May 29, 2019 (Augusta, ME) – Under a bill proposed by Governor Janet Mills that earned broad-based support during a public hearing today, Maine’s tribes will receive long-sought water quality protections for legal sustenance fishing rights provided to the tribes in the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980. The bill (LD 1775) addresses an Read More
fisheries
Eyed Egg and Alevin and Fry, Oh My!
Eyed Egg and Alevin and Fry, oh my! Windham Middle School student Nathan McCarron-Lamb shared that his favorite part about our brook trout project is “witnessing the trout grow and become alevin right before our very eyes!” He goes on to say that “this has given me a feeling of responsibility and increased interest in Read More
NRCM Testimony in Support of LD 955, An Act to Prohibit Offshore Oil and Natural Gas Drilling and Exploration
Senator Carson, Representative Tucker, and members of the Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. My name is Kristin Jackson. I am an outreach coordinator for the Natural Resources Council of Maine, and I appreciate this opportunity to testify in support of LD 955, which would prohibit offshore oil and natural gas drilling and Read More
A St. George School Middle Level Science Project: Investigating Salinity in the Marsh as a Factor in Alewife Restoration
“I can remember when I was in fourth grade at the school, I would watch the middle level kids working on the marsh project,” says Brooke Hoppe, now a seventh grade student at St. George School. Evie Thissell, a classmate adds, “When you enter middle school, you start to do things for the community and Read More
Opposition to LD 983, An Act To Exempt from Permit Requirements the Repair of Low-head Dams
Senator Carson, Representative Tucker, and members of the Environment and Natural Resources Committee, my name is Nick Bennett, and I am the Staff Scientist for the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM). NRCM is Maine’s largest environmental advocacy group with more than 20,000 members and supporters. I am testifying in opposition to LD 983. Maine Read More
Windham Middle School Students Study Brook Trout and Clean Water
On February 8th, sixth grade students in Mrs. Franzoni’s class at Windham Middle School welcomed 300 brook trout in the eyed egg stage and will be studying them in part thanks to a grant from the Natural Resources Council of Maine. Prior to delivery, students learned about the water cycle, water pollution, and the impact humans Read More
Support of the Nomination of Jerry Reid to Serve as DEP Commissioner
Senator Carson, Representative Tucker, and distinguished members of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. My name is Pete Didisheim. I am the Advocacy Director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine, and I appreciate the opportunity to testify in support of the nomination of Jerry Reid to serve as Commissioner of the Department of Read More
Collins Reintroduces Bill that Would Track Mercury Pollution
By Patty Wight Maine Public news story Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine is reintroducing a bill that would track mercury pollution to better protect human health and fisheries. The American Lung Association supports the bill. The vice-chair of the Maine chapter, Dr. Marguerite Pennoyer, says better monitoring is important, paired with federal efforts Read More
Reject CMP Power Line because Hydro-Quebec Facilities Damage Ecosystem
Wintertime discharges from the company’s dam reservoirs are warming the Gulf of Maine, starving its fisheries and may be a key factor in the decline of Arctic sea ice. By Stephen M. Kasprzak, resident of Cape Porpoise Portland Press Herald op-ed CAPE PORPOISE — I am writing to ask the Maine Department of Environmental Protection Read More