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.
Explore Maine: Maine’s National Wildlife Refuges and Wilderness Areas
Exploring Maine’s Spectacular Federal Lands Recently, a young man told me that he, his wife, and two kids live in a small house on a small lot in the Midcoast. He loves to get outside and said, “Public lands are all I’ve got.” At NRCM, we recognize the importance of quality time spent outside. Local Read More
They Say a Monument Will Drive a Stake Through the Heart of Our Industry. I Disagree.
By Roger Milliken, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed For the last 35 years, I have worked for the Baskahegan Company, which grows and harvests trees on lands acquired by my grandfather in 1920. As a longtime member of the forest products industry, I am writing in support of the proposed national monument. Read More
Hundreds Celebrate Completion of Penobscot Restoration Project
By John Holyoke, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story HOWLAND, Maine — Pat Keliher still remembers an early morning phone call during which a professional colleague outlined a bold idea that could help transform the Penobscot River. “[Andy Goode of the Atlantic Salmon Federation] said, ‘Hey. We want to take two dams off the Read More
Only Monument Opponents to Speak During Committee Hearing in East Millinocket
By Nick Sambides Jr., BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story EAST MILLINOCKET, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage will be the first witness at a field hearing of the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources next week in which only opponents of a proposed North Woods national monument are scheduled to speak, officials said Thursday. Read More
Northern Maine Deserves Better
For example, Rep. Bruce Poliquin wants to inflame people to help his campaign along. By Alan Caron Portland Press Herald op-ed Over a thousand Mainers converged on two northern Maine public gatherings last week to argue over a proposal to set aside 87,500 acres of the North Woods as a so-called national monument. Opposition arguments Read More
Expectations Mixed in Wake of National Monument Meetings
Opponents of the Katahdin-area proposal are determined to fight on, but others see the designation as a done deal and believe it’s time to plan for that outcome. By Kevin Miller, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story The head of the National Park Service had just wrapped up a marathon day of hearings on Read More
In the Katahdin Region, Let’s Accept and Shape the Changes, Not Fight Them
By Richard H. Schmidt III, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed Like the Katahdin region, the proposal to create a national park has changed a lot in the last few years and with it, people’s opinions, including mine. I graduated from Katahdin High School, attended college in Presque Isle, and now I am Read More
Mainers Weigh In on Proposed National Monument at Packed Forums
By Nick Sambides Jr., BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story ORONO, Maine — A near capacity crowd of 1,400 people attended a forum on a proposed North Woods national monument on Monday at the University of Maine during which pro and con arguments followed one another in quick succession. After a tense forum involving Read More
Park Service Chief Hears Emotional, Divided Views on North Woods National Monument
About 1,000 Maine residents and local officials attend two meetings, with testimony split between those who think it will hurt the region’s forest products industry and others who think it will pump new life into a lackluster economy. by Kevin Miller, staff writer Portland Press Herald news story ORONO — The Obama administration’s top park Read More
Banner photo: Moose near Baxter State Park, by Gerard Monteux
