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.
I Used to Oppose a Big Park in the North Woods. Now, I See a National Monument Can Work.
By Bucky Owen, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed I can envision a small national monument east of Baxter State Park centered around three rivers: the East Branch of the Penobscot, the Seboeis and the Wassataquoik, all special places in Maine. The name is one I came up with, but the idea of Read More
16-year Penobscot River Restoration Project Reaches the Finish Line
by James McCarthy Mainebiz news story For the first time since the 1800s, nearly 1,000 miles of habitat along the Penobscot River are accessible to Atlantic salmon and 10 other fish species that spend part of their lives at sea but return to fresh water for spawning. The final step making that possible — a Read More
Quimby Gives 100 Acres to Acadia on Centennial
By Dick Broom, staff writer Mount Desert Islander news story ACADIA NAT’L PARK — Philanthropist Roxanne Quimby’s land conservation foundation, Elliotsville Plantation Inc., is donating 13 parcels of land totaling 100 acres on Mount Desert Island to Acadia National Park just in time to help the park celebrate its centennial. Five of the parcels are Read More
Poliquin Puts Fate of National Monument in Hands of Utah Lawmakers
By David Jenkins, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin often frames his primary concern about the possible establishment of a national monument in the Katahdin region as one of process and that the decision is locally driven. Too bad his actions suggest otherwise. Poliquin has shown utter contempt for Read More
The Beauty Behind the Scenery — Into Roxanne Quimby’s Proposed Park
by Christine Parrish Free Press news story A kingfisher rattles and swings out over the river where it curves smooth and green around a pine bank, flies overhead and disappears as we beach the canoe on a gravel bar across from our temporary camp. My first impression on following the kingfisher into the silver maple Read More
The Irvings’ Invasion of Maine
by Bruce Livesey, National Observer news story Reprinted with permission in the Lewiston Sun Journal This is one part in a six-part series titled “The House of Irving” by investigative reporter Bruce Livesey of the Vancouver-based National Observer. The series examines the powerful role the Irving family plays in the business, politics and media of Read More
Four Days on the International AT in the Proposed National Monument
Spectacular views of mountains. Forests stretching to the horizon. Huge trees, gorgeous waterfalls, raspberries and more raspberries—these are some of the highlights of our four-day hike on the International Appalachian Trail (IAT) in the proposed new National Monument along the East Branch of the Penobscot River. East of Baxter State Park, the land is owned Read More
The Land East of Baxter is Special and Worthy of a National Monument
by Eric Hendrickson Bangor Daily News op-ed Everywhere I go all that I hear is there’s nothing there at the site of the proposed national monument but clearcuts and barren land. Well, I have to say that there is something special about the land Elliotsville Plantation Inc. wants to donate to the American people. There Read More
Maine Woods National Monument Would Benefit State, Katahdin Region
By Steve Wight Sun Journal op-ed Traveling around Maine, I work with people who are concerned about how to bring jobs and economic prosperity to the rural villages of western Maine and the Katahdin region to the north. For 38 years, I owned and operated, with my wife, Peggy, the Sunday River Inn and Cross Read More
Banner photo: Moose near Baxter State Park, by Gerard Monteux
