FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 21, 2025
CONTACT Gabe Cole, Maine Conservation Voters, gabe@maineconservation.org, 610-574-5141 (cell)
Maine Conservation Voters and LCV Organize Community Art Event Raising Awareness around Threats Posed to Public Lands and Waters in Maine
Washington, D.C. — Yesterday, Maine Conservation Voters and the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) hosted a community kite day and art installation at Bug Light Park in South Portland, featuring two dozen handcrafted flags made by the Maine Flag Company representing Maine’s diverse and iconic landscapes. This event is part of the multi-state Protect Our Public Lands campaign to raise awareness and fight back against the Trump administration’s sell off of public lands, threats to our clean water, and highlight the value of these cherished places and resources.
The Trump administration is threatening public access to trails and lands in Maine and across the country by targeting the Land and Water Conservation Fund and, now that the administration has cut all their staff and funding, are attempting to reallocate funds away from critical projects to cover park maintenance.
“Getting outdoors, experiencing the natural world, connecting with nature… that’s part of what it means to be a Mainer and public lands are what make that possible,” said MCV Communications Manager, Gabe Cole. “Attempts to sell-off public lands, cuts to land management agencies, and the ongoing reversal of environmental protections are a grave threat to our way of life and will have destructive and irreversible impacts to our people and local economies.”
“The Trump administration has continued to launch countless attacks on funding for critical programs, our public lands and waters, and the health and safety of our communities,” said LCV Conservation Program Director America Fitzpatrick. “Trump and his extreme allies have gutted our land management agencies, opened up millions of acres of our lands to drilling and logging, and allowed corporate polluters off the hook after they poison our lands and waters. We are all-in with our local partners to fight back against the Trump administration’s sell-off of public lands to Big Polluters and corporate interests.”
On Trump’s first day in office, he signed several executive orders declaring a national “energy emergency” calling for increased oil and gas leasing on federal lands, including in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and 13 million acres of the Western Arctic. He has issued executive orders repealing protections for Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument opening them up to industrial scale commercial fishing. The Trump Administration has also expanded oil drilling on millions of acres of public lands, fired thousands of career staff at Interior, issued executive orders expanding logging on millions of acres of national forests, and announced plans to roll back critical clean water safeguards. Just last month, Congressional Republicans passed the Big Ugly Bill, which cemented these efforts to drill, log, and mine even more of our cherished lands, including pristine places like the Arctic Refuge.
Land conservation and environmental organizations throughout Maine reacted to yesterday’s event, affirming the value of public land and condemning the funding cuts, rule reversals, and sell-off attempts that threaten their very existence:
“Our national parks and park rangers are facing immense challenges due to the actions of the Trump Administration over the last seven months”, said Todd Martin, Northeast Senior Program Manager for the National Parks Conservation Association. “Since January, more than 4,000 National Park Service staffers have left the agency due to mass layoffs and forced resignations, representing a quarter of NPS’ workforce. President Trump’s proposed budget would cut more than $1 billion from the Park Service, essentially eliminating funding for approximately 350 NPS sites. Thankfully, the public and members of Congress from both sides of the aisle are pushing back. We appreciate Maine’s Congressional Delegation for their leadership in Washington DC for our national parks and public lands and encourage them to keep up the fight.”
“Public lands play a key role in conserving habitat for Maine’s fish and wildlife,” said Maine Audubon’s Conservation Director Sally Stockwell. “Maine’s public lands harbor older forests, fragile wetlands, rare plant communities, and habitat for rare and vulnerable species. Caring for existing conservation land and funding new land conservation efforts will help protect high quality habitat in the face of growing housing needs, and stem the tide of habitat loss and degradation, as well as population declines of Maine’s iconic fish and wildlife.”
“As Mainers join together for this Day of Action, we’re sending a clear message: protecting public lands and ensuring the National Park Service has the funding and staff it needs is a bipartisan priority. With nearly a quarter of permanent NPS employees leaving due to buyouts, job uncertainty, and lack of resources, Congress must act now,” said Veronica Torres, Government Affairs Manager with Friends of Acadia. “Friends of Acadia urges Senators to support the Senate Interior appropriations bill, which protects essential funding and staff, and to pass bipartisan legislation extending the Great American Outdoors Act’s Legacy Restoration Fund. Our national parks and public lands deserve sustained investment for future generations.”
“Outdoor recreation supports our physical and mental health and contributes $3.5 billion to Maine’s economy each year. Maine residents and visitors treasure public lands, from local and state destinations to Acadia National Park and the White Mountain National Forest,” said Eliza Townsend, Maine Conservation Policy Director for the Appalachian Mountain Club. “That’s why we strongly oppose policies that put these gems at risk. We urge Maine’s congressional delegation to defeat any harmful changes to the Land and Water Conservation Fund or any sale of public lands. We further urge them to restore the staff who keep our public lands safe, clean, and open to all.”
Public lands enjoy some of the widest support of any major issue. In April, a poll commissioned by Trust for Public Land found that 74% of Americans oppose the closure of national public lands, and 71% oppose selling public lands to the highest bidder. In Idaho, where the state hasn’t voted for a Democrat for president since Lyndon B. Johnson, 96% of residents think public lands should be in public hands. In addition, 88% of voters are concerned about the pollution of lakes and rivers and 82% of voters think the U.S. should protect more of its lands and waters.
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