The most comprehensive online source of conservation news and events in Maine and beyond, edited by Jym St. Pierre
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Jym St. Pierre
Editor, Maine Environmental News
MAINE MORNING STAR • May 8, 2024
Of the more than 200 bills stuck in limbo between passage and funding when the Maine Legislature wrapped much of its work last month, 80 now have a chance to still be enacted this session. Among the measures are a bill to provide Indigenous people free access to state parks.
LIVERMORE FALLS ADVERTISER • May 8, 2024
The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Maine Forest Service remind Maine residents and visitors to take precautions to reduce exposure to browntail moth caterpillars, as they become more active this spring. Browntail moth caterpillars shed tiny toxic hairs that can cause a skin rash similar to poison ivy or, if inhaled, trouble breathing. The greatest risk for exposure to the hairs is between April and July. Activities such as mowing, raking, and sweeping can stir up the hairs. Take steps to protect yourself from browntail moth hairs. Avoid infested places. Aim for damp days. Cover face with respirator and goggles. Tightly secure clothing. Take cool showers and change clothes after outdoor activities. Dry laundry inside.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 8, 2024
There’s a reason why most towns have an Elm Street — because towering, elegant elm trees were the pride of cities nationwide, treasured as far back as Colonial times. Houses and other buildings were built around native elms, which were nurtured as assets to the community. New ones were planted along streets like natural monuments. Elm trees were ubiquitous and beloved. By the 1980s, 75 percent of the country’s elm trees were gone. A bark beetle that arrived on a ship in New York in 1928 spread a fungus that infected elm trees, causing them to die off from inside and slowly rot away.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 7, 2024
Using the state’s center for identifying and managing plant diseases will require fees from Maine residents beginning this month. The University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s plant disease diagnostic lab in Orono has announced that due to rising test costs it will charge $18 for general tests to identify disease on in-state plant samples and $38 for out-of-state samples. In addition to general diagnostics, the lab tests for nematodes, fungus, bacteria, viruses and water mold.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 7, 2024
Teams of science and design students from prestigious schools like Harvard, Yale and Cornell will be coming to the Casco Bay region this fall to help these coastal communities find ways to adapt to the impacts of climate change. The students – including a team of architecture undergrads from the University of Maine in Augusta – will participate in the Envision Resiliency Challenge. The students from the eight participating universities will be asked to research and design novel ways of living and working in Portland, South Portland and the Casco Bay islands under hotter, wetter conditions next to a fast-warming and fast-rising Gulf of Maine.
MAINE MORNING STAR • May 7, 2024
Supporters of a bill vetoed by Gov. Janet Mills that would have established a minimum wage for farmworkers say changes the governor wanted would have significantly scaled back existing labor rights and reduced farmworkers’ ability to recoup unpaid wages. Legislators will vote on whether or not to override that veto on Friday. Proponents of the bill were deeply frustrated after the governor’s veto late last month, saying it was “absolutely ridiculous” for Mills to reject a measure she herself proposed. However, Mills said while she supports a minimum wage for agricultural workers, changes made to her bill by the Legislature left her with no choice but to oppose the measure.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 7, 2024
Maine’s highest court on Tuesday upheld the conviction of a man who illegally killed a second deer in 2019 and then claimed he faced a mistrial over evidence related to boot tracks in the snow. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the $1,500 fine and three-day jail sentence given to Richard Peters after a Penobscot County jury found him guilty last year of violating several state laws, such as hunting a deer after having already killed one during the open season.
MAINE PUBLIC • May 7, 2024
Researchers at the University of Maine are developing a highly refined cellulose coating made from wood that could replace coatings of "forever chemicals" in commercial production. The process refines the wood product, which can come from a variety of sources, to create an effective barrier to oil and grease in products like food containers. UMaine’s Dr. Colleen Walker said the product is currently a white paste, similar in consistency to mashed potato, and one of the challenges is how to apply the coating to consumer products on a commercial scale.
OUR KATAHDIN • May 7, 2024
Plans have advanced to install a first-in-the-world heating and power system at the One North industrial campus being developed in Millinocket. Fueled by the wood waste of Maine forests and cycled through a “super-critical carbon dioxide” energy conversion turbine, the system is touted as an energy-saving breakthrough. Peregrine Turbine Technologies in Wiscasset said it is collaborating on the project with KMW Energy Group, an Ontario manufacturer of biomass combustion systems, and Our Katahdin, the nonprofit that owns One North, which is a former Great Northern Paper mill site.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 6, 2024
Bangor could become Maine’s first Bee City — a national designation that recognizes a city’s commitment to protecting native bee species that have declined in recent decades. The title is awarded through Bee City USA, an initiative by the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, a nonprofit that aims to protect invertebrates and their habitats. There are nearly 400 Bee Cities and Bee Campuses across 47 states.
SUN JOURNAL • May 6, 2024
Crooked River is one of the major tributaries for Sebago Lake watershed, which is one of the cleanest sources for drinking water in the United States. Believing the area may be reaching a tipping point due to more development, Jenny O’Connell wants to showcase the unique connection between the water, forest and even the wildlife in producing what O’Connell claims is “one of the top 50 cleanest water drinking supplies in the country.” O’Connell and three colleagues, including photographer Andy Gagne of Norway, are in the midst of a six-day source-to-the-sea kayak trip to bring attention to the watershed during National Drinking Water Week.
MAINE MORNING STAR • May 6, 2024
Despite Gov. Janet Mills vetoing two bills that would have increased labor protections for Maine farmworkers, some agricultural workers will soon benefit from new federal regulations. At the end of April, the U.S. Department of Labor finalized the Farmworker Protection Rule to protect the self-advocacy and safety of farmworkers, while enhancing employer accountability. According to a news release from the DOL, the rule targets temporary workers who are part of the H-2A Visa Program, which helps fill gaps when domestic workers are in short supply. The new rule takes effect June 28. The rule ensures farmworkers employed through the H-2A program are treated fairly.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 6, 2024
A commercial landlord with a checkered environmental record has had to shell out more than $650,000 for clean water violations in the fragile Long Creek watershed on properties he owns near the Maine Mall in South Portland. On Monday, Attorney General Aaron Frey announced that Cornerbrook LLC and CPSP LLC, both owned by Portland real estate giant Joseph Soley, had paid $400,000 in overdue fees to the Long Creek Watershed Management District and $250,000 in civil penalties to the State of Maine.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 6, 2024
Tekαkαpimək Contact Station, the welcome center at Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, is slated to open this summer. Designed in collaboration with Wabanaki leaders, it is one of the first major efforts in the state to boost Indigenous tourism. The Contact Station is emblematic of the attention and awareness that’s building around opportunities to increase travel, tourism, recreation and education related to the culture and heritage of the Wabanaki, or “People of the First Light.”
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 6, 2024
Researchers from the Biodiversity Research Institute and University of Maine are trying to understand how perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, move through our environment: from the factory, sewer plant or sludge-spread farm fields to ponds, lakes and rivers to fish, birds, and mammals. Very little is known about how PFAS exposure might impact wildlife health, but some scientists predict wildlife will be affected in many of the same ways that humans are. Most wildlife PFAS research that is underway has focused on whether a species can absorb PFAS and pass it on to humans if we eat them. Preliminary results from tests of 85 loons and 77 eagles, as well as a small batch of Maine ospreys, found forever chemicals in every sample, including some alarmingly high concentrations.
MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • May 5, 2024
If you’re new to the sport, it’s always wise to seek out the wisdom and advice of more-experienced hunters, but it doesn’t hurt to be a little skeptical, especially if something seems illogical. In addressing the oft-repeated notion that deer only travel into the wind, Gene Wensel said, “If that were true, they’d all eventually end up in the Pacific Ocean. ~ Bob Humphrey
MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • May 5, 2024
About 95% of all species of birds have a monogamous mating system. A male and a female will develop a pair bond and raise one or more clutches of eggs together. Some birds, like swans, common loons and bald eagles, mate for life with permanent pair bonds. Others, like ducks, change partners every year but maintain a single pair bond each year. Some species with multiple clutches in a season, like the eastern phoebe, may change partners with every clutch. Another type of mating system involving pair bonds is polygyny, where a male maintains pair bonds with multiple females. The red-winged blackbird is an example. The tables are turned in polyandry, where a female has multiple pair bonds with males. Even rarer are polygamous systems, where both males and females have multiple partners in the same breeding season. Woodcocks fit into a fifth category. They don’t believe in pair bonds. ~ Herb Wilson
MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • May 5, 2024
he Maine Trail Crew has been a critical component of the Maine Appalachian Trail Club’s efforts to maintain the state’s 267-mile stretch of the AT – plus side trails, shelters, campsites and privies – since 1976. These folks do the heavy lifting, bridge building and rock work, for example, that regular volunteers cannot. But for the past 30 years, the seasonal crew, lacking a home base, has been forced to move six times. That situation is about to change in a big way, however, thanks in part to the generous donation of an MATC member. Mark McAuliffe donated $1 million before his death in October for a facility to house those who maintain the Appalachian Trail, and much more. ~ Carey Kish
MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • May 5, 2024
The convenience of computers has stolen some of the joy from life. The internet opens everything up for criticism, including gardening in a phenomenon that some call plant-shaming. My advice on shaming attempts is to ignore them. Yes, every yard should have native plants and some natural areas that are a bit messy with left-behind leaves that support wildlife. But lawns and non-native plants can be part of the yard, too. ~ Tom Atwell
