One sure thing about 2020 is this: Maine real estate was red hot. Driven at least in part by the pandemic and its side effects, the Maine Association of Realtors reported that home sales and prices set records in 2020, including in rural and northern Maine. Real estate transactions were up 39.14% in Washington County, Read More
About Melanie Sturm, Forests & Wildlife Director
What’s New at Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument?
Like many people, you may have explored Maine’s stunning outdoors this year to decompress and clear your mind. Now in its fourth year, Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument (KWW) is the perfect example of a safe, remote place to recreate during a roller coaster year. As you begin to think about how you’ll spend Read More
Listening to Migratory Birds for a Deeper Connection to the Natural World
Animal migrations are a natural marvel. Seeing the departure and return of birds, like sandpipers, puffins, and a number of songbirds and waterfowl, to and from Maine every year is a joyful way to mark the seasons. But have you ever considered making the journey yourself to take in the sights and sounds of a Read More
A Conversation with Michael Vermette, Allagash Visiting Artist
This is the second in a two-part blog series that explores the intersection of art and environmental protection with interviews featuring the 2020 visiting artists for Baxter State Park and the Allagash Wilderness Waterway. Read our interview with Baxter visiting artist Jill Osgood. This year the Bureau of Parks and Lands introduced a new artist Read More
Celebrating 30 Years of the Caribou-Speckled Wilderness
September 28, 2020, is the 30th anniversary of the Maine Wilderness Act, which was signed into law by President George H. W. Bush and designated 12,000 acres of the White Mountain National Forest as the Caribou-Speckled Mountain Wilderness. The Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) is proud of the role we played decades ago in Read More
How Climate Change is Impacting Maine’s Forests & Industries that Depend on Them
Research compiled by scientists at the University of Maine (UMaine) and the Maine Climate Council’s Scientific and Technical Committee makes clear that Maine’s beloved forests will likely look different in the future. Your kids and grandkids may find maple syrup, holiday trees, and powder days harder to come by when they’re grown. Predictions aside, the Read More
Your Stories from the Allagash
We asked, and you answered! Thank you to everyone who sent us their stories and photos from the Allagash Wilderness Waterway in celebration of the 50th anniversary of it being designated a Wild and Scenic River. These are wonderful tales and, in some cases, utterly wild. Enjoy! —Melanie Sturm, NRCM Forests & Wildlife Director “If Read More
Flying the Flag of Wilderness
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
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
