Everett “Brownie” Carson, 62, says he wants to spend more time outdoors and with his family.
The long-time head of the state’s largest environmental lobbying group is stepping down. Everett “Brownie” Carson, 62, has been at the helm of the Natural Resources Council of Maine for more than two and a half decades.
Carson says he wants to spend more time outdoors, “hiking the mountains, paddling rivers, cycling back roads, sailing the coast, and exploring the back country and parks of this beautiful state.” He says he also wants to spend more time with his family.
Under Carson’s leadership, the NRCM has grown from a staff of seven to 23, and its membership has swelled to 12,000. Over the years, the NRCM, with its staff of environmental attorneys, has become a major voice in Augusta on environmental legislation.
The group is known for helping to defeat a plan to construct a dam on the West Branch of the Penobscot River, for successfully pushing for the removal of the Edwards Dam on the Kennebec River and for influencing a host of other environmental issues.
The NRCM board has launched a nationwide search for a new executive director. Carson says he plans to continue working until a successor is named.
