Clean, healthy waterways are vital to our day-to-day lives. They help ensure safe drinking water, suitable habitat for fish and other wildlife, and recreational opportunities that make Maine a special place to live, work, and visit. NRCM is working hard to protect and restore Maine’s lakes, rivers, and streams, now and for generations to come.
But Maine's waterways face huge challenges. For decades, paper companies and other mills along Maine's rivers have treated these great waterways as their own private dumping grounds. The pollution they discharge prevents our native fish from thriving and impairs the quality of life for the people who live in those communities.
Pollution is one issue, dams are another. Dams continue to choke waterways across the state. While some dams are strategically located to minimize damage to fisheries and generate significant amounts of renewable electricity, other dams are obsolete or destroy fisheries resources that are worth far more than the small amount of power they generate.
One such dam was the Edwards Dam. NRCM’s work with coalition partners to remove the Edwards Dam from the Kennebec has become a national model for success. Now, NRCM and our partners in the Penobscot River Restoration Trust are working to restore this vital watershed for the wildlife and people of Maine.
NRCM has served as the voice of Maine people by advocating for clean and healthy waterways. Find out more about the issues we work on and how you can get involved to ensure clean and healthy waters for Maine.
Mining Company Plans to Buy Northern Maine Mountain
Ontario-based Wolfden Resources Corp.’s plan to purchase Pickett Mountain, which is located north of Patten, comes three months after lawmakers passed a sweeping overhaul of Maine’s mining regulations. by Kevin Miller, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story AUGUSTA — A Canadian mining firm plans to buy nearly 7,000 acres in northern Maine to explore Read More
Removing Mercury from Penobscot River Likely Won’t be Easy
By Bill Trotter, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story Exactly how does someone clean toxic mercury deposits out of a section of a tidal river more than 30 miles long? That’s the main question a federal judge is expected to decide next year as part of a court-ordered cleanup of mercury dumped over decades Read More
Maine Environmental Group Slams Trump’s Proposed EPA Budget
by Fred Bever Maine Public news story State environmental activists took to Scarborough Beach on Thursday to condemn President Donald Trump’s plan to slash the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget by 30 percent. The Natural Resources Council of Maine staged the event to highlight the direct effects that it says Trump’s proposal would have on Maine: Read More
Don’t Muddy Clean Water Act Protections
Guest Column by Lee Margolin Keep Maine Current op-ed Beer, fish and lamprey. These are a few of my favorite things and they all depend on clean water. Luckily I am able to enjoy all three living in Harrison on the Crooked River, a class AA stream and the main tributary for Sebago Lake. As Read More
Federal Rollbacks Threaten State’s Drinking Water, Fishing Spots, Economy
Plans to reduce waterway protections, EPA research funding and pollution rules are all bad for Mainers. by Eliot Stanley of Portland, formerly chair of the Maine Regulatory Fairness Board and a record-holding Sebago Lake angler, serves on the board of the Sebago Lake Anglers Association. Portland Press Herald op-ed Summer is here. It’s the time Read More
Maine’s River Herring Making Dramatic Comeback, a Godsend for the Food Chain
With the path to inland spawning grounds clear, the species rebounds with unexpected speed, benefiting everything from bald eagles to Atlantic cod. By Colin Woodard, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story BATH — Motorists crossing the bridge over the Kennebec this spring and early summer were afforded dramatic views of one of Maine’s mightiest Read More
Four Maine Brewers Fight EPA Plan to Repeal Clean Water Regulations
To protect an ingredient vital to their product, they oppose having the agency oversee fewer waterways under a Trump administration proposal to restrict the government’s powers. by James Patrick, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story Four Maine breweries have signed on to an effort to fight the Trump administration’s plan to repeal a rule Read More
Penobscot River Restoration Project Celebrates First Anniversary of Connecting 2000 Miles of River to the Sea
Collaborative effort to rebalance fisheries and hydropower on Maine’s largest river completed one year ago News release One year ago, on Tuesday, June 14, 2016, hundreds of people, including federal, state, local, and tribal officials, and project partners, gathered in Howland, Maine, to mark and celebrate the completion of the last major milestone in the Read More
Legislature Overrides LePage Veto of Mining Regulations
by Susan Sharon Maine Public news story The Maine House and Senate have overridden the governor’s veto of a bill to protect Maine from the hazards of mining pollution. This marks the third time in the past five years that lawmakers have blocked the Department of Environmental Protection from adopting mining rules that critics said Read More
Banner photo: Allagash Wilderness Waterway by Sam Horine
