Michael and Alyssa O’Brien, co-founders of Protect Ancient Forests. Photo courtesy of the O’Briens
Singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers is performing a solo, acoustic set of songs in Portland on Sunday, playing a guitar made from wood that came from a forest in Montana to raise awareness about land protection.
The performance is part of an event at Merrill Auditorium called Climate Aid: The Voice of the Forest, a benefit for Maine-based Protect Ancient Forests and Montana’s Yaak Valley Forest Council. The evening will also feature musical acts Alisa Amador from the Boston area and Maine’s Halycon String Quartet, Mississippi poet Beth Ann Fennelly, and environmentalists Bill McKibben, Terry Tempest Williams and Rick Bass.
“We believe in the power of music, art and poetry to move people to action and to help people become interested in and learn about the most pressing issues of our time,” said Alyssa O’Brien, co-founder of Protect Ancient Forests during an interview with her and her husband and co-founder, Michael.
The couple, who live in Linconville, formally launched Protect Ancient Forests last year because they care deeply about the environment and the impact of climate change in Maine and around the country.
In 2021, representatives from the Yaak Valley Forest Council reached out to the O’Briens because of their environmental activism. Thousands of acres of public land in Yaak Valley were slated for logging. That council hoped that, because Maine Congresswoman Chellie Pingree was chair of the House Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, maybe Mainers could help.
They were right.
“We told Mainers what was happening out west, that there were national forests in serious jeopardy and in harm’s way,” said Michael O’Brien.
With the help of volunteers and friends, the O’Briens spread the word everywhere they could, including coffee shops, bookstores and farmers markets.
The O’Briens said that Mainers got behind the cause in droves and called and wrote letters to Pingree’s office about what was happening on the other side of the country.
In September of 2021, the O’Briens were granted a meeting with Pingree. In the wake of that meeting, Pingree was able to stall what is referred to as the Black Ram logging project in Montana.
“Everyone here in Maine felt like our voices were being listened to, it was an exciting moment,” said Michael O’Brien.
On Earth Day of 2022, President Biden signed an executive order to conduct a first-ever inventory of the nation’s federal forests to determine where the most carbon is being sequestered. Again, the O’Briens were thrilled.
The biggest thrill of all is still fresh.
This August, a federal judge in Montana halted the logging slated to happen in Kootenai National Forest (aka the Black Ram Project).
Which brings us to the event on Sunday night.
“It’s part celebration, part ceremony and part awareness-raising,” said Alyssa O’Brien.
Maggie Rogers performing at Thompson’s Point in Portland this summer. Photo by Robert Ker
But how on earth did they secure an artist as huge as Rogers, who just this summer played a pair of shows at Thompson’s Point?
Michael O’Brien explained.
“We’re connected with some incredible, leading environmental voices out west, and through some of those folks, they were able to get word to Maggie about this and tell her about what we were doing.”
Rogers has many ties to Maine. Originally from Maryland, her parents now live in Scarborough, and Rogers also spent many summers at Camp Wohelo in Raymond. Her agreeing to be part of the event means the world to the O’Briens, who are both big fans.
Directing and co-producing the show is Dinah Minot, executive director of Creative Portland, though her role is as a private citizen. Minot is working with the talent and had hired tech and lighting crews. She has also made lower-priced tickets available at some local collage campuses and nonprofit organizations, including the Maine chapter of Sierra Club.
Climate Aid: The Voice of the Forest
7 p.m. Sunday. Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle St., Portland, $23 to $57. porttix.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
