Remaining in New England, we proudly highlight our next 1% for the Planet environmental partner, the Maine Coast Heritage Trust (MCHT) – a nonprofit land conservation organization protecting and caring for vital lands on the coast of Maine.
Since its founding, the MCHT has collaborated with landowners, coastal communities, and other partners to conserve, protect, educate, restore, and steward Maine’s extraordinary coastal lands for their renowned scenic beauty, ecological value, outdoor recreational opportunities, and contribution to community well-being. Those partnerships have conserved iconic islands, critical wildlife habitat, coastal watersheds, water access sites, downtown greenspaces, and epic places for people to explore.
To date, the MCHT has helped protect over 170,000 acres and 330 islands, now holds more than 300 conservation easements, and owns and cares for more than 120 preserves that are free and open to the public – numbers that continue to grow every year. (https://lnkd.in/gxVVnfHg). An outstanding crew of full-time staff and seasonal crew members work in every coastal county in Maine to build and maintain trails and campsites, bring people out on the land, and keep shores clean.
The Trust works not only to protect vital lands, but to expand access to the coast, and connect the next generation to the natural world. Remarkably those making a living in the Gulf of Maine or who are just looking for a place to launch a boat to get out and have some fun can now rely on only 1% of the Maine coast for guaranteed access. (https://lnkd.in/gB5E4kJy). And with fully 75% of the native plant and animal species in Maine vulnerable to the effects of a changing climate, the Trust is also working to keep Maine’s marshes – and the fisheries that depend upon them – viable, as sea levels rise. (https://lnkd.in/gywAaqPz)
More information about the Maine Coast Heritage Trust can be found by visiting mcht.org and visiting its video links, including those referenced in this post.
CEO and Founder, Institute for Energy Research
2moThe LA director of the Sierra Club called industrial wind turbines "the Cuisinarts of the Air'. Time to stop offshore wind and onshore wind?