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Irving Forest Products in Ashland to expand sawmill operation to double capacity and add jobs

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 10, 2026

Irving Forest Products has announced that it is adding a second sawmill operation in Ashland in Aroostook County. The company says it plans to double production and hire at least 80 more employees. The company applied to the Finance Authority of Maine New Markets Capital Investment Program, which encourages community development entities to find investors willing to invest in low-income areas in exchange for tax credits. Five investors provided $42 million to Irving and received $16.5 million in tax credits in return. The size of the mill is effectively doubling, from 68,500 square feet to 136,500 square feet to accommodate a new, second sawline capable of processing longer logs. Once the second sawline is up and running, the mill will be able to accept an additional 5,000 truckloads per year.

Grant program incentivizes landowners to help make Maine forests more resilient

MAINE PUBLIC • June 10, 2026

A new $9 million state program aims to improve the health of Maine forests and make them less vulnerable to insects, damaging storms and disease. The WoodsWISE Resilience Program offers landowners up to $20,000 in reimbursements for approved methods to thin small trees, replant, or combat invasive plants among other practices. Landowners can receive 60%-90% reimbursement for qualified costs. The program is open to those that own at least 10 acres of forest.

Western Maine camping guide spans Webb Lake to White Mountains

SUN JOURNAL • June 10, 2026

Western Maine is the center of this camping route, beginning in Weld, where Mount Blue State Park and Dummer’s Beach Campground anchor Webb Lake. From there, it moves west to Newry and the Grafton Notch area of Oxford County before branching into nearby New Hampshire, where Crawford Notch, Franconia Notch, Mount Washington and the Appalachian Mountain Club huts extend the route. For campers planning from Western Maine outward, the route begins with beaches and family campgrounds, then climbs toward waterfalls, notches, ridge hikes and backcountry huts. This guide is designed to help campers choose the right base camp for family lake trips, hiking weekends, RV stays, backcountry hut overnights and Mount Washington-area adventures.

A 65-acre private Maine island accessible by car at low tide listed for $8M

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 10, 2026

An entire 65-acre island off of Deer Isle is for sale for nearly $8 million after decades of being owned by one family. Sheephead Island, on the larger island’s western side near Sylvester Cove and the village of Sunset, is unusual for its size and privacy, but also its accessibility: at low tide, it can be reached by car. Frank Veneroso, an economic and investment strategy adviser, bought the island in 1979 from Stanton Garfield, grandson of president James Garfield, who served only 6 months in office in 1881.

A Trump order asked national park visitors to flag ‘negative’ historical info. They had other ideas

ASSOCIATED PRESS • June 10, 2026

The Trump administration last year issued a plea to visitors at U.S. national parks: Report any displays or exhibits saying “negative” things about Americans living in the past or present. But most people who responded instead weighed in to criticize the effort itself, according to an Associated Press analysis of 35,000 public comments submitted in the second half 2025 and recently made public through a lawsuit.

Opinion: Protect the lands around western Maine’s Wild River

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 9, 2026

The headwaters of the Wild River stretch south into a mountainous landscape including the Wild River Wilderness Area, the Caribou-Speckled Mountain Wilderness Area and the surrounding White Mountains National Forest. For decades, the federal government has protected about 6,000 acres within the watershed. But the U.S. Senate’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee is voting Wednesday on the Wildfire Prevention Act, which was just amended to nullify roadless protections across the country. As a committee member, U.S. Sen. Angus King will have an opportunity to vote against the bill. Sen. Susan Collins has an opportunity to work with her party to withdraw this misguided legislation. Ask Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to protect the Roadless Rule, and ask Sens. King and Collins to make a commitment to the protection of the Wild River watershed and similarly wild places across the country. ~ Adam Nordell, Environment Maine

State warns Maine fishermen after dozens of violations this spring

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 9, 2026

State officials are warning striped bass anglers after dozens of fishermen were cited for violations on the Saco River. Maine Marine Patrol officers issued more than 50 summonses and 20 warnings during the past three weeks, primarily near the Saco River Dam, Commissioner Carl Wilson said. Violations included fishing within 150 feet of a fishway, fishing in a closed area above the Route 9 bridge and failing to immediately release striped bass when required. The violations are undermining efforts to rebuild striped bass populations.

Barefoot man rescues ducklings from downtown Camden storm drain

MIDCOAST VILLAGER • June 9, 2026

Employees at Buttermilk Kitchen in Camden realized something was wrong Monday morning when a duck kept waddling back and forth across the crosswalk in front of the downtown restaurant amid busy traffic. The duck could be heard quacking loudly above the sound of traffic, as if trying to alert the humans. When Brandon Muggy, Buttermilk’s general manager, poked his head outside, he immediately suspected she was looking for her ducklings. A neighbor named Antonio realized what had happened and returned a few minutes later with supplies. Tearing off his boots and socks — but leaving on his feathered felt hat — he lowered himself into the storm drain, taking a bucket and a rope with him. He retrieved the ducklings one by one — five in all.

2026 Thoreau-Wabanaki Trail Festival

MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • June 9, 2026

Each third week in July, the Thoreau-Wabanaki Trail Festival provides programs about all manner of subject having to do with the Maine Woods.

Central Maine Power bills to fall this summer

MAINE PUBLIC • June 9, 2026

Central Maine Power customers will see some relief in electric costs this summer after state utility regulators approved new distribution rates for the company. The new prices reflect CMP's revenue needs after the company paid more than a $100 million spent to recover from damaging winter storms in 2023 and 2024. They also reflect a slight reduction in costs for Efficiency Maine, which provides incentives for home insulation, electric heat pumps and other energy-saving measures. Households using an average of 550 kilowatt hours a month should save about $11.28 on their bills. The new prices go into effect July 1.

Greenwood planning board member quits over ordinance inaction

BETHEL CITIZEN • June 9, 2026

Greenwood Planning Board member John Kwoka resigned last month, citing what he described as the select board’s reluctance to review ordinances he believes are outdated and in need of revision. Some local zoning disputes, he said, highlight ongoing tensions over land use, local oversight and whether Greenwood’s ordinances provide adequate protections for residents. To date, voters have shown little appetite for additional regulation, rejecting a proposed noise ordinance in 2025. “They are way behind, the ordinances are not current with the times,” Kwoka said. “I don’t know what the reluctance is.” Meanwhile, Kwoka’s wife, Anne, recently resigned as Greenwood’s code enforcement officer and has since become chair of the planning board.

Opinion: Susan Collins needs to stand up to attacks on public lands

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 9, 2026

As Mainers, the natural world is key to everything we hold important: we shape our identities with it, it builds our economies, even our license plates bear its symbols. With places like Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument and Acadia National Park, we are lucky that our wild is protected for future generations of Mainers and non-Mainers alike. Utah’s Sen. Mike Lee comes from a state with similarly immense natural beauty. However, Lee’s time as a senator is notable for his assaults on the wild. Why should you care? On a vote to overturn Lee’s effort to allow mining that threatens protections for Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area, Maine’s Susan Collins was one of only two Senate Republicans to break with the party and attempt to keep protections in place. If Collins wants to keep her seat this November, it’s important she ensures our public lands stay protected regardless of where they are. Call your local branch of Susan Collins’ office to ensure these treasures exist in the future. ~ Peter Eckhardt, South Portland

Opinion: Help Maine fight the invasive emerald ash borer

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 9, 2026

Due to the introduction of the invasive emerald ash borer, North America is rapidly losing its ash trees. This destructive beetle is one of the most devastating invasive species on the continent. This ecological crisis directly affects local communities and severely threatens the indigenous Wabanaki people. The ash tree is the unique material required to weave traditional baskets, and the resource is vanishing rapidly. To volunteer to help our woods, contact the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry at 800-367-0223. Or simply keep your eyes open the next time you are walking in the forest. If you spot an emerald ash borer, report when and where you saw it to the Maine Forest Service at (207) 287-2431. ~ Nolan Davis, eighth-grade student, Poland

Letter: Coal ash protections must remain in place

SUN JOURNAL • June 9, 2026

The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing dangerous rollbacks to coal ash protections that would endanger the health of communities across the country. Coal ash, the toxic waste produced from burning coal, contains arsenic, mercury, lead and other hazardous pollutants that are linked to cancer and serious illness. For decades, utilities dumped this waste into unlined ponds and landfills, allowing it to leak into drinking water. Strong federal safeguards put in place in 2015 and expanded in 2024, finally began holding polluters accountable. Now, those protections are being dismantled. The EPA’s job is to protect people, not corporate polluters. Speak out and demand that these safeguards remain in place. ~ Heather Keast, South Portland

Deer Isle causeways to be raised 4 feet to withstand storm surge

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 8, 2026

The state revealed Monday that it plans to raise the Deer Isle Causeway 4.3 feet higher to better withstand sea level rise and strong coastal storms. Under the proposal, nearly a mile of the main causeway connecting Deer Isle-Stonington to Little Deer Isle and another, smaller one near the base of the Deer Isle-Sedgwick Bridge would be improved through a $22 million, two-year project. The new elevation is “practical, feasible and responsive for the next 75-plus years,” according to the Maine Department of Transportation — several feet above predicted sea level rise by the end of the century.

Opinion: MainePERS needs to divest from fossil fuels. Now.

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 8, 2026

A 2021 legal mandate directed the state of Maine to divest its assets from the fossil fuel industry. The Maine Treasury, tasked with managing state investments, complied with the mandate. The Maine Public Employees Retirement System (MainePERS) did not. LD 99 was the first state law in the country that directed a state government to divest its financial assets from the fossil fuel industry. For years, the fossil fuel industry has underperformed, yet many public pension funds, such as MainePERS, remain invested in an option that jeopardizes the savings of former, current and future public employees. Hundreds of global institutions with a fiduciary duty to pensioners or beneficiaries have divested. ~ Jackson Chadwick, Maine Youth for Climate Justice

Letter: Let’s build more wildlife crossing sites in Maine

SUN JOURNAL • June 8, 2026

In Maine alone, 5,000 large animals are hit by cars every year. From salamanders to deer, any collision between an animal and a car is bound to leave the driver rattled and the animal in bad shape. Thankfully, wildlife crossings, which utilize bridges and tunnels to give animals designated spaces to cross our roadways, offer a solution. The 2021 Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program, which granted Maine millions of dollars for construction of a crossing in Caribou, is set to expire in September without congressional action. With support from representatives like Chellie Pingree, we could take a step in the right direction, renewing the program, building more wildlife corridors across our state and making the world a little bit safer for humans and animals alike. ~ Dahlia Stebbins-Sharpless, Portland

5 summer adventures your public library can help you get for free

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 8, 2026

The only thing you need to explore Maine this summer is a library card. Maybe you don’t have the budget for tickets to see a play or visit the Maine Coastal Botanical Gardens in full bloom, or you don’t have room in your home to store beach chairs or sporting equipment. Public libraries across the state offer all kinds of items and passes beyond books.

Opinion: Susan Collins should reject a dangerous threat to public lands

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 8, 2026

As the Senate prepares to consider S.J. Res. 109, Sen. Susan Collins faces a consequential choice. Senate Joint Resolution is a measure that would let Congress wipe out the approved plan for Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. This is not just a fight about one landscape. It is a test of whether years of public input, Tribal consultation, and public lands stewardship can be tossed aside with a single vote. That should matter to anyone who believes public decisions should reflect the public’s voice. Here in Maine, Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument is going through its own management planning process. People are taking time to attend meetings, submit comments, and share what they want for future generations. If politicians in Washington can sweep aside a completed planning process in Utah, what should Mainers conclude about the value of their participation? ~ Jeremy Sheaffer, Maine state director, The Wilderness Society