2025 has been a difficult year for the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The new administration and Congress are working quickly to weaken the effectiveness of the Act, one of the most popular and successful environmental laws in the nation. In May, the Department of the Interior proposed changing the way it defines “harm” under the […]
Federal Advocacy
Maine Audubon Delivers Petitions to Protect the Endangered Species Act
Last week, staff from Maine Audubon were in Washington D.C. to hand-deliver a petition signed by more than 1,800 Mainers asking Maine’s Congressional delegation to protect the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Maine Audubon Advocacy & Outreach Manager Nick Lund met with staff in the offices of Senators Susan Collins and Angus King, and Representatives Jared […]
The Federal Government is Taking Unprecedented Action Against the Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act is perhaps the most famous and effective wildlife conservation law in the nation, but the Trump Administration has recently proposed a change that would significantly weaken the Act and put species at risk. To understand the threat, it’s important to first understand how the Endangered Species Act works. Once a species […]
Wins for Wildlife: How We Worked to Site Wind Energy and Protect Wildlife in the Gulf of Maine
Offshore wind holds incredible potential to help meet the clean energy goals needed for a healthy climate. The Gulf of Maine, in particular, with its strong, sustained winds, is one of the best locations in the world to harness renewable wind energy. However, offshore wind development must be sited with care to avoid potential conflicts […]
Maine Audubon Advocates for Maine Wildlife in Congress
In early April, Maine Audubon’s Advocacy and Outreach Manager, Nick Lund, traveled to Washington to talk birds. A guest of the American Bird Conservancy, Nick joined state-based advocates from around the country to encourage Congressional leaders to support a variety of wildlife bills. Nick’s group included advocates from Connecticut Audubon and the Missouri River Bird […]
Federal Updates from Maine Audubon
Maine Audubon is concerned by the breadth and speed of attempts to weaken the federal laws and agencies that have helped protect Maine wildlife and habitat for decades. Maine Audubon’s science-based approach to environmental policy has helped us weather all manner of political situations, though what we’re witnessing now has little precedent. Still, we will […]
Maine Audubon and the Next 50 Years of the Endangered Species Act
On Nov. 16, Maine Audubon’s Advocacy Team traveled to Harvard Law School as invitees to a conference called The Endangered Species Act: The Next 50 Years. The event was billed as a place to “bring together scholars, policymakers, and conservationists who will collaborate to assess lessons learned and propose innovative strategies for the next 50 […]
Making a Wildlife Plan of Action
Maine, along with every other state in the nation, is embarking on a herculean effort to update its 2015 State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP), required by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to access hundreds of thousands of dollars through the State Wildlife Grants program. The purpose of the SWAP, per Congress, is to keep […]
What the Supreme Court’s Chevron Deference Ruling Means for Our Work
In late June 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on a case with the potential for outsized impacts on the work that Maine Audubon does. The majority decision for Loper Bright Enterprises et al. v. Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce, et al. overturned a longstanding doctrine giving federal agencies the “benefit of the doubt” when executing […]