by Susan M. Cover, staff writer
AUGUSTA — Fifty years ago, a small group of people got together and decided there was a need to protect Maine’s environment.
Fifty years later, the Natural Resources Council of Maine is looking back on campaigns and hard-fought battles, and looking to a future filled with more of the same.
“If NRCM had not existed and not done the things it did, the state of Maine would not look like it does now,” said Bill Townsend, a Skowhegan lawyer who got involved with the group shortly after it was formed.
The group, which is hosting a 50th anniversary celebration at its Augusta headquarters on Thursday, counts among its accomplishments the protection of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, the removal of the Edwards Dam in Augusta, the billboard ban and the expansion of the bottle bill.
Rep. Sharon Treat, D-Hallowell, worked as a lobbyist for the group in the 1980s, and worked on the expansion of the bottle bill, growth-management issues and a chemical-right-to-know measure.
Treat, an attorney who now works as executive director of the National Legislative Association on Prescription Drug Prices, said NRCM has grown into a professional organization with scientists and other experts on staff.
“I think NRCM is the most effective statewide environmental group in the country,” she said. “We have some very, very good nonprofit organizations and NRCM is one of them.”>/p>
The group is also not without controversy.
Patrick Strauch, executive director of the Maine Forest Products Council, said while they recognize NRCM on the anniversary, they are glad the group is “not the sole perspective.”
Strauch said his group often disagrees with NRCM on a number of issues, including a recent effort to put together a new comprehensive land-use plan.
“We fully expect to face NRCM on many policy issues in the future,” Strauch said in a statement. “Our hope is that they will embrace recent science, accurate data and new trends, and recognize that the sky is not falling on the north woods, on our lakes and rivers or mountains.”>/p>
Jon Lund, of Hallowell, who served as NRCM board president in the 1980s, said the issues may have changed over the years, but the need for an active environmental group has not.
“People for whom pollution control is an expense will always have lobbyists looking to cut costs by cutting corners, and you need to have a counterbalance,” he said.
Townsend said he got involved with the group after reading a His affiliation with the group has continued ever since as a board member for most of those 50 years. “I’ve stayed very active in environmental issues for 50 years and hope I remain active until I croak,” he said. Early on, the group worked on air and water pollution, pesticide use and land regulation. They’ve fought new dam proposals in various parts of the state, including one planned for the West Branch of the Penobscot River. Mark Ishkanian of Readfield, a public-relations consultant, worked for the group for 11 years from 1979 to 1991. “The work we did on protecting the West Branch of the Penobscot from the Big A dam was a key victory for fishermen and white-water enthusiasts,” he said. He agreed with Treat that it’s unusual for a state environmental organization to have so many experts on staff. Moving forward, NRCM will have to continue to explain issues to the public, some of which are far less obvious than in the early days when peeling paint caused toxic fumes, he said. “To me, it seems like it’s more complicated, more sophisticated and harder for the public to grasp what the issues are,” he said. For example, global warming is such a huge issue that it might be hard for a state group to make a difference. However, he said many of the significant changes that are adopted at the national and international level begin in the states. To Townsend, there will always be a need for NRCM, whether it’s to challenge industry, push for cleaner technology or monitor land use. More than 100 current and former staffers and supporters are expected to attend the Thursday celebration. “It has always had to fight an uphill battle,” Townsend said. “It’s always been the little guy against the big guy. I think they’ve accomplished a lot in the face of stiff opposition.”>/p>https://www.nrcm.org/about-nrcm/timeline-of-nrcms-history/nrcm-50th-celebration/, and there’s much more to come. Participants can earn “Brownie Points” that make them eligible for raffle prizes donated by Maine businesses, including a Manatee Deluxe Kayak Package gen
