By George Smith Bangor Daily News column It is time for the Governor to realize he isn’t going to get his wish of diverting funding away from Maine’s public lands, and do the right thing: release those Land for Maine’s Future Bonds. Maine people strongly agree on this, and an opinion issued yesterday by Janet Read More
State House Watch
Working for legislation to protect Maine’s environment is an essential part of NRCM’s mission for the people of Maine. During the legislative session, we are at the Maine State House, just a block from our office, to work for new safeguards and also to defend existing legislation that protects Maine’s land, air, water, and wildlife.
Public Lands About Much More Than Cutting Trees
By Jenn Burns Gray, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed Over the past few months, the revenue generated from the timber harvest on Maine’s public lands has been in the spotlight. The Bangor Daily News published an editorial Sept. 25 that highlights the numerous problems with Gov. Paul LePage’s plan to increase timber Read More
Diverse Leaders Call for Strong Efficiency Plan to Maximize Energy Savings
Efficiency Maine Trust seeks input on 3-year plan that will go to PUC NRCM News Release Augusta, ME – Today, as the Efficiency Maine Trust is holding a public input session, a diverse group of experts called on Efficiency Maine and the Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to develop and approve, respectively, a strong three-year Read More
Land for Maine’s Future Too Vulnerable to Governor’s Whims
The structure of the popular conservation program should be changed so one person can’t stall it unilaterally. By The Editorial Board Portland Press Herald editorial Members of the Land for Maine’s Future board have a right to be angry. For years, the program has worked without a hitch. A bond was approved by the Legislature Read More
LePage Asks Maine Delegation to Intervene in Tribal Waters Dispute with Feds
By A.J. Higgins MPBN news story AUGUSTA, Maine – As the impasse between Maine and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over water quality standards deepens, the LePage administration is threatening to relinquish some or all of the state’s delegated authority to ensure compliance with the Clean Water Act. Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Patty Aho Read More
Colorado Mining Disaster Shows Maine was Right to Reject Mining Rules — Again
By Nick Bennett, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed 2015 has been a year of seconds with respect to mining. For the second time, the Department of Environmental Protection submitted the same weak mining rules it submitted to the Legislature in 2014. For the second time, the Legislature wisely rejected them. Also for Read More
Maine Can’t Cut More Trees from Its Public Forests on a Whim
By The BDN Editorial Board Bangor Daily News editorial As lawmakers departed Augusta last month, they left a debate unsettled about how much wood to cut from Maine’s public forests, how to use the revenue from those logging operations, and what will become of $11.5 million in voter-approved, land-protection bonds. In the coming weeks, a Read More
Legislature Blocked Several Measures that would Have Hurt Progress on Climate Change
By Tom Tietenberg Kennebec Journal op-ed Several recent reports, coming from very different perspectives, have made a strong case for the world to take action to diminish the risks posed by climate change. These include the papal encyclical, which makes the moral case; a recent EPA report, which quantifies the economic case; and the report Read More
Unless Bonds Released, Hunting and Fishing Spots Could Make Endangered List
Our priceless wilderness might be up for bid soon because of Gov. LePage’s unceasing obstinacy. By Martin Grohman Portland Press Herald op-ed About the Author Martin Grohman is a first-term Democratic state representative from Biddeford. BIDDEFORD — I was lucky enough to get a moose permit this year, and I’ve already been scouting in anticipation Read More
