January 16, 2026 (Augusta, ME) – The U.S. House and Senate have passed a bipartisan budget for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other environmental agencies that largely avoids drastic cuts proposed by the Trump Administration and its allies in Congress. Environmental advocates in Maine said they appreciated the work to build a compromise but noted that even with this agreement, the EPA’s FY2026 budget will now be at an all-time low. The spending Read More
News Release
The Natural Resources Council of Maine creates news releases on issues related to our work. We are a nonprofit membership organization protecting, restoring, and conserving Maine’s environment, now and for future generations. We release news as necessary to inform our members, the general public, businesses, and others about threats and opportunities related to Maine’s environment. Often, these news releases are coupled with press conferences, and, as opportunity arises, they include steps people can take to get involved or take action. For more than 65 years, the Natural Resources Council of Maine has been protecting the places and way of life that make Maine so special.
For media inquiries for NRCM, please contact Colin Durrant by email or (207) 430-0103.
New Law Modernizes Maine’s Land Use Planning Commission
Wabanaki Nations Will Be Represented for the First Time January 15, 2026 (Augusta, ME) – A bill to strengthen Maine’s Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC) has become law, with provisions to expand and update this important oversight board for the 10.5 million acres of Unorganized Territories (UT), covering approximately half of the state. The new law (LD 870) includes a Read More
NRCM Statement on RFP for Northern Maine Renewable Energy Development Program
The Maine Public Utilities Commission today issued a Request for Proposals for 1,200 MW of wind power in Aroostook County and a transmission line to carry the new lower cost, reliable clean energy to electricity customers across Maine. In response, the Natural Resources Council of Maine issued the following statement from Climate & Clean Energy Director Jack Shapiro: “Bringing lower-cost sources of homegrown clean energy Read More
Conservation Groups File Appeal Urging CMP Compliance with Mature Forest Requirements
Appalachian Mountain Club | Maine Audubon | Natural Resources Council of Maine | Trout Unlimited December 18, 2025 (Augusta, ME) – Several of the state’s leading conservation groups have filed an appeal with the Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) asking them to require improvements to Central Maine Power’s (CMP) flawed Conservation Plan for the New England Clean Energy Connect Read More
First Round of Maine Trails Program Grants Awarded
Maine Trails Coalition | Natural Resources Council of Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands Awards $7.5M to projects statewide December 11, 2025 (Augusta, ME) – Trails advocates are applauding the announcement by the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s Bureau of Parks and Lands (BPL) of $7.5 million in awards through the new Maine Trails Read More
NECEC’s Flawed Conservation Plan Should Not Have Been Approved
News release from Appalachian Mountain Club, Maine Audubon, Natural Resources Council of Maine, and Trout Unlimited The Conservation Plan intended to mitigate for the impacts of a 53-mile-long transmission corridor fails to meet the permit requirements Augusta, Maine – A Conservation Plan filed by Central Maine Power (CMP) and approved earlier this week by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) as mitigation for the New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) transmission line fails to Read More
Workers Call on Federal Government to Stop Blocking Offshore Wind During National “Yes to Wind” Week
(MAINE) – Workers on active offshore wind projects in the Atlantic Ocean, including a Maine resident, join clean energy and organized labor groups during the national “Yes to Wind” Week of Action in calling on the federal government to immediately withdraw its opposition to offshore wind projects in the Gulf of Maine and southern New Read More
CMP Rate Hike Would Deliver Nearly $700M in Profits to Shareholders
Acadia Center | Conservation Law Foundation | Natural Resources Council of Maine (Augusta, ME) — The five-year spending proposal by Central Maine Power (CMP) collects an additional $1.7 billion from Maine electricity customers for the stated purpose of investments to the electric grid, but according to new analysis, nearly $700 million would be delivered directly Read More
Seven Mainers Honored for Commitment to Maine’s Environment
(Freeport, ME) – Mainers have always had a strong environmental ethic, and that was certainly reflected in the seven Mainers honored by the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) for their significant, lasting contributions to safeguarding Maine’s environment. Each year, NRCM honors a small group of Maine’s volunteer environmental leaders with a Conservation Leadership Read More
