Former lawmaker and 'dedicated sportsman' nominated to environmental advisory board
Courtesy / Office of Gov. Janet Mills
Robert Duchesne, 65, of Hudson, has been nominated by Gov. Janet Mills to fill the sole vacancy on the Board of Environmental Protection. His nomination will be considered by the Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources and the state Senate.
A former Maine lawmaker and a longtime host of a popular radio show broadcast across eastern and central Maine outlets has been nominated by Gov. Janet Mills to serve on the Board of Environmental Protection.
Mills’ nomination of Robert Duchesne, 65, was officially posted on Friday. His nomination to fill the board’s sole vacancy will be considered by the Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources and the state Senate.
In 2005, Duchesne was elected to the Maine House of Representatives and served six non-consecutive terms representing House District 121. During his time in the Legislature, he chaired both the Environment and Natural Resources Committee and the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee and started his own guiding business. After his service in the Legislature, Duchesne began writing columns focused on the Maine outdoors for several news outlets. He currently lives on Pushaw Lake in Hudson with his wife, Sandi.
He also spent more than three decades as the host of a popular radio show broadcast across eastern and central Maine. During his radio career, Duchesne was also an active leader in charity and public service organizations in the Bangor area, including serving as president of Downeast Big Brothers Big Sisters, Maine Audubon and the Maine Association of Broadcasters. Duchesne also served on several economic and business development boards.
“Bob Duchesne is a dedicated sportsman with more than a decade of experience leading the Legislature’s efforts to protect Maine's environment,” Mills said in a news release. “Bob’s love for the great Maine outdoors, his knowledge and his experience will be an important contribution to the Board’s efforts to enforce Maine’s environmental protection laws and defend our natural resources.”
Maine’s Board of Environmental Protection is an independent seven-member board established by the Legislature. The board is tasked with providing informed, timely and independent decisions on the interpretation, administration and enforcement of environmental protection laws. It also works to ensure opportunities for credible, fair and responsible public participation in the Department of Environmental Protection’s decisions.
The board’s responsibilities include, but are not limited to, substantive rule-making, review of certain license applications, decisions on appeals of the DEP commissioner's licensing and enforcement actions, and recommending changes in the law to the Legislature.
Board members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Legislature.
Duchesne said he was honored by Mills’ nomination and the opportunity to return to public service and “continue the work of protecting Maine’s environment and natural resources which have played such an important part in my life and in the lives of every Mainer.”
“The board has the critical responsibility of being an independent voice to enforce our state’s environmental protection laws and I look forward to joining the other members in that effort,” he said.
Most Recent
Most Recent
Comments