Senate Bill Championed by Senators Collins and King NRCM news release June 17, 2020 (Augusta, ME) – The United States Senate today overwhelmingly passed the Great American Outdoors Act to expand access to the outdoors and support Maine’s recreation economy. The bill, which was championed by Senators Susan Collins and Angus King, will fully and Read More
North Woods Protection & LUPC
NRCM Testimony in Support of LD 1561, An Act To Amend the Maine Land Use Planning Commission Laws and Enhance the Economic Vitality of Neighboring Communities
Good afternoon Senator Dill, Representative Hickman, and members of the Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry Committee. My name is Cathy Johnson. I live in Alna. I am here today on behalf of more than 20,000 members and supporters of the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) to speak in support of LD 1561, An Act to Read More
NRCM Testimony Regarding the Proposed Budget for the Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry
Good morning Senators Breen and Dill, Representatives Gattine and Hickman, and members of both the Appropriations and Financial Affairs and Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry Committees. My name is Cathy Johnson. I live in Alna. I am here today on behalf of the 20,000 members and supporters of the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) to Read More
Does Northern Maine Need More Subdivisions?
By Jonathan Robbins, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed Maine’s Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC) proposes to eliminate rules that limit new development applications within 1 mile of clusters of similar development anywhere in the Unorganized Territories. The new proposed system would allow new development applications of any type in designated zones along Read More
NRCM Testimony in Support of LD 568, An Act To Change the Composition of the Maine Land Use Planning Commission
Good afternoon Senator Dill, Representative Hickman, and members of the Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry Committee. My name is Cathy Johnson. I live in Alna. I am here today on behalf of the 20,000 members and supporters of the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) to speak in support of LD 568, An Act to the Read More
Re-organizing the Unorganized Territories
By Edgar Allen Beem The Forescaster column Environmental groups in Maine seem pretty united in opposition to a proposal to change the way the state regulates where development may occur in Maine’s unorganized territories, that 10 million-acre half of the state where fewer than 9,000 people live and the Land Use Planning Commission is the Read More
LUPC Proposal Faces Overwhelming Opposition from Maine People
95% of written comments raised major concerns NRCM News Release Augusta — A sweeping proposal by the Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC) that would open up 1.3 million acres of Maine’s North Woods for development and divert investments from existing communities has received overwhelming opposition from people across Maine, according to an analysis by the Natural Read More
Rule Paves the Way for Wrong Kind of Growth in Rural Maine
The latest proposal for development in the unorganized territory would hurt the communities it intends to help. Portland Press Herald editorial More than seven months ago, we wondered why state planning officials were proposing a substantial change in how development is guided in the unorganized territory – the 10 million or so acres of land, Read More
With Proposed Development Rule Change, Maine’s North Woods Hangs in the Balance
By Cathy Johnson, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed With few places in the world still relatively untouched by development, Maine’s 10.5 million acres of North Woods are a disappearing resource. These woods rejuvenate us: They provide opportunities for hunting, fishing and recreation, and serve as vital habitat for plants and animals. That Read More
