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.

Time for Fighting’s Over. Instead, Let’s Embrace Maine’s National Monument.
By John Holyoke Bangor Daily News column In not-too-unexpected news, it appears that President Donald Trump (with potential help from Maine Gov. Paul LePage) will take a second look at the formation of recent national monuments. The fear of some in Maine, though there’s no evidence that this is the case: Katahdin Woods and Waters Read More

Is Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument on “the List”?
Lucas St. Clair says a Trump administration official suggested the National Monument designation won’t be reviewed, but an Interior Department spokeswoman says it could be. by Kevin Miller, staff writer Portland Press Herald news story Questions swirled Thursday about whether the Trump administration plans to review Maine’s Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument after the Read More

Maine Monument’s Future in Doubt after Trump Orders Review
By Nick Sambides Jr., BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story With a smiling Gov. Paul LePage looking on, President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order telling the U.S. Department of the Interior to review at least two dozen national monuments created by presidential decree — likely including Maine’s Katahdin Woods and Waters Read More

LePage Joins Trump for Signing of Order to Review Designations of National Monuments
Trump’s order seeks to review national monument designations but it’s not clear if it will affect Maine’s Katahdin Woods and Water National Monument. by Scott Thistle, staff writer Portland Press Herald news story Gov. Paul LePage joined President Trump in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday for a ceremony where Trump signed an executive order to review Read More

Environmentalists Vow to Fight Trump on Maine Monument
By David Abel, staff writer Boston Globe news story President Trump on Wednesday will issue a sweeping executive order to review as many as 40 national monument designations made by his three predecessors, an unprecedented move that could curtail or rescind their protected status. It was unclear which areas would come under review, but the Read More

Opposition to LD 1126, An Act To Support Tourism on Public Reserved Lands by Leasing Sites to Commercial Sporting Camps
Good afternoon Senator Davis, Representative Dunphy, and members of the Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry Committee. My name is Eliza Donoghue. I am here today on behalf of the 20,000 members and supporters of the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) to speak in opposition to LD 1126, An Act To Support Tourism on Public Reserved Read More

The Woods and Waters are What Make Maine Great. It’s Our Duty to Conserve Them.
By John Tjepkema Bangor Daily News op-ed As we celebrate Earth Day on Saturday, Mainers should be proud of our accomplishments since its first observance in 1970. U.S. Sen. Edmund Muskie of Maine was a driving force behind the 1970 Clean Air Act and the 1972 Clean Water Act. Since that time, a wide range Read More

Battered but Still Standing, Land for Maine’s Future Turns 30
by Christine Parrish Free Press Online news story Since 1987, when Maine voters approved the first Land for Maine’s Future (LMF) bond, the program has been working to help protect land of statewide significance from development. Now 30 years old, the LMF program, by most measures, is a success. As of this year, LMF has Read More

Opposition to LD 628, An Act to Amend Municipal Subdivision Laws and LD 1081, An Act To Amend the Municipal Subdivision Laws Regarding the Exemption for Transfers to Owners of Abutting Land
Good afternoon Senator Saviello, Representative Tucker, and members of the Environment and Natural Resources Committee. My name is Cathy Johnson. I am a resident of Alna and the Forests and Wildlife Project Director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine. I am here today on behalf of the 20,000 members and supporters of the Natural Read More
Banner photo: Moose near Baxter State Park, by Gerard Monteux