Robert Long, BDN staff Bangor Daily News news story A proposed 220-mile east-highway across Maine will hurt local businesses and destroy wildlife habitat, opponents of the project said at a State House event Tuesday. Patrick McGowan, a former Route 2 business owner, Maine conservation commissioner, legislator and Democratic candidate for governor, said Tuesday that “people Read More
Protecting Wildlife
Maine is home to a wide variety of wildlife, and, for some species, Maine makes up a vast majority of their range or provides essential habitat that can’t be found elsewhere. NRCM works to protect Maine’s wildlife by advocating for policies that ensure they have healthy habitat and abundant resources to thrive.
Bill Aims to Get Lead Out of Maine Loons
It would ban fishermen from using sinkers and jigs made of lead, but some say the move is unnecessary. by Susan M. Cover, State House Bureau Portland Press Herald news story AUGUSTA — A former head of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine told lawmakers Thursday that fishermen should stop using lead sinkers and jigs that Read More
Alewives’ Passage in St. Croix Hinges on Passage of Bills in Augusta
by Colin Woodard, staff writer Portland Press Herald news story Though reduced in numbers, the St. Croix River’s alewives have a lot of friends. At a legislative hearing Monday, speaker after speaker rose in support of a bill that would open most of the fishways at most of the river’s dams immediately to the small Read More
Let Those Alewives Go
Bangor Daily News editorial The state committee charged with recommending whether to let alewives back into the upper reaches of the St. Croix River should base its decision on science, not anecdotes or politics, and approve a bill to allow the river herring unfettered access to spawning ground. Standing before the Committee on Marine Resources Read More
Maine Bill Seeks to Restore Alewives to St. Croix River
by Susan Sharon MPBN news story Scientists, tribal leaders and fishermen turned out in Augusta today in support of a proposal to immediately restore alewives to their traditional spawning grounds in the St. Croix River, along the eastern border with Canada. Alewives, or river herring, have been blocked for nearly two decades by a state Read More
East-west Highway Foes Pursue Access to Information
Much of a hearing on confidentiality also serves as a forum for criticisms of the proposed $2 billion project. by Michael Shepherd, State House Bureau Portland Press Herald news story Opponents of a proposed east-west highway across Maine packed a legislative hearing Friday to lobby lawmakers for more access to information about the controversial project. Read More
Bill Seeks to Lift Confidentiality from East-west Highway Partnership, but MDOT Says No Partnership Exists
By Robert Long, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story Lingering suspicions about plans to build a 220-mile east-west highway through central and rural Maine drew a large crowd to a legislative hearing Friday on a bill to make documents related to projects like it public. Sponsored by Assistant House Democratic Leader Jeff McCabe of Read More
NRCM Testimony in Support of LD 721, An Act to Provide Transparency in Public-private Partnerships for Transportation Projects
Good afternoon Sen. Mazurek, Rep. Theriault and Members of the Transportation Committee. My name is Lisa Pohlmann. I am a resident of Jefferson. I am the Executive Director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine. I am here today on behalf of the 12,000 members and supporters of the Natural Resources Council of Maine in Read More
Don’t Let This Legislation Get Away: Open the St. Croix to Alewives
by Dennis Damon Bangor Daily News op-ed The Marine Resources Committee and the Maine Legislature should act this session to pass legislation — LD 72, presented by Rep. Madonna Soctomah of the Passamaquoddy Tribe — that would remove the blockage it mandated in 1995 to stop native alewife from returning to the St. Croix River. Read More