Local activists to receive
2014 NRCM Conservation Leadership awards
AUGUSTA, Maine — The Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM), has named its 2014 Conservation Leadership Award winners. Award recipients will be honored at a special event Oct. 15, 2014 in Hallowell.
Lorette Adams of Easton, Alice Bolstridge of Presque Isle, Gail Maynard of Woodland and Shelly Mountain of Mapleton, are being recognized for their “unwavering determination to ensure that Maine implements strong, commonsense regulations to protect our waters, wildlife and citizens from dangerous mining pollution,” according to NRCM officials.
Near the end of the 2012 legislative session, Natural Resources Council of Maine Executive Director Lisa Pohlmann said a bill was introduced to weaken Maine’s mining rules, at the request of J.D. Irving, a huge Canadian mining conglomerate. Irving proposed to build a large, open-pit mine at Bald Mountain in Aroostook County. Such a mining operation would put important water resources at risk from sulfuric acid and toxic heavy metals. This pollution persists for hundreds of years and would likely leave Maine taxpayers with cleanup costs, and put human health and wildlife habitat at risk, including some of our state’s most important brook trout habitat.
These Aroostook County residents grasped the seriousness of the threat posed by J.D. Irving’s bill. Adams, Bolstridge, Maynard and Mountain soon became the most important voices from The County on the mining issue. Among their work: making the long trip down from The County to give crucial testimony before the Board of Environmental Protection and the Maine Legislature. Their strong views and connections in The County inspired others from that part of the state to come to Augusta to testify as well. As a result, Aroostook County citizen voices were far more powerful than the pro-mining lobby. Without these four women, this would not have been the case.
The Legislature rejected the LePage Administration’s weak mining rules, which is good news for Aroostook County residents and also for everyone who lives in and loves Maine, because the risk of metal mining pollution extends to many other places in Maine where companies may want to mine, including Cobscook Bay and the Moosehead Lake region. These women were key to that victory.
Other 2014 honorees include:
• Peter Kallin (Rome) and Peter Lowell (Bridgton), 2014 Conservation Leadership Award, for their tireless efforts to protect the water quality of Maine’s lakes; and
• Robert Godfrey of Eastport, 2014 People’s Choice Award, for his perseverance in protecting the beauty and heritage of Downeast Maine by leading the grassroots organization, Save Passamaquoddy Bay.
“Maine is so fortunate to have citizens like these whom we are honoring this year with our Conservation Leadership Awards,” said Pohlmann. “These people share a deep love of Maine and understand what is at stake. These awards are one way to demonstrate how much we appreciate all that they do to protect this beautiful state we all call home.”
To attend the event or for more information, visit www.nrcm.org.
