Natural Resources Council, Inc.

Founded in 1959 by Maine people, the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) works to protect, restore and conserve Maine’s environment, now and for future generations.

NRCM educates and engages people with the most pressing environmental issues facing our state, and inspires them to become better stewards of Maine’s natural resources. We advance public policies and programs to expand renewable energy, energy efficiency, electric transportation, and bolster climate action. We work to decrease water pollution, restore free-flowing rivers, and improve native fish passage. We advocate for more public ownership of Maine lands, and support responsible land development and sustainable forest practices that protect sensitive ecosystems and Maine wildlife. We work with Maine communities to reduce plastic pollution, decrease waste, and increase recycling and composting. We also mobilize citizens to communicate with Maine’s Congressional leaders about federal policies that impact Maine’s environment, communities, and economy.

NRCM uses our staff expertise, communications, and partnerships to build support for the most effective environmental protections for Maine. We work closely with our elected officials to shape policy; we participate in agency-led reviews of rules and permit applications; and we advise legislators, state-appointed commissions and local bodies about the impact of changes to public policy.

We also work closely with our members and activists. Grassroots citizen engagement is the cornerstone of our work. Throughout our history, NRCM has seen that this is the most effective way to ensure we secure and maintain strong protections for Maine’s environment and people.

We communicate with our members, supporters, policy makers and the public using direct mail, our website, email, and a variety of social media sites. Our staff also research and make available fact sheets, testimony given before the Maine Legislature, comments we provide to state agencies, and special publications on key environmental issues.

NRCM has a full-time staff of 24 with expertise in science, policy, communications, and grassroots outreach. Our active Board of Directors adds to our capacity by offering expertise in such disciplines as education, medicine, the law, and conservation, and by helping create new and strategic partnerships. NRCM also has the largest, most passionate grassroots network in Maine, and represents over 30,000 members and supporters.

We foster partnerships with traditional and unexpected allies, including businesses; local, state and federal agencies; tribal leaders and faith-based groups; and other conservation groups. Over the years we have developed a reputation as a solutions-oriented organization that knows how to find common ground to help solve environmental problems.

NRCM is also fiscally strong and carefully manages our budget. We are supported solely through private funding that includes membership dues, individual donations, foundation grants, business sponsorships for public engagement events, national environmental non-profit partners, and in-kind support. We offer a variety of ways for people to contribute and diversify our revenues through our monthly giving program, Partners in Maine's Future, and our planned giving program, the Wintergreen Society.

NRCM partnered with Maine people to achieve victories such as: designation of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway; restoration of the Kennebec and Penobscot rivers; and, creation of the Land for Maine’s Future program that conserves land across all 16 Maine counties. We also led adoption of Maine’s recycling programs and helped the state adopt a billboard ban that keeps our roadways uncluttered and scenic.

Over the past several years we celebrated the completion of the Penobscot River Restoration Trust (NRCM was a founding member) that opened up 2,000 miles of river habitat, and designation of the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument which protects 87,500 acres of spectacular forests and waterways. NRCM led a five year effort that resulted in public support to conserve the area. NRCM also helped Maine adopt the strongest mining law in the U.S. It prohibits large-scale open-pit mining; mining on public lands and under high-value waterways or coastal wetlands; and requires companies to pay enough up front for any future mining disaster.

In 2021, NRCM led the grassroots campaign that secured Maine's place as the first U.S. state to adopt Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging, a policy to require producers to fund the collection and recycling of excess packaging materials (e.g. plastic, steel, aluminum, glass, cardboard). More than 40 jurisdictions around the world have adopted such programs, including all European Union countries and most Canadian provinces. This success follows our 2019 campaign that resulted in Maine becoming the first state in the nation to ban polystyrene foam food containers and the fourth state to ban single-use plastic take-out bags. Plastic pollution is a global threat to the health of our oceans and wildlife, and NRCM sees reducing single-use plastics in Maine as one of our highest priorities.

NRCM is also leading climate and energy policy in Maine. In 2019, NRCM led a successful campaign that resulted in a landmark climate policy requiring Maine to reduce its carbon emissions 80% by 2050. Throughout 2020, NRCM dedicated substantial staff expertise to the Maine Climate Council (MCC) process that resulted in Maine’s first Climate Action Plan (CAP) in 15 years, Maine Won’t Wait. Now, NRCM is mobilizing our advocacy, outreach, and communications resources toward implementing the plan with statewide policy and through municipal level actions, such as local rules for solar permitting and siting. In 2024, Maine will develop its next CAP. NRCM is building the relationships and grassroots power necessary to deepen the impact of the next CAP through adoption of sector-specific carbon reduction goals, particularly for the transportation and building industries.