To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act and the many people involved in this work, NRCM recognized Maine’s “Clean Water Champions” who have been leaders in river, lake, coastal water, and drinking water clean-up.
To find these Champions, we asked people from all over the state to nominate champions in one of four categories: paid professionals, volunteers, posthumous recognition, and other. A selection committee chose 100 CWA Champions, listed below. Congratulations to all of these Champions!
| Clean Water Champion | Title | Affiliation | County |
| William Adams* | Former Director | Lewiston Department of Public Works | Androscoggin |
| Beth Ahearn | Political Director | Maine Conservation Voters | Cumberland |
| Brian Altvater | Chairman | Schoodic RiverKeepers | Washington |
| Noela Altvater | Student | Wabanaki Youth in Science, University of Maine | Washington |
| John Banks | Former Director | Penobscot Nation Dept. of Natural Resources | Penobscot |
| Ed Bassett | Environmental Technician | Passamaquoddy Tribe of Indians, Pleasant Point Reservation | Washington |
| Nick Bennett | Healthy Waters Program Director | Natural Resources Council of Maine | Kennebec |
| Paul Bisulca | Advocate | Schoodic RiverKeepers | Penobscot |
| Curtis Bohlen | Director | Casco Bay Estuary Partnership | Cumberland |
| Roy Bouchard | Retired Biologist | Lakes Assessment Program, Maine DEP | Kennebec |
| Steve Brooke | Former Senior Planner | Maine State Planning Office | Kennebec |
| Rachel Burger | Founder | Protect South Portland | Cumberland |
| John Burrows | Executive Director of U.S. Operations | Atlantic Salmon Federation | York |
| Sergio Cahueque | Organizer | Defend Our Health | Cumberland |
| Aram Calhoun | Professor Emerita of Wetlands Ecology | University of Maine | Penobscot |
| Brownie Carson | Former Senator | Maine State Legislature | Cumberland |
| Jim Chandler | Former Education Coordinator and District Manager | Oxford County Soil and Water Conservation District | Oxford |
| John Cole* | Journalist, Co-Founder | Maine Times | Kennebec |
| Brenda Commander | Former Chief | Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians | Aroostook |
| Sandi Cort | Co-Founder | Friends of the Presumpscot River | Cumberland |
| David Courtemanch | Freshwater Scientist and Policy Analyst | The Nature Conservancy of Maine | Kennebec |
| Barry Dana | Former Chief | Penobscot Nation | Penobscot |
| Susan Davies | Former Water Quality Standards Coordinator | Environmental Assessment Division, Maine DEP | Waldo |
| Laura Rose Day | President and CEO | 7 Lakes Alliance | Kennebec |
| Jeff Dennis | Biologist | Maine DEP Bureau of Land and Water Quality | Kennebec |
| Fred Dillon | Stormwater Coordinator | City of South Portland | Cumberland |
| Lee Doggett* | Ecologist | Maine DEP | Lincoln |
| Dusti Faucher* | Co-Founder | Friends of the Presumpscot River | Cumberland |
| Chief Kirk Francis | Chief | Penobscot Nation | Penobscot |
| Rick Freeman* | Professor of Economics | Bowdoin College | Sagadahoc |
| Ivy Frignoca | Casco Baykeeper | Friends of Casco Bay | Cumberland |
| Kiara Frischkorn | Organizer | Old Orchard Beach Cleanup | York |
| Susan Gallo | Executive Director | Maine Lakes | Cumberland |
| Cassie Gibbs | Aquatic Entomologist | University of Maine | Penobscot |
| Jenn Burns Gray | Former Staff Attorney | Maine Audubon | Cumberland |
| Nate Gray | Scientists | Sea Run Fisheries and Habitat, Maine DMR | Kennebec |
| Patty Hager | Former Board Chair | NRCM Board | Somerset |
| Bart Hague | President Emeritus | Maine Lakes | Oxford |
| Leeann Hanson | Training Coordinator | JETCC | Cumberland |
| Hoddy Hildreth* | Former State Senator | Maine State Legislature | Cumberland |
| Roberta Hill | Invasive Species Program Director | Lake Stewards of Maine | Androscoggin |
| Bill Hinkley* | Chemical Engineer | Maine Department of Environmental Protection | Lincoln |
| Michael-Corey F. Hinton | Tribal Nations Practice Group Leader | Drummond Woodsum | Cumberland |
| Colin Holme | Executive Director | Lakes Environmental Association | Cumberland |
| Landis Hudson | Executive Director | Maine Rivers | Cumberland |
| Paul Hunt | Environmental Services Manager | Portland Water District | Cumberland |
| Evelyn Jephson* | Former Board Member | Maine Board of Environmental Protection | York |
| Jennifer Jespersen | Volunteer Lake Monitor | Maine Lakes | Kennebec |
| Steve Kahl | Founding Director | George Mitchell Center for Environmental Research, University of Maine | Kennebec |
| Peter Kallin | Former Executive Director | Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance | Kennebec |
| John Kauffmann* | Author, Conservationist | Cumberland | |
| Brian Kavanah | Director | Maine DEP Bureau of Water Quality | Kennebec |
| Martha Kirkpatrick | Former Commissioner | Maine DEP | Waldo |
| Ron Kreisman | Former Counsel | Natural Resources Council of Maine | Cumberland |
| Dan Kusnierz | Water Resources Program Manager | Penobscot Nation | Penobscot |
| Ferguson Lea | Executive Director | Androscoggin River Watershed Council | Androscoggin |
| Kenneth Locke* | Director of Environmental Services | City of Brewer | Penobscot |
| Peter Lowell | Former Executive Director | Lakes Environmental Association | Cumberland |
| Jon Lund | Former Attorney General | State of Maine | Kennebec |
| Rayburn MacDonald* | Former Chief Engineer | Maine DEP | Lincoln |
| Sue Mello | Program Manager | Boothbay Region Water District | Lincoln |
| George Mitchell | Former U.S. Senator | U.S. Congress | Kennebec |
| Barry Mower | Biologist | Maine DEP | Kennebec |
| Sandy Muller | Coordinator | Friends of Wilson Lake | Franklin |
| Wynn Muller | Vice President/ Treasurer | Friends of Wilson Lake | Franklin |
| Dana Murch | Former Supervisor | Maine DEP Dams and Hydropower | Waldo |
| Edmund Muskie* | Former U.S. Senator | U.S. Congress | Oxford |
| Chief Rena Newell | Chief | Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point | Washington |
| John Nutting | Former State Senator | Maine State Legislature | Androscoggin |
| Bucky Owen | Former Commissioner | Maine DIFW | Penobscot |
| Joe Payne | Former Casco Baykeeper | Friends of Casco Bay | Cumberland |
| Don Perkins | CEO | Gulf of Maine Research Institute | Kennebec |
| Will Plumley | Co-Founder | Friends of the Presumpscot River | Cumberland |
| Rob Pontau | General Manager | Brunswick Sewer District | Androscoggin |
| Greg Ponte | Former Maine Council Chair | Trout Unlimited | Kennebec |
| Jeff Reardon | Maine Brook Trout Project Director | Trout Unlimited | Kennebec |
| Evan Richert | Former Director | State Planning Office | Penobscot |
| Tom Saviello | Former State Senator | Maine State Legislature | Franklin |
| Matthew Scott | Former Chief Biologist | Maine DEP | Kennebec |
| Nickie Sekera | Co-Founder | Community Water Justice | Oxford |
| Luke Sekera-Flanders | Co-Founder | Community Water Justice | Oxford |
| Maggie Shannon | Former Executive Director | Maine Lakes | Kennebec |
| Michael Shaughnessy | Co-Founder | Friends of the Presumpscot River | Cumberland |
| Dwayne Shaw | Executive Director | Downeast Salmon Federation | Hancock |
| Madonna Soctomah | Former State Representative | Maine State Legislature | Washington |
| John Sowles | Former Director, Ecology Division | Maine Department of Marine Resources | Cumberland |
| Cheryl St. Peter | Volunteer Lake Monitor | Lake Stewards of Maine | Aroostook |
| Jeff Stern | Environmental Director | Androscoggin River Watershed Council | Cumberland |
| Matthew Streeter | Project Manager | Outlet Stream Project | Cumberland |
| Bill Townsend* | Former President | NRCM, Maine Rivers | Somerset |
| Sharri Venno | Environmental Planner | Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians | Aroostook |
| Chuck Verrill | President | Maine Rivers | Cumberland |
| Barb Welch | President of the Board of Directors | Lake Stewards of Maine | Lincoln |
| John White* | Volunteer | Southern Maine Beach Profile Monitoring Program | York |
| David Wilkins | Advocate | Edwards Dam and Kennebec Restoration | Lincoln |
| Scott Williams | Founder and Former Executive Director | Lake Stewards of Maine | Androscoggin |
| Laura Wilson | 4-H Science Youth Development Professional | UMaine Cooperative Extension | Penobscot |
| Deb Wilson | Project Director | Damariscotta Mills Fish Ladder Restoration | Lincoln |
| Don Witherill | Former Director, Watershed Management | Maine Department of Environmental Protection | Kennebec |
| Tina Wood | Founder | Upstream | Kennebec |
| Angie Wotton | District Manager | Southern Aroostook Soil and Water Conservation District | Aroostook |
*Denotes posthumous recognition
