Proposed in 2017, Central Maine Power’s New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) transmission line would carry hydropower from Quebec to Massachusetts, requiring a 150-foot-wide, 53-mile corridor through undeveloped woods in Western Maine. Maine Audubon has engaged throughout the entire review process to assess wildlife impacts and push for adequate mitigation outcomes. Developing a Conservation Plan […]
Energy
Maine Audubon Comments on CMP’s New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) Conservation Plan
First proposed back in 2017, New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) is a transmission line designed to bring electricity from hydropower facilities in Quebec to consumers in Massachusetts as part of the regional electrical grid. The construction route includes clearing a 150-foot-wide, 53-mile-long line through undeveloped Maine woods between the Canadian border and The Forks […]
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 […]
Previewing our Priority State Legislation for 2025
A new legislative session has begun in Augusta and our advocates are already in the State House working to advance protections for Maine wildlife and habitat. Our staff of advocates, scientists, and environmental educators has combed through hundreds of new bills submitted at the start of the 132nd Maine Legislature and selected our top priorities […]
Maine Climate Action Plan 2.0 Released
After years of work from stakeholders across the state, including Maine Audubon’s Ania Wright, Ches Gundrum, and Sally Stockwell, the state’s updated landmark climate action plan, Maine Won’t Wait 2.0, has been released. The plan updates the original blueprint for statewide climate action, released in 2020, with new-and-improved strategies to help modernize Maine’s buildings, transition […]
New Report Outlines Escalating Impacts of Climate Change in Maine
For more than 40 years I have dedicated my professional career to protecting and improving the lives of our sacred wildlife. For nearly as long, I have been aware of the threats that a warming world poses to wildlife, the environment, and humankind. But I never imagined I would witness the dramatic changes we have […]
Maine Audubon Urges Federal Regulators to Remove Kennebec Dams
The story of America’s movement to restore wildlife habitat by removing unnecessary and underperforming dams began, in part, on the Kennebec River. In 1999, advocates from across Maine came together to celebrate the removal of the Edwards Dam near Augusta and the restoration of 18 miles of fish habitat not accessible since 1837. The movement […]
UPDATED Draft Gulf of Maine Wind Energy Area Excludes Right Whale and Lobstering Areas
UPDATE Nov. 22, 2023:�Maine Audubon joined Mass Audubon and the American Bird Conservancy in submitting comments on the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s draft Wind Energy Area (WEA) for the Gulf of Maine. The authors asked for a number of changes to the draft WEA in order to protect birds and other wildlife, including the […]
Why the Katahdin region is no place for a mine
Have you ever paddled on a remote pond in the early morning mist listening to the eerie calls of the loon? Perhaps you�ve stood ankle deep in water in a bog between two ponds, and reveled in the dawn chorus filled with the songs of Common Yellowthroats, Palm Warblers, Lincoln�s Sparrows, and Olive-sided Flycatchers�a mix […]