Describe Enormous Progress and Serious Threats to Clean Water in Maine NRCM news release Lewiston, ME — Today on the banks of the Androscoggin, once labeled the most polluted river in America, a diverse group of Mainers described the importance of the Clean Water Act. The Act became law on October 18, 1972, when Congress 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.
Trump’s “Dirty Budget” is a Grave Threat to the Health of Our Planet
By Josie Cowles and May Young, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed As young people, we’re often told we are responsible for the future, even though we can’t vote yet. We are teenagers, and because we will inherit this planet, healthy or not, we’re expected to clean up the messes left by those Read More
Removing Mercury from Penobscot River Likely Won’t be Easy
By Bill Trotter, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story Exactly how does someone clean toxic mercury deposits out of a section of a tidal river more than 30 miles long? That’s the main question a federal judge is expected to decide next year as part of a court-ordered cleanup of mercury dumped over decades Read More
Maine Environmental Group Slams Trump’s Proposed EPA Budget
by Fred Bever Maine Public news story State environmental activists took to Scarborough Beach on Thursday to condemn President Donald Trump’s plan to slash the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget by 30 percent. The Natural Resources Council of Maine staged the event to highlight the direct effects that it says Trump’s proposal would have on Maine: Read More
Don’t Muddy Clean Water Act Protections
Guest Column by Lee Margolin Keep Maine Current op-ed Beer, fish and lamprey. These are a few of my favorite things and they all depend on clean water. Luckily I am able to enjoy all three living in Harrison on the Crooked River, a class AA stream and the main tributary for Sebago Lake. As Read More
Federal Rollbacks Threaten State’s Drinking Water, Fishing Spots, Economy
Plans to reduce waterway protections, EPA research funding and pollution rules are all bad for Mainers. by Eliot Stanley of Portland, formerly chair of the Maine Regulatory Fairness Board and a record-holding Sebago Lake angler, serves on the board of the Sebago Lake Anglers Association. Portland Press Herald op-ed Summer is here. It’s the time Read More
Maine’s River Herring Making Dramatic Comeback, a Godsend for the Food Chain
With the path to inland spawning grounds clear, the species rebounds with unexpected speed, benefiting everything from bald eagles to Atlantic cod. By Colin Woodard, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story BATH — Motorists crossing the bridge over the Kennebec this spring and early summer were afforded dramatic views of one of Maine’s mightiest Read More
Four Maine Brewers Fight EPA Plan to Repeal Clean Water Regulations
To protect an ingredient vital to their product, they oppose having the agency oversee fewer waterways under a Trump administration proposal to restrict the government’s powers. by James Patrick, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story Four Maine breweries have signed on to an effort to fight the Trump administration’s plan to repeal a rule Read More
State Considers Taking Over Dam on Popular Fishing Lake
by Fred Bever Maine Public news story Gov. Paul LePage wants the state to take over a small dam in northern Maine that straddles the border with Canada on the St. Croix River. It’s one option to prevent its total abandonment by the paper company that now owns it. But the proposal is meeting skepticism Read More