Recent political events seem to be inspiring a new level of activism among Maine's environmentalists — and a desire to do it effectively. In the dozen years Tony Donovan has been part of Sierra Club Maine, he says he has never seen one as large as its recent Lobby Day on March 2.
Every two years, Sierra Club Maine organizes a day for citizens to visit the State House in Augusta to learn how they can advocate for the environment. At least 36 people attended the recent event, including people new to the Sierra Club and longtime volunteers.
“Nationwide the election of Trump has brought out millions of people,” said Donovan, who is head of Sierra Club Maine’s legislative team. “The spin-off of that is more people are reaching out to organizations like ours.”
Sierra Club is built on a foundation of grassroots organizing. In Maine, the nonprofit chapter has just two employees — but it has 4,000 Maine members and over 14,000 residents in its activist network.
Joan Saxe, of Freeport, has volunteered with the Sierra Club for nearly 40 years, holding many leadership roles. She said she saw many more new faces than is typical for a lobbying day. People traveled from all over the state to participate.
“I think everyone is really fed up!” Saxe said, answering a question about why so many people showed up. “It’s the resistance.”
Shri Verrill, a Falmouth resident and wetland scientist, was a first-time participant in the Sierra Club Lobby Day. She was motivated by what she sees as growing political threats to the environment. “I have decided to step it up a notch because of our current governor and president and their attacks on the EPA and environmental regulations in Maine,” she explained. “I’m at a place in my career where I have the time and expertise and skill set” to talk specifically about how the environment is affected by industry and pollution, she added.
The purpose of Lobby Day is to familiarize Mainers with the lay of the land in the capitol building and to show them how easy it is to speak with their state senators and representatives. Sierra Club also goes over important pending environmental legislation and the timetable of the bills as they move through the legislative process. This year, the organization has identified several priority bills. 
Current Sierra Club Maine priority issues
- Passenger Train Expansion in Maine
- Maine Mining Protection Laws, to protect Maine’s clean water and prevent expensive environmental cleanups
- Creation of a Maine Water Trust, to protect the state’s drinking water
- Solar — Specific solar bills have not yet been printed, but Sierra Club is tracking them and will be a source of information and action when the bills do come out later in March, with hearings in April.
- Electric vehicle infrastructure — There are a couple of proposed bills, both of which Sierra Club requested. One asks that the Joint Standing Committee in Transportation study the replacement of vehicle charging stations on Maine's highways. The other directs Volkswagen settlement funds to be used to increase the use of zero-emissions vehicles and to create infrastructure to support zero-emission vehicle transition.
“The idea is to not be shy about speaking with your legislators,” Donovan said. “Thirty-six people learned they can walk up to the State House and meet with their legislators almost any time they want.”
But the day is not just for political newcomers. Tony Giambro, co-owner of Paris Autobarn, in South Paris, said he tries to attend Lobby Days when he can because he finds it valuable to get up to date on what is happening environmentally and politically and to interact with his local representatives. “It is one thing to send them an email and call them on the phone, but to take time out of your day to talk to them where they work, that makes them more receptive,” he said.
Right now Giambro is focused on legislation to support more electric vehicle infrastructure — because he wants to see people driving fewer fossil fuel-powered cars — and to bolster solar energy in the state. Actions like reducing net metering for solar installations would negatively impact his auto repair shop, he said. Right now Giambro's business is completely powered by 45 solar panels, and said he’d like to expand and add more panels, as well as hire one or two more employees. “If current net metering rules go away,” he said, “it will be more difficult to do our project.”
For the first part of Lobby Day, Sierra Club introduced participants to a handful of state senators and representatives, including Rep. Mike Sylvester, Rep. Bettyann Sheats, Sen. Catherine Breen, Sen. Ben Chipman, Sen. Shenna Bellows, and Sen. Nate Libby. They discussed their sponsored bills, while Sierra Club also outlined its own goals this legislative session.
“Then we hit the floor,” Donovan said, each lobbyist fanning out to find their local officials to ask them to support or oppose certain environmental bills. The participants were given flyers with pertinent arguments about the proposed legislation.
“Anyone who wants to lobby the legislature should contact Sierra Club,” Donovan urged. “We will provide you with information that will guide you through the issues of the day.”
