Urge Energy Efficiency, Cutting Toxic Mercury, Protecting Wildlife Habitat, Funding Land Conservation and No Rollbacks of Protections
Mainers want and need a healthy environment, said representatives of a broad range of twenty of the state’s conservation, public health and public interest groups, who called on state lawmakers to support their priorities this session. Representing tens of thousands of members across the state, the organizations jointly called today for the 122nd Maine Legislature to address the important environmental issues facing the state. Several citizens from across the state joined the groups in their announcement.
“Threats to our children’s health, our waters, land and wildlife have not gone away,” said Eliza Townsend, executive director of the Maine League of Conservation Voters. “That’s why our organizations are standing united today, pledging to work with our representatives and senators to ensure the health of our children, our lakes and rivers, the landscape that makes Maine so beautiful and forms the backbone of our economy, and the animals that inhabit our great state.
“Poll after poll has shown that Maine citizens care deeply about their environment and want their lawmakers and government officials to act on those values,” Townsend said. “This past election day, funding for Land for Maine’s Future was one of the top two vote getters in the state. Acting to ensure a safe and clean environment is a winner for all of us in Maine.”
Today’s is the second annual announcement of legislative priorities for the gathering of conservation, citizen and public health groups. The groups have identified five priorities for this session: 1) reducing mercury pollution by establishing an effective mercury thermostat recycling program; 2) saving energy by promoting conservation programs; 3) preserving significant wildlife habitat that provides food, shelter, and breeding areas for a variety of Maine wildlife; 4) fully funding the highly acclaimed Land For Maine’s Future program; 5) and ensuring that no environmental rollbacks happen on the watch of the 122nd Legislature.
“We need to provide incentives so mercury from old thermostats doesn’t end up in the environment, where it threatens the health of Maine families and wildlife,” said Sarah Hale Krull of Portland, a mother of two who is replacing her mercury thermostat with a non-mercury model. More than 5,000 pounds of mercury hangs in thermostats on the walls of Maine homes today. “The bill sponsored by Senator Martin will provide the opportunity to give homeowners and contractors an incentive to ensure the mercury in thermostats is safely recycled.”
“We have a choice in Maine to invest in more power plants or to invest in conservation,” said Tony Marple, Executive Vice President and Treasurer of MaineGeneral Health. “Conservation requires a lower investment to yield the same gains in electrical capacity, while at the same time improving air quality and public health. Here at MaineGeneral for several years we have invested in energy conservation initiatives and they have had a clear financial return for us. When we can provide a significant economic benefit to our citizens and our state as we benefit the environment—it’s a win for us all.”>/p>
“In my community, we have seen strong support from our citizens for protecting the wildlife habitat that makes Maine such a special place,” said Caleb Hemphill of the Falmouth Conservation Commission. “Citizen volunteers have been eager to survey vernal-pool habitat and help our town create and share information about vernal pools’s importance to healthy woodlands and wetlands. Putting rules in place to protect significant wildlife habitat will help Maine towns plan development that doesn’t destroy their vibrant natural areas.”
“Full funding of the Land for Maine’s Future program means a real chance for people in Maine to protect land and all the recreational and economic opportunities it gives us,” said Alan Donald of Falmouth. “My wife Darcy and I are just two people—yet, because of the LMF program, we have been able to work with our community to help a working dairy farm stay in business and establish a local wildlife reserve.”
“Maine’s current environmental protection laws are the results of years of hard work and collaborative effort of the state legislature and the environmental groups,” said Sandra Roseberry of South Berwick, the mother of two children poisoned by lead. “These laws reflect the values and will of the citizens of Maine and are essential to protect our health and our habitat. We the people of Maine must continue to defend ourselves and our environmental laws, refusing any roll backs and we must continue to protect ourselves from big industry interests that exploit our natural resources without conscience, without remorse of poisoning our families, toxifing our environment, depleting our natural resources and walk away leaving the tax payers to clean up their messes.”
The groups also said that while no legislation on the issue is pending in the Statehouse, they want lawmakers to keep a watchful eye on developments in the North Woods.
”We stand at a crossroads, and the conservation community will work tirelessly to ensure that Maine chooses the path that protects the North Woods,” said Bob Guethlen of Rockwood. “That path includes permanently protecting both the undeveloped character of the forest and public access to it, and directing development toward town centers. It is the path of conservation that will benefit the natural-resource and nature-based-tourism economies of the region—economies that make it possible for people to live in and visit Maine’s forest communities.”
Participating Organizations:
Androscoggin River Alliance
Appalachian Mountain Club
Bicycle Coalition of Maine
Conservation Law Foundation
Environmental Health Strategy Center
Environment Maine
Environment Northeast
Friends of Casco Bay
Friends of the Presumpscot River
Maine Audubon
Maine Council of Churches’ Environmental Justice Program
Maine Council of Trout Unlimited
Maine League of Conservation Voters
Maine Rivers
Natural Resources Council of Maine
Northern Forest Alliance
RESTORE: The North Woods
Sierra Club
The Ocean Conservancy
The Wilderness Society
Contact Information for Spokespeople:
Mercury, Sarah Hale Krull (Portland), 773-7090, shale@gwi.net
Energy Conservation, Tony Marple (Whitefield), 626-1239, tmarple@mainegeneral.org
Significant Wildlife Habitat, Caleb Hemphill (Falmouth), 878-9351, champ@maine.rr.com
Land for Maine’s Future, Alan Donald (Falmouth), 878-2588, adonald@maine.rr.com
No Rollbacks, Sandra Roseberry (South Berwick), 319-7664, seapoint416@comcast.net North Woods, Bob Guethlen (Rockwood), 745-5655
