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Jym St. Pierre
Editor, Maine Environmental News

Column: Changes to deer hunt necessary to control herd

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 7, 2026

Maine hunters, and citizens in general, should benefit from a couple rule changes this year designed to increase both hunting opportunities and the Pine Tree State’s deer harvest. These changes illustrate, and in some cases exacerbate, the challenges of effectively managing wildlife populations. The first is yet another increase in antlerless deer permits. The second is a significant expansion of the geographic area included in the expanded archery season. Research has shown that hunting is the most effective method to control deer populations. If you’re tired of the deer eating your azaleas and hostas, making your morning and evening commute a perilous proposition or promoting the proliferation of tick-borne illnesses, consider letting hunters onto your property. ~ Bob Humphrey

Maine Healthy Beaches program ends monitoring for the season

MAINE PUBLIC • September 7, 2026

Labor Day weekend marks the end of routine water quality monitoring for the season. The Maine Healthy Beaches program tracks participating saltwater beaches from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Aging infrastructure and heavy summer rains can turn popular beaches into collection points for agricultural runoff, pet waste, and sewage overflows, according to data from Maine Healthy Beaches program. In the off season, program officials suggest that swimmers avoid going in the water near storm drains for 24-48 hours after a heavy rain, or if water smells strange or looks dirty. As of Friday, no beaches were reported unsafe for swimming.

Maine's drought is getting worse, and isn't expected to get better soon

MAINE PUBLIC • September 7, 2026

Drought is expanding in Maine and raising concerns about a second straight year of harm to agriculture, water supplies and increased wildfire risk. Paul Styslinger, Natural Hazards Planner at the Maine Emergency Management Agency says dozens of people have reported dry wells as conditions get worse across the state. "Just like last year, it is dry in Maine and it's getting drier," Styslinger said. Parts of Maine have had at least 12 inches less rain than normal over the past year. Nick Stasulis, a supervisory physical scientist a with the U.S. Geological Survey said co-chair of the Maine Drought Task Force, said groundwater levels are also at far below normal levels.

Maine’s wildfire threat is quietly heating up

INSIDE CLIMATE NEWS • September 7, 2026

The Northeast’s fire season has been quietly heating up. Historically, New England states have been rainy enough to avoid massive, devastating wildfires. In Maine, for instance, most fires are extinguished before they surpass an acre. But in 2025, severe drought quadrupled Maine’s late-summer fire activity. Across the border, Nova Scotia saw its largest wildfires in recorded history in 2023, and more than 10 million acres burned in Quebec, creating a smoky haze that spread thousands of miles southward. Canadian wildfires created haze on the East Coast again this July. As forest managers and firefighters stretch their resources to respond to wildfires in a changing climate, they’re also dealing with new uncertainties from the Trump administration’s plans to radically alter the Forest Service and the new Wildland Fire Service. 

Data show ridership improving on Island Explorer bus service around MDI

MAINE PUBLIC • September 6, 2026

Ridership is up nearly 20% year-over-year on the Island Explorer bus system so far through July. At the same time, federal data show visitation at Acadia National Park is down slightly so far this year.

US tourism groups want to win Canadian visitors back. A testy trade war isn’t helping

ASSOCIATED PRESS •September 6, 2026

The number of Canadians traveling to the United States plunged after President Donald Trump returned to office with remarks about making Canada the 51st state. An acrimonious trade war between the two countries now is threatening to reinforce the informal boycott just as it appeared to be easing slightly. Josh Loewen, a Vancouver marketing executive, said of the U.S. tourism industry’s attempts to woo Canadians like him back before a new president occupies the White House. “It’s just a wasted effort.”

Why 4 Maine rivers flow north instead of toward the ocean

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 6, 2026

Most Maine rivers eventually carry water toward the Atlantic Ocean. But four major rivers in northern Maine flow north: the Upper St. John, Allagash, Fish and Aroostook. All four are part of the St. John River basin, which drains into New Brunswick and eventually the Bay of Fundy. So why do they flow north? Because rivers flow downhill.

These are the people tasked with keeping Maine’s potato industry healthy

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 6, 2026

The Maine Potato Board is a state-chartered head of the potato industry. It’s both the marketing arm that champions Maine’s No. 1 food crop and a leading researcher for its advancement. Established by an act of the Maine Legislature in 1986, the 11-member elected board is made up of potato growers, dealers and processors. Under them works a staff of eight that carries out the board’s will.

Column: Why photos can actually make fall bird identification harder

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 5, 2026

Photos have been the bane of my existence for the last few weeks. Birds that change plumage seasonally have now done so, and many don’t look like themselves. It’s hard enough to identify birds in confusing fall plumage. It can be even harder to identify them from a photo. You wouldn’t think so. You would think that a photo gives you plenty of time to study a bird’s field marks, perhaps comparing the image to pictures in a guidebook. Alas, it often doesn’t work that way. A photo is limited to one angle of viewing, perhaps showing a few field marks but concealing others. Overexposure can wash out details. Underexposure can conceal subtle colors. Reflected light from foliage can tint the bird’s color greenish. ~ Bob Duchesne

Column: Marshall Island offers that ‘edge of the world’ feeling

SUN JOURNAL • September 5, 2026

Marshall Island is one of the largest undeveloped islands on the eastern seaboard of the United States. The 985-acre island is owned and managed by the Maine Coast Heritage Trust. Forty-some years ago, Marshall Island was slated for development, according to MCHT. “A developer wanted to create a private island of ‘kingdom estates,’ complete with high-end boutiques for the residents and guests. They got as far as creating an airstrip, dock, drilling wells, mining gravel and marketing buildable lots.” The development scheme failed and the property went into foreclosure. The island was purchased at auction in 1992 by a couple who had long summered on nearby Swan’s Island. In 2003, MCHT, with the strong support of the conservation community, acquired Marshall Island from the Heffering family, with assistance from generous private donors and the Land for Maine’s Future program. ~ Carey Kish

Meet the organization helping Lewiston kids get into the lobster industry

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 5, 2026

As he hoisted the traps onto the Sea Smoke’s deck, Lewiston native Carlos carefully eyed each lobster and plopped them into a blue barrel with the rest of the day’s catch. Whatever lobsters did not fit the bill — maybe too small or egg bearing— they were tossed overboard by either Ryan or Gidilson, who made up the rest of Carlos’ crew. Carlos, 20, Ryan, 17, and Gidilson, 17, are three of just over 30 students who spent their summer working toward their lobster license through the program Lift All Boats, which helps young people who are interested in the lobstering community — but who may have limited connections to it — work their way toward a commercial license.

Letter: A beach proposal for the birds

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 4, 2026

A writer proposes banning dogs from all Maine beaches [because] public health is compromised by all the urine left in the sand by the dogs. What are we going to do about the birds? We have multiple species of sea and shore birds here in Maine — all of which routinely relieve themselves of No. 1 and No. 2 along our beaches. There are no humans following them around with poop bags. Think of all the gulls and terns, ducks and eiders. Don’t even get me going about those piping plovers! ~ Maryfrances MacFadyen, Peaks Island

Land trust reaches $3M goal to preserve Belgrade Scout camp

CENTRAL MAINE • September 4, 2026

Now that a land trust and conservation organization has raised enough funds to buy the nearly 300-acre Camp Bomazeen, the team and board of directors at the 7 Lakes Alliance said work has just begun, but they’re one step closer to preserving the land. The 7 Lakes Alliance first made a plea to raise $3 million to purchase Camp Bomazeen on Great Pond in Belgrade around a month ago. In that time, Carol Sabia, vice chair of the organization’s board, said the alliance received an overwhelming response from the community. The alliance will keep the land available for continued use by the scouts and also hopes to open some of the land up for managed public access, which could involve trails.

This roadless area of Maine could lose federal protections

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 4, 2026

Maine’s only inventoried roadless area could lose its federal protections under a proposal from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the public has until Sept. 21 to weigh in. The roughly 6,000-acre tract is part of the White Mountain National Forest in western Maine, surrounding the Caribou-Speckled Wilderness. Adopted in 2001, the Roadless Area Conservation Rule generally prohibits new road construction and limits certain timber harvesting within designated areas. On Aug. 20, the USDA proposed rescinding the regulation nationwide, potentially affecting more than 44 million acres of National Forest System land across 37 states.

Portland records second-highest summer temperatures on record

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 3, 2026

Portland nearly set a record high temperature this summer as climate change pushes increasingly hot weather into Maine. The average temperature in the state's biggest city between was about 69 degrees Fahrenheit between June and the end of August, according to Donnie Dumont, of the National Weather Service Office in Gray. That narrowly misses a record set in 2020. Even though it's only 1.3 degrees over the seasonal normal, that figure is derived just from the last 30 years of data. "The number is actually quite a bit higher if you went back, for example, to the 1950s or 1960s." Summer temperatures in Augusta and Bangor were also within the top-ten hottest years on record.

Their captain told them to let go. The young fishermen refused and saved him.

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 3, 2026

The trap line caught Captain Jay Fiandaca’s foot as the trap went overboard, Aug. 11. Suddenly, Fiandaca was at immediate risk of being pulled from the deck of the Amanda Rose. He told the two young fishermen working alongside him to let go, to do it for their own safety. Instead, they held on. One of the brothers secured Captain Jay, keeping him from being dragged overboard. The other worked the line, creating enough slack to free his captain from the entanglement. Those brothers — Lukas and Hayden Fortin — are just entering eighth grade at Mount Desert Elementary School.

Our Sustainable City: Why is boosting recycling a persistent problem?

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 3, 2026

Despite the fact that we have known recycling is beneficial for decades, South Portland remains stuck at a 26% recycling rate. At the same time, landfill capacity is slowly shrinking throughout the region. The Juniper Ridge Landfill in Old Town, which manages close to half of all in-state waste, is set to approach its threshold by 2028. We can step up our efforts to recycle and divert more waste from existing landfills in order to prolong their life. That will save us the most money and be the most ecologically just option. Let’s do more to extend the life of our landfills. ~ Robyn Landes, AmeriCorps Resilience Fellow with the South Portland Sustainability Department

Fact brief: Are 1 in 7 Maine homes vacant at least part of the year?

CENTRAL MAINE • September 3, 2026

Yes. In 2024, 14.4% of Maine housing units — about one in seven — were classified as vacant for seasonal, recreational or occasional use, the highest share of any state. The U.S. Census Bureau didn’t measure how many days each home sat empty.

US House passes bill delaying start of new right whale rules

MAINE PUBLIC • September 2, 2026

The U.S. House has passed a bill that would delay the start of new federal regulations intended to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales.The bill would extend an existing moratorium on new federal rules for fishermen until 2035. The current moratorium, which was championed by Maine's congressional delegation and inserted into a 2023 budget measure, is set to lift at the end of 2028. NOAA recently announced the beginning of a public comment period intended to launch discussions about new federal regulations, which the agency said must be in place by the last day of 2028. Maine lobstermen, however, say more time is needed to study where the whales are and how their presence overlaps with key fishing areas before negotiations about new regulations can begin.