In 2022, NRCM worked with our allies from Community Action Works, the Maine Environmental Priorities Coalition, and Don’t Waste ME, an alliance of impacted community residents and tribal citizens to pass LD 1639. Together, we succeeded in closing a loophole that allowed toxic out-of-state waste to be disposed of in Maine’s State-owned landfill located in Read More
Success Stories
Throughout NRCM's more than 60 years of work to protect the nature of Maine, we have worked with thousands of people who love our state and want to keep our beautiful, clean, and healthy environment here for generations to come.
NRCM has had some big victories for Maine's environment, which were won in partnership with people who spoke out, wrote to elected officials, testified, and worked to protect special places like Moosehead Lake, Casco Bay, and the Allagash Wilderness Waterway. Read about some of our successes since NRCM was founded in 1959.
Expansion of Maine’s Ecological Reserve System
A bill that will expand the Maine Ecological Reserve System and thereby better protect the state’s natural habitats and resources was signed into law by Governor Janet Mills on March 29th, 2022. This law, titled An Act To Enhance the Ecological Reserve System, enables Maine’s Bureau of Parks and Lands (BPL) to add to its Read More
Maine Bans Single-Use Plastic Bags
In 2019, with Governor Janet Mills’ signature, Maine became the third state in the nation to ban single-use plastic bags. The plastic bag ban came to fruition shortly after the passage of a neighboring bill that made our state the first in the nation to ban polystyrene foam food containers. The bill was a collaborative Read More
Maine Bans Disposable Foam Food Containers
On April 30, 2019, Maine became the first state in the nation to ban disposable foam food containers under a bill signed into law by Governor Janet Mills. The law prohibits restaurants, caterers, coffee shops, and grocery stores from using Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) foam containers. One of the top 10 contributors to litter, polystyrene is both a concern for the environment and Read More
Maine Bottle Bill Expanded to Include “Nips”
In 1976, Maine Senator Edmund Muskie mobilized a staunch anti-littering sentiment that resulted in the passage of Maine’s biggest recycling success story, the Bottle Bill. Fast forward some four decades later and the bill is reaching new heights. In 2017, the House and Senate voted to override Governor LePage’s veto of a bill requiring a five-cent deposit on small liquor bottles—known widely as “nips”—to be added to the Bottle Bill. Roadside litter is Read More
Maine Enacts the Nation’s Strictest Metal Mining Law
Metal mining is one of the most dangerous industrial endeavors. Maine is a particularly risky place to mine because of the high levels of sulfides in metal deposits here and our rainy and snowy weather. Sulfides in metal deposits become sulfuric acid when exposed to air or water. Maine’s wet springs and snowy winters would Read More
Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument
“The Natural Resources Council of Maine worked tirelessly with me to establish the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. Their persistence, expertise, and willingness to collaborate were instrumental in the establishment of the Monument in 2016. They did an outstanding job of reaching out to communities in the Katahdin region and people across Maine who Read More
Stopping the Tar Sands Pipeline
Tar sands rally on Maine State Pier, January 26, 2013 Tar sands oil is the dirtiest and most climate-destructive form of oil in the world. Extracted from huge open-pit mines in Alberta, Canada, tar sands oil is 20% more carbon intensive than conventional crude oil. When it spills, it is almost impossible to clean up. Read More
Protecting the Moosehead Lake Region
In 2005, Plum Creek, a Seattle-based real estate development corporation, put forth the largest development proposal Maine had ever seen—and that would carve the heart out of one of Maine’s most treasured places, Moosehead Lake, a region loved for its remote ponds, undeveloped shorelines, traditional recreation, stunning mountain vistas, and peace and quiet. Plum Creek’s Read More
