LWCF has conserved land and created outdoor recreation opportunities across the country. News release from Senators Collins and King Washington, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Senate approved a permanent reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) as part of a public lands legislative package. The legislation passed by a vote of 92-8 will Read More
land conservation
LUPC Proposal Faces Overwhelming Opposition from Maine People
95% of written comments raised major concerns NRCM News Release Augusta — A sweeping proposal by the Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC) that would open up 1.3 million acres of Maine’s North Woods for development and divert investments from existing communities has received overwhelming opposition from people across Maine, according to an analysis by the Natural Read More
NRCM Testimony in Opposition to LD 125, Resolve, Directing the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to Convey Certain Lands to Roosevelt Conference Center Doing Business as Eagle Lake Sporting Camps
Good afternoon Senator Dill, Representative Hickman, and members of the Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry Committee. My name is Cathy Johnson. I live in Alna. I am here today on behalf of the 20,000 members and supporters of the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) to speak in opposition to LD 125, “Resolve, Directing the Department Read More
Rule Paves the Way for Wrong Kind of Growth in Rural Maine
The latest proposal for development in the unorganized territory would hurt the communities it intends to help. Portland Press Herald editorial More than seven months ago, we wondered why state planning officials were proposing a substantial change in how development is guided in the unorganized territory – the 10 million or so acres of land, Read More
With Proposed Development Rule Change, Maine’s North Woods Hangs in the Balance
By Cathy Johnson, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed With few places in the world still relatively untouched by development, Maine’s 10.5 million acres of North Woods are a disappearing resource. These woods rejuvenate us: They provide opportunities for hunting, fishing and recreation, and serve as vital habitat for plants and animals. That Read More
Allowing Sprawling Development Would Hurt Towns, Wildlife, and Wilderness
Bangor Daily News editorial We give the Land Use Planning Commission, which oversees zoning and development in the state’s more than 10 million acres of unorganized territories, credit for listening to public criticism of a plan to allow more scattered development in these areas. After public hearings and comments that were overwhelmingly negative, the commission Read More
Diverse Group Unites for Conservation of Maine Land
A much-needed, insult-free process has produced a roadmap for the future. Portland Press Herald editorial They must feel like they just came up out of the treeline and had the sun hit their faces for the first time in a while. A task force on land conservation is calling for a return to the robust Read More
LUPC Proposal Would Forever Scar Maine’s North Woods
NRCM calls on planning agency to drop proposed changes that would harm wildlife, recreation, and local economic development NRCM news release Augusta – People from across Maine, and the state’s leading environmental advocacy group are calling on the Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC) to drop a proposal that would allow widespread development on more than Read More
National Park Service Contracts with Appalachian Mountain Club to Build Hiking Trails in Maine’s New National Monument
The National Park Service has contracted with the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) of Maine to build a series of hiking trails in Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, which was designated a national monument in 2016. Up to now, development in the monument’s 87,500 acres has been primarily limited to the main Loop Road, a Read More
