Senator Carson, Representative Tucker, and members of the Environment and Natural Resources Committee, my name is Nick Bennett, and I am the Staff Scientist for the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM). NRCM is Maine’s largest environmental advocacy group with more than 20,000 members and supporters. I am testifying in opposition to LD 983. Maine Read More
Clean & Free-flowing Waters
Thanks largely to the Clean Water Act, Maine’s great rivers are much cleaner than they were 40 years ago, but we still have a long way to go to restore many of them. NRCM continues to make clean water a high priority. NRCM was founded by a group of Mainers working to protect the Allagash River, which was designated as the nation's first Wild & Scenic River. Today, it is known as the Allagash Wilderness Waterway. In partnership with others, we also opened up part of the Kennebec River with the removal of the Edwards Dam, and we reopened 2,000 miles of habitat in the Penobscot River Watershed for Atlantic salmon and other sea-run fish.
Support of LD 959, An Act To Increase Funding for the Maine Lakes Society’s “LakeSmart” Program
Senator Carson, Representative Tucker, and members of the Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. My name is Kristin Jackson, I am an Outreach Coordinator for the Natural Resources Council of Maine, and I appreciate this opportunity to testify in support of LD 959, which would provide important funding to help protect Maine’s lakes. Read More
Let’s Clean Our Lakes and Ponds
Loads of lead fishing lures can be found at the bottom of even the cleanest bodies of water. By George Smith Kennebec Journal column We’re blessed with our beautiful brooks, steams, rivers, ponds and lakes — but there is still a lot of work to do to clean them up. Thankfully, we don’t have the Read More
Support of LD 543, An Act To Protect Public Health through Subsurface Wastewater Disposal System Inspections
Senator Carson, Representative Tucker, and members of the Environment and Natural Resources Committee: My name is Nick Bennett, and I am the staff scientist for the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM). NRCM is Maine’s largest environmental advocacy group with more than 20,000 members and supporters. I am testifying in support of LD 543. This Read More
“Who Wants to Swim in a Cesspool?”
State lawmakers are likely to approve a measure to require the inspection of lakefront septic systems whenever a property changes hands, a regulation already in place for seaside properties. by Steve Collins Sun Journal news story AUGUSTA — In a bid to preserve water quality in Maine, there is a good chance state lawmakers this Read More
How Removing One Maine Dam 20 Years Ago Changed Everything
The removal of the Edwards Dam on Maine’s Kennebec River helped river conservationists reimagine what’s possible. February 11, 2019 By Tara Lohan Turning Points column in The Revelator View graphics from news story. Welcome to the first edition of “Turning Points,” our new column examining critical moments in environmental history when change occurred for the Read More
DEP’s River and Stream Upgrade Proposal is Good for Maine
By Ray Owen, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed I have spent much my life working to improve Maine’s environment. I was a professor of wildlife ecology at the University of Maine for 32 years, commissioner of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for four, and chaired Maine’s former Land Use Read More
Opposition to LD 281, Resolve, Regarding Legislative Review of Portions of Chapter 692: Siting of Oil Storage Facilities, a Major Substantive Rule of the Department of Environmental Protection
Senator Carson, Representative Tucker, and members of the Environment and Natural Resources Committee: My name is Nick Bennett. I am the Staff Scientist for the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM), which is Maine’s largest environmental advocacy group with more than 20,000 members and supporters. I am testifying in opposition to LD 281 and the Read More
Support of LD 216 and LD 319, Two Water Quality Bills
Testimony in Support of LD 216, An Act To Protect Water Quality by Standardizing the Law Concerning Septic Inspection in the Shoreland Zone; and LD 319, An Act To Standardize the Laws Concerning Property Transfers and To Protect Water Quality Senator Carson, Representative Tucker, and members of the Environment and Natural Resources Committee: My name Read More
