Clean, healthy waterways are vital to our day-to-day lives. They help ensure safe drinking water, suitable habitat for fish and other wildlife, and recreational opportunities that make Maine a special place to live, work, and visit. NRCM is working hard to protect and restore Maine’s lakes, rivers, and streams, now and for generations to come.
But Maine's waterways face huge challenges. For decades, paper companies and other mills along Maine's rivers have treated these great waterways as their own private dumping grounds. The pollution they discharge prevents our native fish from thriving and impairs the quality of life for the people who live in those communities.
Pollution is one issue, dams are another. Dams continue to choke waterways across the state. While some dams are strategically located to minimize damage to fisheries and generate significant amounts of renewable electricity, other dams are obsolete or destroy fisheries resources that are worth far more than the small amount of power they generate.
One such dam was the Edwards Dam. NRCM’s work with coalition partners to remove the Edwards Dam from the Kennebec has become a national model for success. Now, NRCM and our partners in the Penobscot River Restoration Trust are working to restore this vital watershed for the wildlife and people of Maine.
NRCM has served as the voice of Maine people by advocating for clean and healthy waterways. Find out more about the issues we work on and how you can get involved to ensure clean and healthy waters for Maine.
DEP Mining Contractor Tightly Linked to Mining Industry
NRCM Calls on DEP to Change Process to Protect Public Interests NRCM News Release The Natural Resources Council of Maine today released documents showing that a contractor recently hired by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to help rewrite Maine’s mining regulations is deeply connected to some of the world’s largest mining corporations, including Read More
Cleanup of Toxins Continues as Brooksville Ponders Taking Ownership of Callahan Mine Site
By Mario Moretto, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story BROOKSVILLE, Maine — The first phase of cleanup at the defunct, toxic Callahan Mine site is nearly complete, an environmental official told concerned residents here Wednesday. The cleanup of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, at the former mine operations site has taken longer than expected, said Read More
Clean Water Act – 40th Anniversary Today!
Forty years ago today, the U.S. Congress passed the Clean Water Act into law, and they did so in a remarkable fashion. In a powerful statement of bipartisan support for the environment, both the House and the Senate on October 18, 1972, voted to override President Nixon’s veto of this landmark bill. And it never would Read More
Mining Bald Mountain for Precious Metals Not Worth the Environmental Risk, Portland Speaker Says
by Seth Koenig, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story PORTLAND, Maine — A Canadian environmentalist and mining expert said Thursday there’s almost no way Bald Mountain can be mined without polluting nearby water, potentially for thousands of years. Ramsey Hart of MiningWatch Canada was tapped as the keynote speaker for the Natural Resources Council of Read More
State Alewife Policy Hurts Fishing Industry
Stringent limits on the species’ reintroduction to the St. Croix River deprive fish harvesters of a critical source of bait. by Nick Bennett Maine Sunday Telegram op-ed AUGUSTA – Gov. LePage could have given a big boost to Maine lobstermen and fishermen by supporting full restoration of the alewife population in the St. Croix River. Read More
The St. Croix River Should Be Opened to Alewives
Bangor Daily News editorial It’s time alewives were allowed into the upper reaches of the St. Croix River. Research, in addition to dozens of ponds and streams in Maine, show that alewives can coexist with smallmouth bass. Until there is solid scientific evidence that bass populations will diminish with an influx of alewives north of Read More
Don’t Underestimate Kennebec Atlantic Salmons’ Drive to Return
by Ron Joseph Kennebec Journal op-ed In mid-July, five adult Atlantic salmon were live-trapped at Waterville’s Lockwood Dam, the first of four Kennebec River dams blocking the upstream passage of salmon, alewives and other sea-run fish. The salmon, ranging in weight from 10 to 20 pounds, were trucked upriver of Waterville’s dams and released in Read More
Battle Over Bald Mountain
A controversial new law — aimed at the Aroostook County mount – loosens state regulations for open-pit mining. By Jeff Clark Down East Magazine news story July 2012 Bald Mountain is almost as tall as the pile of broken dreams it has created. Ever since a large, but low-quality, deposit of copper, zinc, gold, and Read More
Passamaquoddy Tribe United in Support of Restoring St. Croix Alewife Run
The Passamaquoddy tribe is now united in its support of restoring the St. Croix alewife run. The three Passamaquoddy chiefs from Pleasant Point and Indian Township in Maine and the Passamaquoddy tribe in Canada signed a declaration of emergency yesterday and called on the Maine Legislature or the International Joint Commission to restore alewife passage Read More
Banner photo: Allagash Wilderness Waterway by Sam Horine
