Acknowledgements

Funding for this project come from the Aristotle Fund and the King and Jean Cummings Charitable Trust, administered by the Maine Community Foundation, the Davis Conservation Foundation, the Haymarket People's Fund, the Jebediah Foundation, the John L. Sage Foundation, the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, the New England Grassroots Environment Fund, the Nine Wicket Foundation, and the 2032 Trust. We are grateful for their support.

We appreciate the time and help from staff in the state agencies, commissions and other entities highlighted in this Guide. We also thank Millicent MacFarland, Clerk of the House of Representatives, and Joy J. O'Brien, Secretary of the Senate, for the use of many materials developed by their offices. (We adapted their pamphlet "Maine's Path of Legislation" for our description of the lawmaking process in Chapter 1.) Judy Berk shared expert advice on working with the media. We appreciate the permission from Moose Ridge Associates and the Maine Women's Lobby to reprint their materials. Finally, we thank the many individuals who reviewed and commented on the text.

Information in this book regarding legislative and administrative process, and contact information for agency and bureau heads or board and commission members is up to date as of November 2007, unless otherwise noted. Titles, bureaus, personnel, budgets and even programs of the various state agencies and other entities can change during any given legislative session.

Any errors found in this Guide are those of the Researcher/Writer and the Maine Conservation Voters Education Fund only.

This Guide is not a replacement for professional, legal or other technical help with difficult environmental problems at the state or local level. Even while using this Guide and other resources, concerned citizens may need to turn to others for guidance.

This Guide is published by the Maine Conservation Voters Education Fund (MCVEF). Our mission is to protect Maine's natural resources by increasing citizen participation in public policy decisions. Our programs include research, voter education, skills training for citizens and organizations, and events that bring citizens and elected officials together to focus on important conservation issues. MCVEF staff for this project include Maureen Drouin, Executive Director and Tracy Gregoire, Outreach Coordinator. Many thanks to our consultant Evelyn deFrees, who was the researcher and writer of this Guide. Dorcas Miller's researching and editing for this revised edition was essential. Finally, we thank Becky Koulouris for her countless hours proofing our Guide, Joanna Taatjes for web layout, Jill Bock our graphic designer and Rick Dieffenbach our web designer.