Dear Friend of Maine’s Environment and Democracy,

During the past year, our lives and communities have been disrupted in ways we had never seen before.

Thankfully, lawmakers here in Maine and new leadership in Washington stepped up to tackle the real and urgent challenges facing our state and nation, and our resiliency and perseverance as Mainers have helped us weather some of the most difficult times.

As the pandemic continues to test us and the future remains uncertain, we are sure about one aspect of this year: our commitment to combating climate change, protecting our environment, creating a more equitable future, and strengthening our democracy remains stronger than ever.

As legislative champions followed through on their promises to put climate, environment, equity, and voting rights front and center, our environment and democracy saw victory after victory in Augusta this legislative session.

These victories include a first-in-the-nation public fossil fuel divestment order, progress on a number of climate solutions, phasing out toxic chemicals, protecting pollinators, and ensuring that every one of our democracy and voting rights priorities was signed into law. The wildly popular Land for Maine’s Future program received sizable and much overdue funding in Maine’s State Budget—with bipartisan support. And, recognizing that there is no environmental justice without racial justice, the legislature took important steps to address systematic racism and advance equity.

These wins—and future victories—hinge on our collective ability to hold our lawmakers accountable for their votes on the important environmental, equity, and democracy issues our members care so deeply about.

That’s why we’re honored to present to you Maine Conservation Voters’ Environmental Scorecard for the 130th legislative session. This year’s scorecard highlights the incredible progress our state has made to combat the climate crisis, reduce waste, improve public health infrastructure, protect public lands, and expand access to the ballot box.

We can’t thank our leaders in Augusta enough for this year’s successful legislative session, including Gov. Janet Mills, Senate President Troy Jackson, Speaker Ryan Fecteau, and all of the amazing conservation champions in the legislature.

But we cannot hold our lawmakers accountable without members like you, who, despite a global pandemic, were more active than ever this year—calling, emailing, and meeting with your representatives to ensure they know our priorities are popular and important to Maine voters.
Together, we tackled environmental degradation, the climate crisis, environmental injustice, and voting rights to create a healthier and safer future for all Maine people. Thank you for your support and dedication this year to help secure so many victories for the Maine we all love. With your help, we look forward to many more in the coming year.

With hope and gratitude,

Maureen Drouin, Executive Director
Adam Lee, Board President