Artwork by Ed Nolde, Sierra Club Maine Volunteer
March 2026
In this issue:
- Sierra Club's Official Statement on Trump's Elimination of the EPA Endangerment Finding
- Maine Chapter Staff Update
- Community Conversation with Dr. Susana Hancock
- You're Invited! Spring Hand Address
- Community Air Monitor Program
- My Climate Future Film Premier
- Save the Date: No Kings!
- Green Tip of the Month
- The Month Ahead
- Volunteer With Sierra Club Maine
Sierra Club's Official Statement on Trump's Elimination of the EPA Endangerment Finding
By Loren Blackford, Executive Director
“Sierra Club Community,
More than two decades ago, the Sierra Club brought the very first federal climate case under the Clean Air Act. In 2002, we challenged the EPA’s refusal to regulate greenhouse gases from vehicles, a case that ultimately led to a landmark Supreme Court decision and the endangerment finding. That foundation has guided climate and health protections for years.
Earlier today, the Trump administration recklessly rescinded the endangerment finding. We believe this action is unlawful, and we are preparing to challenge it in court. The science establishing the dangers of greenhouse gases has not changed. The law has not changed. Our commitment to protecting people and communities has not changed. But Donald Trump and Lee Zeldin are using political stunts to put our futures in jeopardy just to pad corporate polluter profits – putting their friends first and everyone else last. They will not succeed. You can read our statement HERE and below are links to our social posts.
Eliminating the endangerment finding immediately invalidates the federal GHG emissions standards for light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty vehicles This rollback ignores the hundreds of thousands of comments that we and our allies filed with the EPA, and demonstrates Trump’s laser-focus on delivering a pro-fossil fuel and deregulatory agenda for billionaires. By rolling back the clean vehicle standards, Trump is giving manufacturers the green light to continue producing toxic-spewing cars and trucks for decades to come, which will cause 8 billion more tons of total carbon emissions during the next 30 years. You can read our statement HERE and social media post HERE.
We’re also confronting several other attacks this week, including:
Coal plant bailouts: Yesterday, Trump signed an executive order directing the Department of Defense to buy electricity from coal plants. He also announced that the Department of Energy will send federal funding to dirty, unreliable and expensive coal plants in Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, and West Virginia to keep them on life support. You can read our statement HERE, and below are links to our social posts.
Tennessee Valley Authority decision: The Trump-appointed TVA Board of Directors voted to keep the Kingston coal plant near Knoxville and the Cumberland coal plant near Nashville operating. Both plants were scheduled to close this year. You may know the Kingston plant as the site of one of the largest coal ash spills in U.S. history – a disaster that polluted local waterways and exposed workers and local communities to serious health risks, including contributing to the deaths of hundreds. You can read our statement HERE, and below are links to our social posts.
Protections from Mercury and Air Toxic pollution from coal plants: By the end of the month, the EPA is expected to dismantle strengthened pollution control standards for mercury and other toxic pollutants from coal plants. This would reverse the improvements finalized in 2024 – that the Sierra Club was critical in delivering – and revert to outdated 2012 standards. These standards protect communities, especially children and those with underlying health conditions, from pollutants linked to developmental harms, heart attacks, and premature death.
Any one of these actions would be unconscionable on its own. Taken together, these moves cement the Trump administration as one of the gravest threats to our health, lands, air, and water–our future–that we’ve faced.
The Sierra Club has litigated federal climate standards longer than any other organization. We have defended these safeguards across administrations, and we will do so again now. Our strategy is grounded in science, in law, and in our responsibility to our communities.
At the same time, we are continuing to fight back against this Administration’s attacks on our national parks, national monuments, and other federal public lands. In just the last two weeks, the Trump administration is attempting to censor history: dismantling an exhibit on slavery at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, temporarily removing brochures at Medgar & Myrlie Evers Home National Monument in Mississippi that accurately called the civil rights leader’s murderer a racist and a Klansman, and taking down the pride flag at Stonewall National Monument in New York City, the first national monument focused on LGBTQ history. Try as they may, this administration cannot re-write the national story our public lands tell. We are also preparing for moves against Minnesota’s Boundary Waters, one of the most visited recreation areas in the country, and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. We will not back down to the Trump administration’s constant effort to prioritize polluters’ profits over the public.
We know moments like this can feel discouraging. But history shows that durable progress is defended through persistence and principled action. We will continue to organize, advocate, and, when necessary, litigate to defend the protections that safeguard our air, water, and health.”
- Loren Blackford
Maine Chapter Staff Update
By Jane Brekke, Chapter Director
The Maine chapter is turning a page with a bittersweet goodbye to Marena Bach. Marena has served as the Creative Strategist on our staff team since 2020. Over the last 5 years, she has been with the Chapter, her work has helped us tell our story — lifting up our values, our victories, and our collective determination to protect Maine’s people and wild places. We are deeply thankful for the care, creativity, and commitment Marena brought to this role, and for the many ways her voice helped strengthen our community. This transition comes at a time when many of us are feeling unsettled. The turmoil unfolding across the country weighs heavily. In times like these, we’re reminded how much the work — and the people behind it — truly matter.
Marena’s decision to step back from her role to focus fully on her two young sons is softened by the addition of a new role and team member. We’re happy to welcome Ashley Nye as our chapter’s new Community Organizer. Ashley was previously contracted to serve as communications coordinator during Marena’s leave, and we are thrilled to expand on the experience and skills she demonstrated during that time. Having moved to Maine from Utah in 2023, her time with the chapter has been brief but marked by enthusiastic care for our people and shared home. Ashley is currently completing her degree in environmental science and brings a wide range of experience from her time as an adventure sports guide and visual communications specialist.
At a time when the pace of change is rapidly accelerating, adaptation and flexibility become our ultimate strengths. As our community learns to navigate these turbulent new waters, we, as a chapter, are committed to uplifting your voices and supporting initiatives that build resilience and connection among ourselves. We encourage you to connect with our staff, leaders, and peers, expanding our grassroots structure, knowing we will be able to accomplish more together than we ever could alone.
Community Conversation with Dr. Susana Hancock
By Halsey Snow, Volunteer
Diplomacy on Ice: Climate science, glaciers and effecting change on the global level
In this program, Dr. Susana Hancock (Freeport, ME) will share some of her recent adventures and research findings, including a ski traverse across Greenland last autumn (2025) where she studied Arctic PFAS, as well as an expedition this winter to the rapidly diminishing tropical glaciers of the Andes. Dr. Hancock brings a global perspective to the work we do here in Maine to ameliorate our own contributions to the climate crisis, and will lead us into discussion of the connections between near and far.
Bio
Dr. Susana Hancock is a glaciologist, climate policy expert, and polar skier. She works with the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative (ICCI) as the Global Mountains Director where she focuses on driving climate ambition and urgency, within the UN process and across global governments. Susana is also known for her glacier expeditions, where she studies pollution in polar ecosystems, and uses these findings to inform global climate policy.
You're Invited! Spring Hand Address
By Corrine Kucirka-Adamowicz
Our community was such a great help last November as we prepared our largest-ever batch of hand-addressed appeal letters! This is a really important task for our Chapter and helps us increase our donations. We invite you to join us again on Tuesday, March 17th at the Falmouth Memorial Library as we prepare 300 hand addressed envelopes for the Spring Appeal!
This is a drop-in event starting at 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM with lunch at 12:00 PM from Clayton's in Yarmouth. It’s a great way to connect face to face with fellow supporters, staff, and enjoy good company while logging those volunteer hours (New Years resolutions rejoice!). Don’t forget the RSVP to ensure your lunch!
Where: Falmouth Memorial Library, 5 Lunt Road, Falmouth ME 04105
Meeting Location: Russell Room North
Date: Tuesday, March 17th
When: 11:00 am to 2:00 pm - stay as little or as long as you like!
We hope to see you there!
Community Air Monitor Program
By Michelle Coombs
EPA Region 1 is offering community-based organizations the opportunity to borrow PurpleAir sensors as part of an air sensor loan program. These units are user-friendly, Wi-Fi-enabled, stationary sensors that collect particulate matter (PM) data, specifically PM2.5, and can transmit the data wirelessly to an online map, where you can observe the amount of PM in the air in real-time. Take a look at this map to see all of the registered PurpleAir units in action!
The loan program can be a useful community education tool since it provides a uniform framework for investigating outdoor air quality, which can empower community members to reduce emissions of and exposure to harmful PM pollution where they live, work, and play.
For more information about the loan program and how to apply, please refer to the Program Plan, which is attached to this email. Additionally, EPA Region 1 hosted an information session in January 2025 about participating in the loan program. The information session covered information included in the Program Plan. If you would like to view the recorded information session, please email me.
Applications are required in order to be considered for a loan. EPA offers two (2) rounds of open application periods. The first deadline for submitting applications was October 1, 2025. The next deadline for submitting applications is April 1, 2026.
To request an application, please email me.
My Climate Future Film Premier
By Maine Climate Action Now!
Join us in the shop on Thursday 3/12, from 6:30-8PM, for an evening dedicated to youth voices around climate change. Watch the premiere of the documentary, My Climate Future, produced by Maine-based nonprofit, Seeing for Ourselves. Stick around after the film for an insightful discussion with the film-maker and audience Q&A. Meet two of our 2026 Community Grant Recipients, Maine Youth for Climate Justice (MYCJ) and Maine Climate Action Now (MCAN), and learn how you can get involved with the work they do. Enjoy light refreshments, product giveaway, and more at this all ages event!
RSVP is encouraged. A $5 suggested door donation will support MYCJ's ability to sponsor this film to be featured on PBS, which would give their organization national visibility.
Patagonia Freeport - 100 Main Street,
Freeport, Maine
Thursday, March 12 6:30pm
Save the Date! No Kings
By Indivisible
We have the power and are claiming it together. No Thrones. No Crowns. No Kings.
What began in 2025 as a single day of defiance has become a sustained national resistance to tyranny, spreading from small towns to city centers and across every community determined to defend democracy. Our peaceful movement is bigger than ever.
When our families are under attack and costs are pushing people to the brink, silence is not an option. We will defend ourselves and our communities against this administration’s unjust and cruel acts of violence.
On March 28th, rise up, take to the streets, and say it loud: no thrones, no crowns, no kings. We’re not watching history happen—we’re making it. Join us.
Green Tip of the Month
By Michael Trombley
Do you have a green tip that you would like to have included in a future newsletter? Please share it with us here
The Month Ahead
Here are some of the meetings and events we have coming up. Hope to see you soon!
- 3/3 Conservation Lobby Day
- Meet your legislators at the Maine state capitol
- 3/8 Volunteer Orientation
- Learn how you can help protect Maine's environment
- 3/12 and 3/26 Events Team Meetings
- Help us organize events to educate and engage Mainers across the state
- 3/12 LMF Lobby Day
- Support funding for Maine's public lands
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Interested in helping to protect Maine's environment? Join us at our next volunteer orientation! No matter your background, we have a role for you--no experience necessary.
SUBMISSIONS
Submit a photo, article, or event for us to include in our next newsletter!