the U.S. Department of the Interior to review 26 land and marine national monuments stretching back over 20 years, it’s still not clear whether the directive will include President Barack Obama’s designation of the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument last Read More
Banner photo: Moose near Baxter State Park, by Gerard Monteux
