Natural Resources Council of Maine
The Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) is a Maine-based, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, with offices in Augusta, Maine. Founded in 1959 as a small, volunteer-based environmental advocacy group, NRCM has grown to be Maine's largest environmental advocacy organization, with more than 25,000 supporters and activists and a staff of 28, including science and policy experts. About. The Natural Resources Council of Maine was formed on June 25, 1959, when a coalition of environmental organizations from across Maine came together to address emerging threats to Maine's land, air, and water. NRCM 's work through the 1960s and 1970s on a range of environmental and conservation issues positioned the organization as a leader in Maine's growing conservation movement. The organization's mission statement is: It further states that it "harnesses the power of the law, science, and the voices of more than 25,000 supporters statewide and beyond ... to protect the health of Maine’s rivers, lakes, streams, and coastal waters; promote sustainable communities through initiatives that reduce toxics pollution and waste; decrease air and climate-changing pollution through energy efficiency and renewable sources; conserve Maine lands and wildlife habitat, including our  treasured North Woods; and defend the federal environmental policies and programs that help protect Maine". In addition to working on a number of different specific program areas, NRCM monitors the legislative and executive agency rulemaking process at the state government level. Historically the Natural Resources Council of Maine has partnered with citizens and other non-profit organizations from across Maine to promote issues of mutual concern. Programs. The Natural Resources Council of Maine focuses on several different program areas: Significant issues. NRCM has been involved with most of Maine's most important environmental issues. 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s  2020s Notable members. Angus King, US Senator from Maine 2012–present, worked as NRCM's primary legislative lobbyist for a number of years in the 1970s. Jon Hinck, former member of the Maine House of Representatives, contributing founder of Greenpeace U.S.A., and former member of the Portland, Maine city council, acted as staff attorney for the Natural Resources Council of Maine from 2003 to 2006. Hinck's work was vital in the passage of the landmark 2004 electronic waste law, requiring manufacturers for the first time to take responsibility for environmentally sound recycling of certain kinds of electronics, like computers  and televisions. Bruce Poliquin, US House of Representatives from Maine's 2nd Congressional District 2014–2019, is a former NRCM board member. Chellie Pingree, US House of Representatives from Maine's 1st Congressional District 2008–present, is a member of NRCM's National Advisory Board. Brownie Carson, Maine State Senator from 2016–2020, acted as the Executive Director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine from 1984-2011. Carson is widely considered as one of the leading voices on conservation and environmental issues in Maine and the Northeast. Former United States Senator Olympia Snowe called him, 'one of the principal architects of  the Maine Environmental Movement." He was awarded the EPA's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. Leon Gorman, former president and chairman of the board of L.L. Bean and grandson of L.L. Bean founder Leon Leonwood Bean, was a member of the Natural Resources Council of Maine's National Advisory Board. George J. Mitchell, former United States Senator/Senate Majority Leader and United States Special Envoy to Northern Ireland, presented the keynote speech at the Natural Resources Council of Maine's 2011 Annual Meeting. Senator Mitchell addressed a number of different issues, including political gridlock in Washington D.C., the success of  the Clean Water Act, and the need to keep working to find solutions to the challenges posed by Climate Change. Awards and recognition. In 1999, as part of their work with the Kennebec Coalition, NRCM received the Gulf of Maine Visionary Award from the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment. The award recognized the coalition's efforts to remove the Edwards Dam. In 2007, NRCM was celebrated as one of the EPA's Climate Award Winners for their "demonstrated leader(ship) on climate protection at the state level and beyond". Specifically, NRCM received the award for their public education  initiatives aimed at informing the cities and citizens of Maine about the dangers of sea-level rise related to climate change and their work in the establishment of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. In 2008, the Natural Resources Council of Maine, as part of the Partners in Penobscot River Restoration Project, received the United States Department of the Interior's Cooperative Conservation Award for their work to restore 11 species of sea-run fish and balance hydropower generation and ecological integrity in the Penobscot river watershed.