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.
From Virginia to Maine’s Proposed National Park Lands: 17 Hours to Paradise!
My family has enjoyed trips to Maine’s North Woods for the past several years, mostly spending time around Moosehead Lake, Mount Kineo, and the Monson area. Recently we heard through NRCM that Roxanne Quimby was opening up sections of the Elliotsville Plantation land, which might one day become a national park and national recreation area. So, Read More
Climate Experts: Warming in Maine Leading to Declining Moose, Lobster Populations
By Mario Moretto, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story PORTLAND, Maine — Climate change is real, human activity is causing it, and its effects will leave Maine — and the planet — “fundamentally degraded.” That was the message delivered by renowned climatologist Michael Mann, who spoke to a packed auditorium at the University of Read More
Reclaiming Rivers
By Henry Heyburn Jr., former NRCM board member In July of 1999, I attended the breaching of the Edwards Dam on the Kennebec River. There were hundreds of others in attendance including Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer John McPhee, author of Coming Into the Country, The Survival of the Birch Read More
Official or Not, Roxanne Quimby’s Park Vision Taking Shape
by John Holyoke, BDN staff Bangor Daily News column TOWNSHIP 2 RANGE 8, EAST OF BAXTER PEAK, Maine — Lucas St. Clair clearly has heard the question before. And he’s got plenty of answers that he’s happy to share. He also realizes that sometimes, it’s best to simply stand back and let Mother Nature do Read More
Hunting Access Energizes Plan for National Park
Kennebec Journal editorial A decade ago, “Ban Roxanne” bumper stickers were a common sight from Greenville to Millinocket, and the prospect of a national park in the Katahdin Region looked dim. In spite of the opposition — largely from sportsmen, snowmobilers and the forest products industry — Elliotsville Plantation Inc., the group formed by Roxanne Read More
Roxanne Quimby’s Son Offers New Hope for National Park Plan
Lucas St. Clair, a fisherman and hunter, is working to gain the trust of people in the Katahdin region and to overcome the hostility that his mother engendered. by Deidre Fleming, staff writer Portland Press Herald news story MOUNT CHASE – The man in jeans, a plaid shirt and flip-flops who strolled onto the lawn Read More
Report Details How Climate Change is Harming Freshwater Fishing
Urgent Action Needed to Protect Freshwater Fish, Their Habitats, & Related Economy NRCM and NWF Press Release Climate change is the most serious threat to America’s freshwater fish and urgent action is needed at all levels to preserve key species and their habitats, according to a new report released today by the National Wildlife Federation. Read More
Project Puffin Celebrates 40 Years, Addresses New Dangers
By Aislinn Sarnacki, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story EASTERN EGG ROCK— Wings beating rapidly, an Atlantic puffin flew by, fish spilling from the sides of its orange bill. “He’s circling,” said Dr. Steve Kress, following the puffin with binoculars. “I think he has hake, maybe herring.” The puffin returned, flying low over the Read More
Learning about Lobsters
I get to do some pretty cool things thanks to my job at the Natural Resources Council of Maine. I met Bonnie Raitt at a concert on the eve of the removal of the Edwards Dam. NRCM was invited to work at a Phish concert (how cool is that?!) in Augusta. I met Senator George Read More
Banner photo: Moose near Baxter State Park, by Gerard Monteux
