Join Maine

A CAMPAIGN FOR CLIMATE ACTION

A montage of video showing forests and rivers and ocean. — Katahdin Panorama Panoramic view of Mt. Katahdin from the Debsconeag Lakes Wilderness Area. © Ian Patterson

Tom Gorman and Kate Dempsey pose on a mountain top. — **Working Together** Join a campaign for climate action.

Our Invitation to You

Each of us has a unique story when it comes to our connection to the natural world. Both of ours are connected to two fundamental ideas: LOVE and CARE.

We LOVE all that Maine has to offer: the miles of verdant forest; the raging rivers and quiet ponds; the powerful ocean; the vast array of animal life; and the vibrant, hardworking communities that depend on Maine’s rich natural resources. We are drawn to this place because of love.

This leads us to a second and equally important calling: CARE. Our love for Maine calls and compels us to care for this place as best we can. Moving from love to care is essential, because it turns emotion into action.

It is in that spirit that we are thrilled to invite you to be part of our Join Maine Campaign for Climate Action. This is a call to all of us to work together to make a difference in Maine and beyond. In this campaign, TNC is joining science and action, local and global initiatives, innovative new partners, and natural forces to address the global climate crisis.

Mainers know how to tackle complex problems with ingenuity, collaboration, and grit, and that’s exactly what we need to develop sustainable, nature-based solutions to the challenges we face—from our forests to our rivers to the Gulf of Maine. Together, we can ensure a bright future for the places and people we love.

Thank you for supporting us as we work to JOIN MAINE,

Kate Dempsey, Maine State Director

Tom Gorman, Chair, Maine Board of Trustees

The Case for Action
How We’re Doing
What We’re Doing
Maine Stories
Make a Gift
Campaign Leaders

Join Maine (6:08) A campaign for climate action.

Our Case for Support

Whether fostering the connections between scientific learning and action, diverse interests, local and global efforts or natural and human forces—it’s time to take climate action and Join Maine.

Read the Case

Join the Effort—Join Maine

A shared vision can bring a brighter future if we act now, together.

Act Now

$101,000,000 funds toward our goal

Goal of $130,000,000

Make a Gift

Click on the initiatives slice to learn more.

Initiatives 72

Forests 40
Rivers 8
Oceans 7
Skies 6
Community 11

Core Support 12

Deferred Giving 11

Global 5

Fifth Item 0

A women kneels on the forest floor writing in a notepad

Taking Note Identifying species during a bioblitz at Boundary Mountains Preserve. © Kira Bennett Hamilton/TNC

Two women take measurements of a culvert.

Data Capture Measuring one of thousands of road-stream crossings in Maine. © Tim Paul

Gulf's Bounty A fisherman and his catch aboard the Safe Haven © David Hills

A charging unit is plugged into a red car.

Plugged In An electric vehicle gets a charge. © Tim Paul/TNC

Two young people look at a grasshopper on a leaf.

Community Young people explore the natural world © Robert Bukaty

Monitoring Scientists collect fish via electric fishing in a pond near Fougamou base, Gabon. © Roshni Lodhia

Taking Note Identifying species during a bioblitz at Boundary Mountains Preserve. © Kira Bennett Hamilton/TNC

Forests

Safeguarding Shelter for Wildlife and People

Our forests are an incredible natural climate solution. In addition to providing clean water, hosting our recreation and powering our economy with wood products, they capture more than three million metric tons of carbon from the atmosphere each year. TNC is leveraging groundbreaking science to respond. We’re identifying a network of unique locations that can withstand climate impacts, including vitally important Maine forests. This scientific learning drives our conservation planning and is a key strategy in our work to address climate change.

Data Capture Measuring one of thousands of road-stream crossings in Maine. © Tim Paul

Rivers

Fostering the Flow Between Land and Sea

Constricted waterways block fish and wildlife and put us all at risk of flooding from climate change. Maine rivers form a 75,000-mile network and support biodiversity along our riparian arteries, providing protection for many rare, threatened and endangered species. Aging dams and inadequate road crossings constrict these courses. By restoring free-flowing rivers and streams, we will increase the resilience of these networks and foster one of the most connected, intact river systems in the nation.

Gulf's Bounty A fisherman and his catch aboard the Safe Haven © David Hills

Oceans

Stimulating a Sea Change in Fishery Management

The Gulf of Maine is warming faster than 99% of the world’s oceans. It is one of the most complex and productive marine environments on the planet—but it is threatened by chronic overfishing, habitat loss and the effects of a changing climate. TNC partners with fishermen to develop more sustainable fishing practices and to collect better data about how species are adapting to a warming Gulf. As conditions become even more unpredictable, these partnerships will help protect this vital habitat and the communities that depend on it.

Plugged In An electric vehicle gets a charge. © Tim Paul/TNC

Skies

Curbing Carbon Through Policy and Practice

Reducing the amount of greenhouse gases we send into the atmosphere is up to us. Maine has the highest carbon emissions and spends the most on energy per capita in New England. That’s why TNC partners with policymakers and leaders to shape bold, innovative approaches that reduce emissions in Maine—and beyond. Collaborating to build public support for these initiatives helps ensure their continued success. Our priorities include advancing clean energy, incentivizing energy-efficient practices and setting ambitious emissions-reduction targets.

Community

Planning with Partners to Face the Future

Hotter summers, warmer winters, shifting seasons, stronger storms—these changes affect natural and human communities alike. For solutions to be sustainable, they must address the needs of both. Across the state, TNC digs into work with communities and leaders at every level, strengthening our collective response to climate change through innovative policies, cutting-edge science and direct action.

Global

Maine Has Insights to Share and Lessons to Learn

Maine is an exceptional place to plan and prepare for climate change. Our extraordinary ecosystems provide opportunities to lessen the extent and adapt to the consequences of this escalating crisis, and our local efforts are vitally connected to the search for global solutions. Our team has been applying the expertise we built working to restore rivers, developing relationships with Wabanaki partners and creating water funds for projects all over the world.

Forests Rivers Oceans Skies Community Global

Join With Our Supporters

**Pedro Altagracia (:52)** Learn why Pedro supports The Nature Conservancy.

**Pat Jackson (:58)** Learn why Pat supports the Join Maine campaign.

**Mary Beth Jester (:59)** Learn why Mary Beth supports the Join Maine campaign.

Make a Gift

The sun rises behind trees near a clearing with mountains beyond. — Daybrake Morning sun in a clearing near Smart Mountain in Boundary Mountains Preserve. © Jerry and Marcy Monkman/EcoPhotography

Campaign Leadership

Partners

We are grateful to the many longtime supporters and partners throughout Maine who have lent their voices and perspectives to our campaign, including:

Richard Bates (Chair, St. George Select Board)

Aram Calhoun and Mac Hunter (Wetland Ecologist and Wildlife Ecologist, University of Maine)

Randy Cushman (Fisherman, Port Clyde)

Anne Fuchs (Director of Mitigation, Planning, and Recovery, Maine Emergency Management Agency)

Brian Hubbell (Former Representative, Maine State Legislature)

Amara Ifeji (Director of Youth Engagement and Policy, Maine Environmental Education Association)

We are grateful to First Light and our Wabanaki partners for insights into how to improve our conservation practices and better incorporate diverse views and ways of knowing into our work.