Ches Gundrum is advocacy director for Maine Audubon.
The second session of the 132nd Maine Legislature wrapped up recently and Maine Audubon’s advocacy team is proud to have helped secure several wins for wildlife in this short session.
Our staff testified on 106 individual bills in Maine’s 132nd Legislature, a new record, and our members, supporters and volunteers sent thousands of individual messages to state lawmakers or added their names to petitions.
There was a lot to follow this winter and spring. Here are five important wins for Maine wildlife this session.
Dark sky protection
LD 1934 will require that new or replacement lighting installed using public funds or on public property meets standards that prevent light pollution.
Maine is privileged with dark skies, a precious natural resource increasingly rare in our modern world. Natural dark skies contribute to the proper functioning of ecosystems and therefore to continued biodiversity. The final bill includes several safety, transportation and sports-related exemptions, but we’ve made great progress protecting our dark skies.
Protecting shorelines
State and municipal shoreland zoning laws exist to help protect water quality, limit erosion, conserve wildlife and preserve the natural beauty of Maine’s shoreland areas. Some homeowners and developers violate shoreland zoning rules and accept fines as the “cost of doing business,” but the damage remains.
LD 1904 will help municipalities hold shoreland zoning violators accountable by establishing the Municipal Shoreline Protection Legal Fund to assist municipalities in paying legal costs incurred in pursuing egregious shoreland zoning violations.
Plug-in solar
It’s no secret that climate change is one of the most pervasive threats facing wildlife in Maine. In order to safeguard the future of Maine wildlife, Maine must accelerate its transition to a cleaner, more sustainable energy future, and away from the burning of fossil fuels. LD 1730 allows more Mainers to tap into an affordable renewable energy source by increasing access to plug-in or “balcony” solar.
Improving the LUPC
Maine’s Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC) is the planning and zoning authority for the millions of acres of rural Maine classified as unorganized territories (UT). Unfortunately, the UT faces significant challenges: changing ownership patterns, economic and development pressures, climate change impacts and threats to biodiversity.
To better support the LUPC’s nine-member oversight board in meeting these modern challenges, LD 870 adds two new seats to the board: one member representing the Wabanaki Nations and another with explicit natural resource-based expertise appointed by lawmakers.
Battery waste
Finally, Maine passed two bills this year, LD 474 and LD 1519, that require companies that produce certain batteries or electronic smoking devices to take responsibility for their product waste through state-approved stewardship programs. Single-use materials are some of the most common forms of pollution, and can cause major problems for turtles, seabirds and other wildlife.
Collaboration with pro-wildlife lawmakers in Augusta, our partners in the environmental community and the thousands of wildlife advocates that support this work is key to our success.
We’ll be back in Augusta in early 2027 for the first session of the 133rd Legislature, working with a new governor and dozens of new lawmakers to continue policy progress for Maine wildlife and habitat. To be a part of our wildlife community, go to maineaudubon.org/act.
