When I flip the calendar to September, I never quite know what the weather is going to serve up for the month, but I can definitely count on a magical event to take place. The sea of green leaves that make up Maine’s trees and forests morph into a cascading display of the most vibrant Read More
Public Reserved Lands
Maine has approximately 600,000 acres of Public Reserved Lands in more than 30 separate parcels located across Maine. These lands are enjoyed for their outstanding hiking, camping, birding, fishing, and hunting opportunities. They include the Bigelow Preserve, Kennebec Highlands, Tumbledown, Cutler’s Bold Coast, Donnell Pond, and more. Maine’s Public Reserved Lands are managed by the Bureau of Parks and Lands (BPL) for multiple uses, including wildlife habitat, outdoor recreation, and sustainable timber harvesting. For the past 40 years, BPL has harvested timber from these forests in a sustainable, even exemplary manner, improving both the quality and the quantity of timber on those lands.
News & Noteworthy — September 2021
Here are some highlights from this month’s news stories and opinion pieces related to the environment, including Maine’s air, land, water, and wildlife, in this month’s News & Noteworthy from the Natural Resources Council of Maine. September 30, 2021 If you are listening to NRCM’s Frontline Voices podcast (and why wouldn’t you be?!), you may already have Read More
My Maine This Week: David Preston
Again this week we are featuring a photo by a regular contributor to our My Maine This Week feature. David Preston of China, Maine, shares this photo from a camping trip he and his wife took this summer. “Janet and I had a lovely camping overnight into Little Moose Pond near Greenville last weekend, where I took Read More
My Maine This Week: David Preston
NRCM member David Preston of China, Maine, is one of our frequent My Maine This Week contributing photographers. David took this photo last summer at this time and shares, “Janet and I just got back from two days in Deboullie Reserve, staying at Red River Camps. I highly recommend this sporting camp —gourmet meals and Read More
New Mountain Biking Trails in the Moosehead Region
About three years ago, a group of outdoor enthusiasts in Greenville, Maine, got together to explore the possibility of building a world-class mountain bike trail system. We are very excited to announce that our vision is going to become a reality. We have formed a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization called Moosehead Outdoor Alliance, and our group Read More
Opposition to LD 324, An Act To Limit Public Land Ownership in Maine
Good morning Senator Dill, Representative O’Neil, and Members of the Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry. I am Melanie Sturm, the Forests and Wildlife Director at the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM), and I am providing testimony in opposition to LD 324. NRCM opposes LD 324 for a number of reasons. First Read More
Traveling Through Maine’s Public Lands in a Converted Cargo Van
I think the greatest investment I’ve made so far in the 25 years I’ve been alive is Stella Blue, a 2006 Chevy Express cargo van with questionable brakes that came into my life in 2019 and started my adventure into “van life.” My partner Carter and I bought her together and spent a month outfitting Read More
Thankful for Peace & Quiet in the Maine Woods
It’s been an exhausting year. I don’t need to recap it all for you, but by the end of October I found myself glued to ever-present screens almost every waking hour and being bombarded by anger, sadness, and all-around bad news. This isn’t healthy. I needed to get away. A restorative few days far from Read More
Must-visit State Parks in Maine
How did we come up with this master list? We are the Rubys. We have been to every Maine State Park as a family and have camped at all of the Maine State Park family campgrounds. Lucky for us, we’ve camped at some of them on multiple occasions. What started as a silly idea back Read More