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A poacher killed a doe and left her body to rot in a Maine apple orchard 4

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 30, 2026

A poacher killed a doe and left her body to rot in an apple orchard in Mercer. The poacher likely shot the deer sometime between 11-11:30 p.m. Sunday, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Maine Operation Game Thief is offering a $2,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest or conviction of those responsible for the killing.

Bats and rabies in Maine: What to do if you’ve been exposed

CENTRAL MAINE • July 29, 2026

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday that a handful of bats have tested positive for rabies so far this year. With midsummer marking the start of bats’ most active season in Maine (ending in early September), the agency shared precautions people should take should they be exposed to the flying mammals.

Freedom adopts new rules aimed at curbing rowdy behavior at popular swimming spot

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 29, 2026

After complaints of drug use, nudity and other rowdy behavior, the town of Freedom will limit parking to recreational boaters and local residents, cut back hours and prohibit “disorderly conduct” at a popular boat launch and swimming spot. The select board has been trying for weeks to settle on new rules for the boat launch and swimming area on Freedom Pond, also known as Sandy Pond. The revised policy, released this week, forbids “indecent acts, intoxication or coarse language” and includes a $250 fine for vehicles that exceed the boat launch’s weight limits.

Yarmouth marina businesses worry about dam removal impact

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 29, 2026

Removal of the Bridge Street dam began in Yarmouth last week, an effort to restore the natural flow of the Royal River as it moves through town and out into the harbor that leads to Casco Bay. The town announced last week that it secured an environmental liability insurance policy with a total coverage limit of $8 million that would cover potential harm to businesses. American Rivers fully funded the policy premium of $44,200. The conservation nonprofit also secured funding for the dam removal.

Maine sees surge in salmonella cases linked to backyard poultry

SUN JOURNAL • July 29, 2026

Maine is seeing a surge in salmonella infections amid a multistate outbreak tied to backyard poultry. There have been 30 salmonella cases in Maine between April and July, including six hospitalizations, said Lindsay Hammes, spokesperson for the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. People can get sick from touching backyard poultry and then touching their mouths.

Discovering Biodiversity on a Maine Mountain

FROM THE GROUND UP • July 29, 2026

After traveling several miles on one of Maine’s countless gravel roads, we parked at a log landing just growing up to raspberries. The surrounding northern hardwood forest had been recently harvested. This land had recently been acquired by a conservation organization ensuring a balance of sustainable forestry and protection of sensitive habitats in perpetuity. Two weeks into my new Ecologist position with the Maine Natural Areas Program, I accompanied our Chief Ecologist, Kristen Puryear, and her Field Assistant, Emily Carty, to assess rare natural communities and plants on the mountain looming above. Our observations also demonstrated the value of conservation across an elevation continuum, and at a “landscape” scale, where natural communities are interspersed, providing for species now and into the future. ~ Christopher Reidy

Column: Maybe They Should Be Called "Zebra-tailed Hawks"

BOOTHBAY REGISTER • July 29, 2026

We hate to be the ones to say this, but could you think of a bird name that’s more boring than this: broad-winged hawk? What does the non-birder imagine when they hear that? Maybe a large, eagle-sized bird with wings as wide as a door? Or do they wonder whether most hawks have narrow wings—this particular “broad-winged” species just really stands out? One of the greatest marvels of broad-winged hawks is their migration. We enjoy them here in summer but by late August or early September, most will have begun flying south. Unlike most other hawks, broad-wings like to migrate in large flocks. Sometimes these flocks number in the thousands, providing an unparalleled spectacle of abundance. Single daily counts of migrating broad-winged hawks in south Texas have numbered over 250,000 and in Veracruz, Mexico, over 500,000. We’ve only got them here in Maine for a few more weeks. Enjoy them while you can! ~ Jeff and Allison Wells

Insects & Other Natural Wonders, Aug 3

FRIENDS OF MERRYMEETING BAY • July 29, 2026

Ecologist Kathy Claerr who will lead a late afternoon walk in Brunswick on Monday, August 3, 4-6pm. While trees dominate in their contribution to forest biomass, native insects contribute a dominant slice of forest biodiversity. Insects act as pollinators and seed spreaders, even in ponds! They aid in wood and forest floor decomposition, recycling nutrients critical to the health of forests and, they eat and are eaten, by each other and by species as diverse as reptiles, amphibians, mammals, fish and birds. Unfortunately we appear in the midst of a major global insect decline. Preregister, contact Ed Friedman at 207-666-3372.

Portland launches strategic plan for urban forest areas as risks persist

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 29, 2026

Invasive pests. Intensifying storms. Housing development pressure. The trees of Maine’s largest city are increasingly at risk. “We’re facing pretty strong headwinds,” said Jack Phillips, executive director of Portland Parks Conservancy, who estimates that the city is planting only two trees for every three it loses. In an effort to fight back against these challenges, the conservancy has partnered with the city and a consulting firm to develop an urban forest master plan.

Opinion: Susan Collins still isn’t listening

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 29, 2026

We all knew what would happen once Brett Kavanaugh was on the Supreme Court. Everyone knew, it appears, but Sen. Susan Collins. In the fall of 2018, when the 17 of us went to Sen. King’s and Sen. Collins’ offices to ask them both to vote no on Brett Kavanaugh, only one met with us face-to-face. Sen. King made the time. He listened. He voted against Kavanaugh. Collins didn’t give us five minutes. She never even said hello. Over 200 Maine attorneys shared their concerns about how Kavanaugh’s voting could affect environmental laws and civil rights. Sen. Collins’ platitudes and assurances made on the Senate floor before she cast her deciding vote were a slap in the face to all of us who warned what his appointment meant. ~ Maureen Terry, Gorham, former Maine House majority leader, and Bev Uhlenhake, former mayor of Brewer

‘Stubborn’ wildfire in Penobscot County turns into full-time response for volunteer firefighters

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 28, 2026

Volunteer firefighters have spent a grueling week extinguishing a roughly 3-acre wildfire along a stream in the Penobscot County town of Bradford. The first of seven days along Mohawk Stream for volunteer firefighters began July 22. “We were kind of thinking, ‘Oh, this could be a minor thing…We’ll put it out, no big deal,'” Bradford Fire Chief Desmond Murray said. They soon realized what they were truly up against. Murray said his firefighters — all volunteers — have worked the scene for about 70 hours over the past week, and “we all have full-time jobs. All these small town fire departments…not one of them got paid the whole time. It takes a lot out of my department. My department is so burnt out after all this.”

Governor Mills Proclaims August 1-2 as Maine’s Sixth Annual Wild Blueberry Weekend

MAINE GOVERNMENT NEWS • July 28, 2026

Governor Janet Mills today declared August 1-2, 2026, as Maine’s Sixth Annual Wild Blueberry Weekend, and encouraged residents and visitors to celebrate Maine’s state berry at participating farms, restaurants, ice cream shops, breweries, wineries, and distilleries across the state. The Governor read her proclamation at Fields Fields Blueberries in Dresden, a second-generation organic blueberry farm operated by the Field family, alongside Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Commissioner Amanda Beal, Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine Executive Director Eric Venturini and Director of Programs Jennifer McGinley Maskala, and Rep. Allison Hepler.

Royal River dam removal begins in Yarmouth

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 28, 2026

The work to “free the Royal River” — a common refrain for those working to remove a pair of dams in Yarmouth — has officially begun. Contractors have started removing the town-owned Bridge Street Dam, which will bring the river one step closer to its natural flow. By the end of September, they will take down the concrete fishway, penstock and dam. Next summer, if all goes according to plan, the Elm Street Dam will also be removed, allowing for a natural river flow through Yarmouth. The $3.8 million project, led by the town and the national conservation nonprofit American Rivers, has been decades in the making.

Lewiston program to send ‘ambassadors’ to city parks and neighborhoods

SUN JOURNAL • July 28, 2026

City residents will soon have the opportunity to get hands-on in their neighborhoods with the rollout of a new Community Ambassadors Program, focusing on giving Lewiston a glow-up. Community ambassadors will work with city staff and its partners on a variety of projects, including cleaning and beautifying parks, supporting community events, reporting maintenance and safety issues, and drawing attention to areas that need care. “We are piloting in our biggest parks, which we believe will be extremely helpful in getting families back out and enjoying those spaces,” Ward 5 Councilor Chrissy Noble said.

Maine farm nonprofit raising funds and food to feed the hungry

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 28, 2026

It’s August in Maine – peak season in Vacationland. But at the 1.3-acre nonprofit farm Veggies to Table in Newcastle, vacation will have to wait. On a typical morning, you won’t find the farm crew swinging in hammocks, sipping lemonade. Instead, they might be busily hauling crates of just-picked greens, cucumbers, and tomatoes, then washing, sorting, and packing produce that will be distributed that same day to local schools, food pantries, and hospitals. Founded by husband and wife Erica Berman and Alain Ollier, Veggies to Table describes its simple but ambitious mission: “to grow top-quality organic produce and flowers to donate to local people experiencing hunger and needing joy.”

What can Mainers expect during the Aug. 12 partial solar eclipse? A UMaine expert explains

DAILY BULLDOG • July 28, 2026

Mainers will have a rare opportunity to watch the moon partially cover the sun on Aug. 12, creating what looks like a dark bite taken out of the solar disk. The partial solar eclipse will be visible throughout Maine around midday, weather permitting. The event is especially notable because another solar eclipse will not appear in Maine’s sky until 2045.

Letter: PFAS exposure should be top of Mainers’ minds

SUN JOURNAL • July 28, 2026

Most a Mainers gree that we don’t want to eat food contaminated with “forever chemicals.” That’s why we owe a debt to Defend Our Health, which has worked to reduce PFAS contamination since this hazard became recognized over a decade ago. Its advocacy led Maine both to update water quality standards and restrict the sale of PFAS-containing consumer products. We need stronger federal laws that hold the chemical industry accountable and will prevent the next PFAS-like disaster. As the election approaches, ask candidates where they stand on this issue before you vote. ~ Sydney R. Sewall, MD, MPH, Physicians for Social Responsibility (Maine), Hallowell

Household hazardous waste event

DAILY BULLDOG • July 28, 2026

Jay residents needing to dispose of Household Hazardous Waste can drop off the materials at the Wilton Transfer Station on August 22nd between 9:00 and noon.

Maine’s dominant Canadian imports are not among those targeted by new Trump tariffs

MAINE PUBLIC • July 28, 2026

President Donald Trump will in 30 days impose a 50% tariff on a large list of goods imported from Canada in retaliation for what he calls Canada’s unequal treatment of U.S. cars, dairy and alcohol. Maine State Chamber of Commerce President Patrick Woodcock said he has seen the list of items that will be affected and two of the state’s three dominant imports — energy, fisheries and forest products — are not on the list. Trump is also imposing 10-12.5% tariffs on about 60 trading partners around the world, affecting more than 99% of U.S. imports.