NRCM news release On Tuesday, Governor LePage’s top energy staffer, Patrick Woodcock, led an effort to cut $7.5 million for home weatherization and heating efficiency from the Efficiency Maine’s proposed three-year budget at the same time the governor is refusing to release voter-approved Land for Maine’s Future (LMF) funds because he claims to be concerned Read More
public lands
Public Lands Commission Slams the Door on Governor’s Demands
By George Smith Bangor Daily News blog The legislature’s Public Lands Commission has slammed the door on Governor Paul LePage’s demand that revenue in the Public Lands Bureau be diverted to purchase wood stoves for poor Mainers and other purposes. At the Commission’s Tuesday meeting, not a single voice was raised to support the governor Read More
Attorney General Mills Questions LePage Plan to Divert Timber Revenue
Gov. Paul LePage wants to harvest more timber on state-owned land to pay for a home heating assistance program, but he has angered others by linking the issue to the Land for Maine’s Future program. By Kevin Miller, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story AUGUSTA — Attorney General Janet Mills said a LePage administration Read More
Attorney General: LePage Probably Can’t Use Timber Harvest Profits to Pay for Heating Assistance
by A.J. Higgins MPBN news story AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine Attorney General Janet Mills is casting doubt on plans by Gov. Paul LePage to use revenues from timber harvesting on public lands to pay for heating assistance for the poor. Citing past court opinions and restrictions in the Maine Constitution, Mills says the governor’s plan Read More
Maine People Tell Governor: You’re Wrong!
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
NRCM to Present Awards to Portland, Phippsburg, Liberty, Bethel Conservation Leaders
NRCM News Release Augusta, ME – Maine’s leading nonprofit membership organization working to protect Maine’s land, air, water, and wildlife, has named its 2015 Conservation Leadership Award winners. The Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) presents the awards each year to individuals or groups that have made an extraordinary contribution to the protection of Maine’s Read More
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
No Need to Cut Public Forests to Achieve LePage’s Heating Goal
By Ralph Chapman, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed Gov. Paul LePage’s proposal to aid “fellow Mainers who are most in need” with home heating assistance deserves further consideration, as it is a worthy goal. Most of the attention to his plan has focused on problems with his proposed source of funding (increased Read More
Commission Shows Little Appetite for Raiding Maine Public Lands Trust Fund
“No extra cash,” say Public Lands directors by Christine Parrish Free Press news story “This is not the State’s woodlot. It’s the people’s land. It’s our land. We hold it in trust for Maine people. It’s not just about the money we make.” — Will Harris, former director, Maine Public Lands The first hurdle for Read More
