Archives for NRCM

RadioActive 1/17/19

Producer/Host: Meredith DeFrancesco

Land Use Planning Commission Poised to Open 1.3 million Acres of Maine Woods to Development

The Maine Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC) is poised to make the biggest proposed policy change in Commission history. Their plan to change adjacency criteria, eliminating the so-called “one mile rule”, would open up over 1.3 million acres of the Maine woods to residential subdivisions. 800,000 of those acres would also be opened to commercial development. This would open an unspecified number of class 3 lakes to development.
Opponents say, the policy change would also reverse a 2001 legislative ban on large residential subdivisions of 25 acres (so called, kingdom lots), and would allow subdivisions of up to 14 lots and 30 acres to meet only limited environmental review on approximately 400,000 acres.
The LUPC is accepting written comments on their proposed development changes until January 22. Email comments to [email protected]

Guest:
Cathy Johnson, Senior Staff Attorney, Forest and Wildlife Director, Natural Resources Council of Maine
www.nrcm.org/projects/forests-wildlife/maine-north-woods-protection-lupc/lupc-adjacency-principle-maines-north-woods/
www.nrcm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/2018-one-mile-rule-general-factsheet-post-hearing.pdf
www.nrcm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/NRCMadjacencytestimony62018.pdf
www.nrcm.org/projects/forests-wildlife/maine-north-woods-protection-lupc/

Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s Maine Land Use Planning Commission
Proposed Rules Revisions: Revised Applications of Adjacency Principle and Subdivision Standards : www.maine.gov/dacf/lupc/projects/adjacency/rulemaking/Adj_Sub_PublicCommentDraft_Dec2018.pdf

Today’s program was produced with the Sunlight Media Collective.

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Maine Currents 7/11/17

Producer/Host: Amy Browne

Segment 1: The public comment period has closed and now those who care about Maine’s new National Monument are waiting to hear its’ fate. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke visited Katahdin Woods and Waters recently as part of a federal review. While his comments after touring the area seemed to indicate that he was favorably impressed, they are open to interpretation at this point. Governor LePage has been a vocal opponent of the monument, downplaying the beauty and historical significance of the area, and any potential economic benefits for the region.
On Friday the Natural Resources Council of Maine held a press conference in Bangor to release the results of their analysis of the public comments that had been submitted so far, and to highlight the thoughts of some residents of the Katahdin Woods and Waters region. In our first segement today we’re going to listen in.

FMI:
Natural Resources Council of Maine

Segment 2: Coming up on Wednesday, July 26th, WERU, in conjunction with Bucksport’s Wednesdays on Main will hold our third annual storytelling event at the Alamo Theatre. We hope to see you all there, and to give you a sample of what you can expect, today we’re bringing you an encore presentation of 3 of the storytellers from last year’s show who will be returning this year.

FMI about the 7/26th event: My Maine: The State as Experienced by Local Storytellers


Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, every Tuesday at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

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Maine Currents 2/1/17

Producer/Host: Amy Browne
Studio Engineer/Segment Producer: John Greenman

President Trump’s actions in his first days in office have been met with protests around the world and right here in Maine- and they show no signs of letting up. Today on “Maine Currents” we’re going to look at the community response to Trump’s executive orders and cabinet nominees. We have a clip from the protest at Bangor International Airport over the weekend, we talk to some of the organizers of local events and then open the phone lines.

Guests:
Lisa Pohlmann, Executive Director, Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM), nrcm.org
Susan Dickson-Smith, Founder/Organizer, Eastern Maine for Racial Justice (EMeRJ), facebook.com/emerjmaine , emerjblog.wordpress.com/
Sam Salvadore Portera, Bangor Area Organizer, Maine People’s Alliance, mainepeoplesalliance.org
Karen Marysdaughter, Co-Coordinator, Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine, peacectr.org
Matt Murphy, WERU General Manager, weru.org

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RadioActive 2/18/10

Producer/Host: Meredith DeFrancesco

Topics: Executive bonuses at Fraser Papers while workers got pay cuts and company filed for bankruptcy,  in 2009.    Legislation to ban toxic DECA in plastic pallets and other pending environmental legislation.  An update on Plum Creek’s massive development plans in the Maine woods.

Guests:  Duane Lugdon, Union Rep. for Maine’s United Steelworkers;  Judy Berke, Natural Resources Council of Maine (www.nrcm.org)

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RadioActive 1/21/10

Producers/Hosts: Amy Browne & Meredith DeFrancesco

The Natural Resources Council of Maine is calling upon it’s membership to attend public hearings in Augusta tomorrow on what it calls “Three of the most important bills of this legislative session”.   Matt Prindiville, the Project Director of the Toxics and Clean Production campaign at the Natural Resources Council of Maine, is with us today to tell us why the NRCM considers LDs 1662, 1631 and 1568 to be so important
And as we’ve reported in the past on RadioActive,  legislation has been introduced that would regulate the use of Solitary Confinement in Maine prisons, which many believe is being used abusively.    At a press conference in Augusta this morning it was announced that a coalition of groups has come together to work for the passage of LD 1611 “An Act to Ensure Humane Treatment of Special Management Unit Prisoners” (sponsored by Rep. Jim Schatz, Blue Hill), including the Maine Civil Liberties Union, the Jeremiah Project, the Maine Psychological Association, the NAACP- Portland Branch, and the Maine Council of Churches. We speak to Emily Posner of Mainers Against the Abuse of Solitary Confinement.  FMI: maineprisonjustice.org

The Natural Resources Council of Maine is calling upon it’s membership to attend public hearings in Augusta tomorrow on what it calls “Three of the most important bills of this legislative session”.   Matt Prindiville, the Project Director of the Toxics and Clean Production campaign at the Natural Resources Council of Maine, is with us today to tell us why the NRCM considers LDs 1662, 1631 and 1568 to be so important.  FMI: www.nrcm.org

And as we’ve reported in the past on RadioActive,  legislation has been introduced that would regulate the use of Solitary Confinement in Maine prisons, which many believe is being used abusively.    At a press conference in Augusta this morning it was announced that a coalition of groups has come together to work for the passage of LD 1611 “An Act to Ensure Humane Treatment of Special Management Unit Prisoners” (sponsored by Rep. Jim Schatz, Blue Hill), including the Maine Civil Liberties Union, the Jeremiah Project, the Maine Psychological Association, the NAACP- Portland Branch, and the Maine Council of Churches. We speak to Emily Posner of Mainers Against the Abuse of Solitary Confinement.  FMI: maineprisonjustice.org

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RadioActive 5/21/09

Producers/Hosts: Amy Browne & Meredith DeFrancesco
Topic: Federal Climate Change Legislation
An interview with Dylan Voorhees, Clean Energy Director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine. Voorhees offers a critique of the current version of the proposed legislation and explains the importance of this issue to Mainers, as well as the impact Mainers can have on the outcome.
FMI: www.nrcm.org

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