Conserving Maine's Woods, Water, & Wildlife

30x30 + “the other 70%”

At Sierra Club, our vision for the 30x30 campaign is to safeguard and restore nature's invaluable gifts by securing permanent protection for 30% of lands and waters by the year 2030. We believe achieving this ambitious goal will be essential to protecting the biodiversity of our world, minimizing climate change, and preserving equitable access to nature for all communities.

Since our 30x30 team started two facts have become apparent:

1. Maine is well on its way to conserving 30% of our land area by 2030, and
2. in some ways, the more important question is what we plan to do about the other 70%.

Our goal is to help imagine the ideal State of Maine in 2050. Perhaps 50% of our landscape is set aside as some form of conserved wildlands, meeting the aspirational target set forth in E.O. Wilson’s book Half-Earth. Another 30% lies in protected woodlands, where timber companies have adopted sustainable management practices that allow forests to mature. Changes to zoning and town planning policies have allowed towns and cities to build innovative housing that combines density with access to greenspace, both addressing existing housing needs and accommodating population growth from so-called “climate migration.” Yes, the winters are warmer, droughts come more often, and invasive species continue to threaten our native ecosystems, but both our human and natural communities have the resources they need to respond to a changing climate. We need to coalesce the public around a vision for 2050 and facilitate the necessary policy to realize those goals.

The Story

Why does this 30x30 campaign matter to the Sierra Club and the 30x30 coalition?

• We believe we must transform our social systems and structures—from an exploitative economy built on fossil fuels to a regenerative society built on sustainability, ecosystem protection, democracy, and interdependence. 30x30 is one such necessary transformation.
• The collaborative and intersectional focus of this campaign means that the efforts can span various areas and spark action across many communities.

Why does this 30x30 campaign matter for all Mainers?

• The outdoors and its natural resources, such as clean air and clean water, are a human right. Equitable conservation initiatives such as this campaign aim to close the nature equity gap so that everyone can have access to nature.
• Maine is a state with an identity built on the outdoors. Outdoor recreation on our trails and mountains, popular sports such as mountain-biking and skiing, and our economy of tourism, fisheries, farms, and lumber would not be possible without conserved lands and waters.

Why is this 30x30 campaign important now? 

• The climate crisis needs to be addressed with the urgency that science and justice requires. 30x30 is part of the urgent action that needs to occur worldwide.

• Nature access and preserved lands are essential for public health, as green spaces and healthy oceans improve temperatures, air quality, and food security. As the climate crisis fuels more extreme weather than ever, 30x30 is a tool to adapt and mitigate these disasters.

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BIPOC Focus

• Conserving 30% of Maine's forestry, water resources, wildlife and biodiversity by 2030 is a crucial component of the Maine Won't Wait Plan and a nationwide campaign that aims to safeguard 30% of the United States' lands and waters by 2030. The 30x30 initiative plays a pivotal role in prioritizing the environmental needs of frontline communities for the future.
• This ambitious objective centers around partnering with Tribal Nations, BIPOC and frontline communities, and prioritizing their needs and guidance on fostering interconnected habitats where wildlife, plants, and people can flourish. To bring this vision to fruition it is essential to co-create strategies and tactics in collaboration with those who represent BIPOC communities in the climate movement. Within this collaborative space, our focus can span various areas, including but not limited to smart growth, organizing for land reclamation, sustainable forestry practices, water resources, equitable cooperative housing and land trusts, restorative/regenerative agriculture, environmental education, ensuring environmental access, and fostering overall community autonomy with the land.

What are the Maine Woods?

Maine contains approximately 17.6 million acres of forestland covering 89% of its land area (USDA Report). These forests are critical to biodiversity, wiater quality, and our economy. The Maine Woods contain thousands of miles of clear-running rivers and streams, provide habitat for endangered and sensitive wildlife, and include some of New England’s last old growth forests.

Protect the Maine Woods

The Sierra Club has made the protection of the Maine Woods, the largest expanse of contiguous northern forest east of the Mississippi River, one of its highest national conservation priorities.  The Sierra Club seeks to protect Maine's wilderness heritage through efforts to link existing public lands and unprotected areas, create new opportunities for wilderness recreation, and allow forests to return to a mature and natural state. 

Maine is a state with a rich natural and cultural heritage based on wilderness and a connection to the environment.  Millions of acres of forestland have been changing ownership over the past decade resulting in a striking conversion of timber based industry to real estate investment.  There are many development proposals for the Maine Woods, and it is vital that we work towards a long term vision for permanent protection of Maine's forests.

Resilient Habitats

Resilient Habitats is one of six priority goals nationally for Sierra Club under the Climate Recovery Partnership. Many species are already facing increased pressure due to climate change, and many more will be threatened as the world warms. If we want the world's wildlife and native plants to survive in a changing climate, we must help them adapt by protecting critical habitat and creating corridors that will allow for migration as climate changes and temperatures rise.

The Sierra Club has made the protection of Maine's North Woods one of its highest conservation priorities under the Resilient Habitats program. The Maine Woods have been called "grand central station" for wildlife movement in the Northeast. This unbroken stretch of forest is already home to threatened and endangered species such as the Canada Lynx. Maine's forests will become even more critical to many species as they struggle to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

We can help the Northeast's wildlife and plants to adapt by protecting a large core of resilient habitat in the Maine Woods. The Maine chapter is working with chapters across the Northeast and Canada to plan an interconnected network of large protected areas and corridors to allow species to migrate and survive climate change.

© Larry Allan, courtesy Sierra Club Library

Special Places

The 100 Mile Wilderness

The 100 Mile wilderness is the longest stretch of uninterrupted wilderness on the entire Appalachian Trail (AT) - stretching 100 miles from Baxter State Park to the town of Monson, Maine.

The spectacular 100 Mile Wilderness of the Maine woods represents the longest stretch of uninterrupted wilderness along the entire Appalachian Trail.  Located in northern Maine, the 100 Mile Wilderness is at the heart of the 10 million acre Maine Woods - the largest contiguous forest land east of the Mississippi.  This narrow, protected

corridor is rich in Maine's wilderness heritage providing opportunities for hiking, cross-country skiing, remote fishing, canoeing, and kayaking.  Spectacular natural wonders such as Gulf Hagas, the Cloud Forest and the Debsconeags Lakes offer unparalleled vistas, wild forests and waterways.  The area also hosts several 100-plus year-old traditional wilderness sporting camps where sportsmen fly fish for Maine brook trout and watch for loons, bald eagles, moose, bear, lynx and pine marten.

But despite its name, this ecologically rich area is by no means a preserved wilderness.  The vast majority of the 100 Mile Wilderness is privately owned by paper companies who have already scarred the forest with clearcuts and road building - in some places as close as 100 feet from the Appalachian Trail.

Sierra Club has made the protection of the 100 Mile Wilderness and the Moosehead Lake region a top priority.  If true wilderness protection isn't soon secured for the 100 Mile Wilderness it may be lost forever. The Maine chapter of the Sierra Club is actively working with sportsmen, public officials, and local residents to acquire key land parcels and protect a vital stretch of the Appalachian Trail and Maine's wilderness heritage for future generations.

Photo by Leanne Krudner

See all Chapter submitted testimony here: https://www.sierraclub.org/maine/submitted-testimony-legislature