In early March, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a draft order approving Central Maine Power's (CMP) New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) project with conditions, requiring CMP to agree to significant, additional actions to minimize and compensate for the project's …
Forests
Initial reaction to DEP draft approval for NECEC project
On March 13, 2020, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a draft order approving Central Maine Power's (CMP) New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) project with conditions. Maine Audubon staff previously provided extensive public comment to the DEP, focusing on the proposed …
Public hearing on NECEC provides opportunity to share concerns
This week, the public will have another opportunity to learn about and comment on Central Maine Power's New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) project, a proposed 145-mile transmission line that would carry hydropower from Quebec to Massachusetts. On December 5, the U.S. Army Corps of …
National Audubon Reports on Climate Risks to Maine Birds
Today the National Audubon Society released a new report, Survival By Degrees: 389 Species on the Brink, which gives detailed projections for how climate change will impact the ranges of hundreds of bird species. The report contains state-by-state breakdowns of these projections, and the Maine …
Bird numbers declining by the billions
A shocking new report published this week in the journal Science has outlined what many avid birders in Maine have been telling us for years: the number of birds we are seeing in our fields, forests, coastlines, and even our feeders is shrinking. Dramatically shrinking -- on average by 29%, or one …
NECEC AND FOREST FRAGMENTATION PART 4: THE WOOD TURTLE
This is the fourth post in our series on the wildlife impacts of Central Maine Power's proposed New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) transmission line project. As we wrote in our introductory post, Maine Audubon feels strongly that NECEC and its mitigation plan offer unsatisfactory protections …
Maine Audubon Comments on the Proposed NECEC Transmission Line
This week we've been posting a blog series on the potential impacts of the proposed New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) transmission line. If approved, the project would carve a 150-foot corridor through the Maine North Woods between the Maine / Canada border and The Forks. Maine Audubon and …
Statement on LUPC Adoption of New Development Rules in the North Woods
Maine Audubon is deeply disappointed by the Land Use Planning Commission's (LUPC) vote on April 2 to adopt rules to open tens of thousands of acres of Maine's North Woods to subdivisons and commercial development. There was very little discussion by the Commissioners before the vote, which is the …
NECEC AND FOREST FRAGMENTATION PART 2: THE OVENBIRD
We're continuing our series on Central Maine Power's proposed New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) transmission line project focusing on the potential impacts to Maine wildlife. Maine Audubon feels strongly that NECEC and its mitigation plan offer unsatisfactory protections for Maine wildlife …