Senator Saviello, Representative Welsh and members of the Environment and Natural Resources Committee: On behalf of NRCM and its 16,000 members and supporters, I am testifying in opposition to LD 1244, An Act To Amend Environmental Permitting Standards. NRCM opposes Section 2 of this bill on the grounds that it undoes the good work of Read More
hydropower
NRCM Testimony in Opposition to LD 132, “An Act to Remove the 100-megawatt Limit on Renewable Sources of Energy”
Senator David Woodsome, Chair Representative Mark Dion, Chair Joint Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities & Technology My name is Dylan Voorhees and I am the Clean Energy Director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine. Thank you for allowing us to present this testimony. (Our testimony today is very similar to testimony we submitted one Read More
Setting Rivers Free: As Dams are Torn Down, Nature is Quickly Recovering
By Doug Struck, Contributor Christian Science Monitor cover story BENTON FALLS, Maine — “Look underneath you,” commands Nate Gray, a burly biologist for the state of Maine. He reaches down to the grate floor of a steel cage perched on a dam straddling the Sebasticook River, and pulls back a board revealing the roiling river Read More
Hydro, Wind, Solar Resources Have Greatest Electrical Potential
by George Smith MAINESTREAM column in Kennebec Journal It’s not all about wind, but wind power is part of the solution. Today at the Augusta Civic Center, hundreds of Mainers convene for the Climate Solutions Expo and Summit, a free public event running from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with interesting exhibits and presentations about Read More
Reclaiming Rivers
By Henry Heyburn Jr., NRCM board member In July of 1999, I attended the breaching of the Edwards Dam on the Kennebec River. There were hundreds of others in attendance including Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer John McPhee, author of Coming Into the Country, The Survival of the Birch Bark Read More
Penobscot River Restoration Project Begins Removal of Great Works Dam
Penobscot River Restoration Trust news release Old Town, Maine—On Monday, June 11, demolition of the Penobscot River’s Great Works Dam begins. This is a major step toward allowing the river to flow free from Old Town to the Gulf of Maine for the first time in generations. For centuries, dams along the Penobscot River have Read More
It’s About “Dam” Time
I have worked at NRCM for more than 16 years. During that time I have seen a lot of amazing progress made by NRCM and others to protect Maine’s air, land, water, and wildlife. I have attended press conferences, legislative bill signings, member events, public hearings, annual meetings, and many other activities related to our Read More
NRCM Testimony in Opposition to LD 1718, An Act To Improve Maine’s Capacity To Produce Low-cost Renewable Energy through Hydroelectric Power
Prepared by Nick Bennett, NRCM Staff Scientist Dear Senator Saviello, Representative Hamper, and members of the Environment and Natural Resources Committee: The Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) urges you to vote ought not to pass on LD 1718, “An Act To Improve Maine’s Capacity To Produce Low-cost Renewable Energy through Hydroelectric Power.” NRCM is Read More
A Dam Exam
Kelley Bouchard, staff writer Portland Press Herald news story YARMOUTH – The Royal River has been harnessed since the 1700s, held back by dams to provide power and water access to lumber and paper mills, fish- and poultry-processing plants, potteries and tanneries. Now, those industries are long gone and town officials are struggling to maintain Read More
