Five-Year Offshore Plan could devastate Maine’s coastlines, fisheries and coastal communities Statement of Lisa Pohlmann, Executive Director, Natural Resources Council of Maine “The Trump Administration today released a dangerous five-year plan for offshore oil and gas leasing in the Atlantic Ocean—including off the coast of Maine, Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Arctic Ocean. This Read More
Federal Issues
Our advocates, members, supporters, and partners work to defend our hard-earned environmental safeguards and to ensure Maine’s elected officials in Washington, DC, stand up for Maine’s environment. Decisions made there have lasting effects on Maine’s clean water, fresh air, healthy forests, thriving wildlife, and on the health of Maine people, our economy, and our way of life.
The Natural Resources Council of Maine identifies and addresses the issues at play in our nation’s capital that have the largest impacts here at home.
Find out the latest on federal issues affecting our state's land, air, water, and wildlife.
Maine Rep. Pingree: Republican Budget Bill Will Dismantle Environmental Protections
The legacy of Muskie’s Clean Water Act is on the line in the budget’s assault on our air, water and land. by Rep. Chellie Pingree, member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and the Environment, which oversees Environmental Protection Agency funding Portland Press Herald op-ed WASHINGTON — As Republicans in Congress rush through a partisan Read More
Final Tax Bill Includes Damaging Provision to Drill for Oil in the Arctic
Statement of Lisa Pohlmann, Executive Director, Natural Resources Council of Maine “We are deeply disappointed in Senator Susan Collins’ vote for the final tax bill, which overturns decades of protection from oil drilling in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). This vote betrays the will of the majority of Mainers, and reverses Senator Collins’ Read More
We Can’t Bring Extinct Species Back. It’s Our Duty to Protect Them Now.
By Jeff Wells, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed Since the age of 5, my son has been able to identify a bald eagle when one perches or flies near our house in Maine. Forty years ago, this would not have been the case, as Maine’s population had declined to only 30 nesting Read More
Collins Draws Ire from Conservation Groups Over Vote on Senate Tax Bill, Allowing Arctic Drilling
by Susan Sharon Maine Public news story As Republicans look to reconcile key differences between the House and Senate versions of their tax bills, one of the flashpoints is around a remote, eastern corner of Alaska — the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, considered one of the most pristine wilderness areas in the country. The Senate Read More
Interior Secretary Zinke Fails to Resolve Uncertainty for Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument
Statement of Cathy Johnson, Forests and Wildlife Project Director, Natural Resources Council of Maine “Today Interior Secretary Zinke released a memorandum to President Trump recommending potentially damaging changes to Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. It is unclear what action President Trump will take in response to the recommendations. “At a time when residents and Read More
Senate Tax Bill Passes, Including Environmentally Damaging Give-Away to Fossil Fuel Corporations
Statement of Lisa Pohlmann, Executive Director, Natural Resources Council of Maine We are deeply disappointed that Senator Collins voted for a tax bill that would open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil drilling. This vote reverses her 20-year record of opposing efforts to allow oil drilling in ANWR, and it is inconsistent Read More
Trump Administration to Hold Sham EPA Hearing to Repeal Clean Power Plan
Stark Contrast with Extensive Public Input to Establish the Plan Statement of Lisa Pohlmann, CEO, Natural Resources Council of Maine “We are deeply disturbed by the Trump Administration’s misguided plan to push through the repeal of the Clean Power Plan, which set the nation’s first limits on carbon pollution from power plants, despite overwhelming public support. Read More
Katahdin Woods and Waters: “Renewed Hope for Maine”
by Mary Kuhlman Public News Service news story AUGUSTA, Maine – From Maine to California, hundreds of small businesses are speaking up on behalf of some of the country’s most treasured places. Nearly 600 businesses and chambers of commerce on Thursday sent a letter asking the head of the National Economic Council to encourage the Read More
