Policy & Advocacy

Voting Resources – 2024

Maine Audubon wants every eligible voter to have the opportunity to cast their ballot this November. Planning ahead can help ensure your participation in this essential aspect of our democracy. ⭐ Election Day 2024 is Tuesday, November 5 ⭐ Below are tools you can use to prepare for the upcoming election, including information on registering to vote […]

A Huge Opportunity for Maine Trails on the Ballot this November

Trails are essential to our enjoyment and appreciation of the outdoors. Maine Audubon offers dozens of miles of trails across our eight centers and sanctuaries, allowing visitors to access diverse habitats while diverting traffic from sensitive areas.  But trails take a lot of work. Many people think that the more primitive a trail is, the […]

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 […]

New Statewide Shoreland Harvesting Standards Set to Take Effect Soon

Shoreland areas – those places adjacent to wetlands, streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes – are incredibly important for fish, wildlife, and water quality.  We know that around 85% of vertebrate wildlife in Maine use shoreland areas some time during the year for hiding, nesting, denning, feeding, and traveling, and that a dense cover of herbs, […]

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 […]

Portland City Council Passes Bird-Friendly Buildings Ordinance

Bird-glass collisions kill up to one billion birds in the U.S. each year, and BirdSafe Maine has been working since 2020 to understand the problem in Maine. We’ve done a lot in that short time, including our recent awards, our statewide legislation, school curriculum, years of collision monitoring, and numerous pre- and post-construction consultations. We’ve […]

Let’s Give Least Terns Some Love!

While we often focus on our Piping Plover friends, another endangered species we protect is Least Terns. Least Terns are small seabirds listed as endangered in Maine; they were the first species listed under Maine’s own Endangered Species Act. Least Terns and their more abundant cousins, Common Tern, can often be seen flying gracefully over […]