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Natural Resources Council of Maine

Protecting the Nature of Maine

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Melanie Sturm, Forests & Wildlife Director

As NRCM's new Forests and Wildlife Director, Melanie will be continuing the organization’s long history of keeping Maine’s remote places wild by monitoring development in the North Woods and ensuring the state’s natural character is protected for years to come. Her work includes serving as NRCM’s point person for the Land for Maine’s Future program. Prior to joining NRCM in early 2020, Melanie worked at the Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco as well as for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the American Sportfishing Association in Washington, D.C., focusing on natural resource policy and management. She earned a master’s degree in Biology and Society from Arizona State University where she studied ecosystem services. Having grown up primarily in Pennsylvania, Melanie has a deep appreciation and proclivity for forested environments, which she feels beyond fortunate to be turning into a career. Melanie lives in Falmouth and enjoys hikes in the mountains or reading by a quiet lake.

About Melanie Sturm, Forests & Wildlife Director

As NRCM's new Forests and Wildlife Director, Melanie will be continuing the organization’s long history of keeping Maine’s remote places wild by monitoring development in the North Woods and ensuring the state’s natural character is protected for years to come. Her work includes serving as NRCM’s point person for the Land for Maine’s Future program. Prior to joining NRCM in early 2020, Melanie worked at the Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco as well as for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the American Sportfishing Association in Washington, D.C., focusing on natural resource policy and management. She earned a master’s degree in Biology and Society from Arizona State University where she studied ecosystem services. Having grown up primarily in Pennsylvania, Melanie has a deep appreciation and proclivity for forested environments, which she feels beyond fortunate to be turning into a career. Melanie lives in Falmouth and enjoys hikes in the mountains or reading by a quiet lake.

Flying the Flag of Wilderness

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Flags are symbols that can mean different things to different people, but there is generally a shared understanding of the values they represent. Wilderness is similar in that it embodies an ideal ecological state. A mental picture of wilderness is easy to call up: You might imagine free-flowing rivers, bountiful wildlife, or dark, starfilled skies. Read More

The Timeless Importance of Wilderness in Maine

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As the campaign to create the Allagash Wilderness Waterway heated up more than 50 years ago, Lew Dietz wrote:  “A river that can serve, not the demands of man’s materials needs, but as a sanctuary of the human spirit, is a large river indeed.” Sentiments like this ring true today as our planet is increasingly Read More

Update: What’s Happening to the Plum Creek Plan for Moosehead Lake?

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Fifteen years ago, the Natural Resources Council of Maine and people who love Maine’s North Woods were embroiled in a protracted campaign to prevent the Seattle-based Plum Creek Timber Company from forever ruining the Moosehead Lake region with the largest development proposal in Maine history. Over a five-year period, ending in 2009, we collectively achieved Read More

Maine’s Outdoor Spaces Offer Respite During Trying Times

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In E. O. Wilson’s 1984 book Biophilia, the world-renowned biologist and Harvard University professor described an innate “love of life” that humans have, meaning, we are drawn to nature. In an interview with PBS, he said this intrinsic attraction is so basic that he believed most people understand it and that it’s slowly instilling a Read More

Land for Maine’s Future: 3 Reasons LMF is about More than Land Conservation

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When Land for Maine’s Future (LMF) was enacted in 1987, the program was remarkably forward-looking and a harbinger of good things to come. Over the past three decades, LMF has become Maine’s most important and popular land conservation program. But the program has not received any new funding since 2012, which is why we’re working Read More