EASTPORT – John Craig, the mayor of St. Andrews, New Brunswick, drew a standing ovation last Saturday when he rose at a rally against liquefied natural gas development to say: “No LNG tankers will move through Head Harbour Passage, and internal Canadian waters in Passamaquoddy Bay are closed to LNG tankers – period.”

Craig was announcing that mayors of all Canadian communities surrounding Passamaquoddy Bay have joined their voices with New Brunswick Premier Bernard Lord, national Cabinet Minister Greg Thompson and Prime Minister Stephen Harper in their opposition to LNG projects planned along the Down East Maine coast.

Confirmation of that opposition was one of several announcements that roused spirited responses from about 200 residents, many Canadian, who attended the Spring Rally for Passamaquoddy Bay at Shead High School.

Before making his announcement, Craig presented the town’s “Volunteer Group of the Year Award” to Save Passamaquoddy Bay, an opposition organization with support from New Brunswick, Washington County and some Passamaquoddy tribal members.

It is a tradition for the St. Andrews mayor to present such an award every Jan. 1. Craig had delayed its presentation to the Eastport-based group until Saturday’s event.

“I wanted to present this on the U.S. side, directly to the people who are working here for all of us who live and work around this great bay,” he said.

Accepting for the group that represents a “three-nation alliance,” coordinator Linda Godfrey said, “People sometimes ask, ‘Who are the members of Save Passamaquoddy Bay?’ Anyone who cares about protecting the bay from out-of-scale and dangerous industrial development is a member, in our book.”

Godfrey then asked all present to stand with her to accept the award.

The rally was held with three goals in mind:

. To update the public on recent developments to protect the bay from proposed LNG terminal operations.

. To raise funds for an independent study of the socioeconomic impacts of the proposed terminals on local communities.

. To provide information about the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, process, for which the international alliance has filed for intervenor status.

Godfrey also summarized the table of contents in the Report on Potential Economic and Fiscal Impacts of LNG Terminals on the Whole Passamaquoddy Bay that is being prepared by Yellow Wood Associates of St. Albans, Vt.

She announced that, so far, local contributions have provided $35,000 of the contracted $50,000 to be paid toward the study by Save Passamaquoddy Bay.

A traditional blanket dance, with singing and drumming provided by Passamaquoddy tribal members Maggie Paul and Gracie Davis, yielded another $1,500 toward the study. Additional funds were raised by the food concession, sale of Sailabration calendars, and a raffle on a painting of the bay by Campobello Island artist Joyce Morrell.

“This is ‘heart money’ we are raising,” Godfrey said. “Every dollar, every $100 and a few $1,000 donations have all been given to the cause by people whose hearts are with us in this effort to save the bay.”

Additionally during the rally, Vera Francis, coordinator of Nulankeyutmonen Nkihtaqmikon, or We Protect Our Homeland, announced that the group recently had incorporated as a Maine nonprofit organization. The group also has filed for intervenor status to oppose proposed terminals in Passamaquoddy Bay.

We Protect Our Homeland is involved in a federal lawsuit against the Bureau of Indian Affairs and U.S. Department of the Interior for the bureau’s failure to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act, lack of public information, and noncompliance with the Endangered Species Act when it authorized a ground lease agreement between Quoddy Bay LLC and the Passamaquoddy Tribe at the Split Rock site.

The aim of the suit is to negate all agreements and actions based on the contested authorization.

Dr. Lesley Pinder, coordinator of the Canadian arm of Save Passamaquoddy Bay, announced that the Canadian group has hired an educator and lobbyist in Ottawa. That group also will register as intervenors in the FERC process.