NRCM works to protect Maine’s natural areas and wild, undeveloped character, particularly in the North Woods. We support responsible land development and sustainable forest practices that protect sensitive ecosystems and wildlife. We work for increased public ownership of Maine lands, so future generations will know the Maine we love today.
Protection of Maine’s natural, remote areas was one of the issues for which NRCM was founded in 1959. More than 60 years later, much progress has been made but major threats to Maine’s land and water resources continue.
With our coalition partners, NRCM has won many significant victories over the years, from helping establish the Allagash Wilderness Waterway to passage of legislation limiting irresponsible clear cuts. But the challenges of protecting Maine’s treasured wildlands and the wildlife that depend upon them have never been greater, nor the need more urgent.
We worked to establish a National Monument just east of Baxter State Park and continue our work to push for Land for Maine’s Future funding to acquire public lands, watchdog Maine’s public lands and the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, stop the ill-conceived East-West Highway from being built, weigh-in when harmful development is proposed in Maine’s North Woods, and ensure that any timber harvesting laws and policies are as protective as possible.
More than one-third of the state has changed ownership in the past 20 years. Corporations that have no stake in our local communities are buying up hundreds of thousands of acres. Slicing and dicing these natural areas can destroy the character of Maine’s North Woods forever.
This loss would affect not only the people of Maine but also our wildlife. The region is home to moose, bear, deer, and dozens of bird species—Boreal Chickadee, Spruce Grouse, Pine Grosbeak, Cape May Warbler, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher—for which the North Woods are the southernmost limit of their breeding range. Maine’s North Woods also provide many recreational opportunities for Maine people. Unchecked development threatens access to undeveloped, wild forests, lakes, and rivers for hiking, canoeing, camping, hunting and fishing.
While development pressures and the loss of public access continue to intensify, NRCM remains a voice for balancing economic development in Maine’s North Woods with conservation.
We invite you to learn more about our work to protect Maine’s North Woods and other natural areas, and to support our vital work for generations to come.
Maine Supreme Court’s Decision on Plum Creek’s Moosehead Lake Development Rezoning
by Lisa Pohlmann, NRCM CEO We are disappointed in today’s decision about Plum Creek’s development proposal on lands around Moosehead Lake. We respect the court’s decision. Through the active engagement of thousands of Maine people the final plan was significantly improved from the original plan, though it remains the largest development plan in the state’s Read More
Plum Creek Development Gets OK from Supreme Court
by Kevin Miller, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story PORTLAND, Maine—Maine’s highest court on Thursday ruled that state regulators followed proper procedures when approving Plum Creek’s historic development plan for the Moosehead Lake region. The state supreme court disagreed with a lower court that had ordered the Land Use Regulation Commission to hold additional Read More
LURC Reform: It’s All About the Money
by Sandra Neily Bangor Daily News op-ed Decentralize and localize LURC with more county representation? Allow a county to opt out of LURC oversight? Remove centralized management of a forest asset that drops billions of dollars a year into the Maine economy? Imagine North Woods resources as an affiliated, sprawling string of factories. (Maine people Read More
Winter Camping in Maine’s Wilderness: A Reminder to Take Action
“Crunch, crunch, crunch.” The sound of my snowshoes mark our progress slowly down the flowage in northern Maine. Our group of five NRCM members, including our treasurer, Chris Bond (pictured, on the right), is embarking on our annual winter camping trip along this quiet waterway. Traditional camping with toboggans, snowshoes, canvas tents, and portable wood stoves Read More
Legislature Urged to Reject Bill that Threatens to Spoil Half of Maine, Add Bureaucracy and Cost
Maine Citizens Who Depend on North Woods for Their Homes, Businesses, Jobs, and Recreation Come to August to Fight for Maine’s North Woods Heritage NRCM Press Release Today, leading citizens from throughout Maine, including the North Woods, gathered in Augusta to speak out about major problems with pending legislation that could spell the end of Read More
Opposition to LD 1798, An Act to Reform Land Use Planning in the Unorganized Territory
Good afternoon Sen. Sherman, Rep. Edgecomb and members of the Committee. My name is Lisa Pohlmann. I am a resident of Jefferson. I am the Executive Director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine. I am here today on behalf of the 12,000 members and supporters of the Natural Resources Council of Maine in opposition to Read More
Report Suggests Songbirds, Bats at Risk of Mercury Poisoning
by Kevin Miller Bangor Daily News news story Researchers examining the effects of mercury on wildlife found elevated levels of the neurotoxin in songbirds and bats from Maine to Virginia, prompting the study’s authors to call for more monitoring and stronger conservation measures. Researchers with the BioDiversity Research Institute, based in Gorham, and The Nature Read More
Mercury and Birds
A report by the Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI), finds that mercury contamination is at levels dangerous enough to cause physiological and reproductive harm in a wide-range of songbirds and bats in the 11 northeastern states, including Maine. The report, Hidden Risk, finds that certain species and habitats are of special concern. Bicknell’s Thrush, Rusty Blackbird, Read More
Coalition Concerned about LURC Reform Proposal Headed Off-Track
Maine’s North Woods Could Pay the Price NRCM and coalition partners Members of a broad coalition of conservation and planning groups are raising concerns about reforms proposed for the Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC) and how those reforms are being addressed in the Legislature. Maine’s legendary North Woods—the anchor of our forest products and tourism Read More
Banner photo: Moose near Baxter State Park, by Gerard Monteux
