Senator Saviello, Representative Hamper, and Members of the Environment and Natural Resources Committee: LD 341 would exempt a huge number of wetlands in Maine from state regulation. Most Maine lakes have outlet dams that increase lake levels, and these dams also create wetlands around the lakes. Most Maine rivers are dammed, and these dams also 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.
Sportsmen, Scientists, Clammers, and Others Speak Out Against Attacks on Water Quality Safeguards
NRCM * Maine Audubon * SAM * Maine Rivers * Maine Clammers’ Association * COLA * BRCA * Lakes Environmental Association AUGUSTA – At a statehouse news conference today, sportsmen, lake advocates, and experts on wildlife, water quality, and fisheries decried legislative attacks on Maine’s natural heritage. “There is an all-out assault on Maine’s water Read More
Vernal Pools at Center of Maine Environmental Regulation Debate
MPBN radio news story Conservationists, sportsmen and wetlands scientists gathered today in Augusta to speak out — again — against proposals before the Legislature. They complain the measures will undermine decades of progress by dirtying Maine’s waterways and polluting the wetlands that wading shorebirds and other waterfowl depend on to thrive. But Republicans say the Read More
A Feast—or Perhaps a Plague—of Frogs
A brief warning to readers before proceeding: this story could make you a bit queasy. Queasy doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt. I’ve never been a picky eater. My parents demanded that I eat everything on my plate, whatever it was. I remember as a kid dreading Easter dinner at my grandparents’ house Read More
Record Number of Rollback Bills Proposed to Weaken Environmental Safeguards
Statement by Pete Didisheim, NRCM Senior Director, Advocacy We are here today to bring attention to the most serious and sweeping set of proposed rollbacks of Maine’s environmental laws that we have ever seen. We’re no longer talking just about the governor’s proposed rollbacks of the safeguards that provide us with clean air, clean water, Read More
Creature Feature: Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle, also known as the American eagle since it occurs only here, is especially noticeable in winter, when eagles from the North and West move to the coast, where the climate is milder and the coastal waters are free of ice. In the winter they roost and hunt in groups, feeding in open water along large tidal rivers of the Maine coast, or perched on frozen ice in search of discards from the fishing shacks.
Sea Lamprey Migration in the Sheepscot River, Maine
NRCM’s Allison Wells and her young son happened upon the sea lamprey migration in the Sheepscot River, Coopers Mills, Maine, and captured this video. The sea lamprey is a native, parasitic fish that has a strange, disc-like mouth that it uses for feeding on the flesh of other fish. It also uses it to grasp Read More
Alewives vs. Culvert Bremen, Maine
Poorly sited and under-sized culverts cause problems for fish and other aquatic creatures all around the state of Maine. Culverts are common in Maine and are used to channel streams under roads at thousands of places throughout the state where roads cross streams. As many as 90% of these prevent fish from moving upstream, something Read More
Penobscot River Restoration Project to Boost Maine Economy, Restore Fish
Penobscot River Restoration Trust Awarded Funds to Remove Fish Passage Barriers Penobscot River Restoration Trust Today, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that it will invest $6.1 million through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to help rebuild the sea-run fisheries of Maine’s Penobscot River. A grant to the Penobscot River Restoration Trust Read More
