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Jym St. Pierre
Editor, Maine Environmental News

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.

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.

Portland just had its 2nd-hottest summer on record. No one really noticed.

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 2, 2026

The summer of 2026 was Portland’s second-warmest, according to records dating to 1941. The thing I find most interesting about this near-record summer is I don’t think people even noticed. The frog in boiling water comes to mind: We are getting used to this warming climate. This, of course, is on brand for climate change. It’s not just a single summer being warm — that happens. It’s the streak of warm summers and the trend line. ~ Keith Carson, award-winning Maine meteorologist, Maine Conservation Voters

Waterville plans block party, exhibit to celebrate 50 years of Common Ground Country Fair

CENTRAL MAINE • September 2, 2026

An exhibit featuring the fair’s posters will be open at the Paul J. Schupf Art Center in Waterville for most of September. Waterville Creates is working with MOFGA on a block party Friday, 4-7 p.m., to kick things off. The Common Ground Country Fair will run from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Sept. 25 and 26, and from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 27, at 294 Crosby Brook Road in Unity.

Lobsters remain plentiful in Maine, but outside forces cast uncertainty on industry

HARPSWELL ANCHOR • September 1, 2026

It might be hard to say how lobsters and the industry are doing. Lobster rolls might cost more, but they’re still available. Lobstermen are at the mercy of a range of outside forces: economic, ecological and regulatory. Trends in the lobster harvest and its value suggest lobstering is in a healthy position. But zooming out to include factors such as global trade and climate change show there is much uncertainty. From 1950 until the end of the 1980s, Maine lobstermen were landing around 20 million pounds of lobster each year. The high point Maine hit in 2016, when lobstermen landed nearly 133 million pounds. The trend of the last decade, however, has been down. Richard Wahle, a lobster biologist and former director of the University of Maine’s Lobster Institute, warns that long-term climate predictions suggest warming will be the predominant trend in coming decades.

Aroostook County teacher’s new business taps into decades-long obsession with native plants

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 2, 2026

Shelly Bouchard has been teaching students about sustainability and the uses of plants for over a decade and now she just opened a new business, Meadowsweet Herbals, to help others and sell her natural remedies.

For lobstermen, prices are up for everything except lobsters

HARPSWELL ANCHOR • September 1, 2026

Almost every lobsterman has the same answer about what they’re paying too much for: “Everything.” They are feeling the squeeze in every aspect: fuel, bait, traps, rope, insurance and more. The only thing that they say hasn’t gone up is the price they get for their lobsters. Independence is a hallmark of lobstering. Lobstermen choose early mornings, physical work and bad weather over the strictures of a 9-to-5 job. Still, they cannot escape the dynamics of the global economy, geopolitics and regulations, all of which are making it more expensive to go fishing.

Jared Golden’s bill to extend pause on lobster rules clears House

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 1, 2026

The House passed U.S. Rep. Jared Golden’s bill that would extend a pause on new right whale protection rules to 2035, sending Maine lobstermen’s top legislative priority to the Senate. The Northeast Lobstermen Protection Act passed 219-196 on Tuesday. Golden and Rep. Chellie Pingree, Maine’s two Democratic members, voted yes, but the tally leaned heavily Republican. Only 10 Democrats voted yes and two Republicans voted no.

York voters could make a single-use plastic ban permanent in November

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 1, 2026

York restaurants haven’t been allowed to use plastic straws, utensils or stir sticks since the town’s first-in-the-state ban went into effect in May 2025. But a sunset clause baked into the ordinance means it could be lifted on Dec. 31. Now, officials have decided to ask voters if the ban should be made permanent. The ordinance was proposed by a group of high school studentsand originally included single-use containers and cups. The Select Board was apprehensive of such a drastic change, especially because biodegradable materials are usually more expensive. Town Manager Peter Joseph said amending the ordinance made it easier for businesses to adapt and has led to a 100% compliance rate.

Opinion: With tick-borne illnesses surging, we must strengthen research, prevention, and education

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 1, 2026

Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses continue to pose a major public health threat. An estimated 500,000 Americans are diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease each year, an increase of more than 2,000 percent over the last 20 years. Here in Maine, a record 4,200 cases were reported in 2025, more than three times the number reported in 2020. Experts predict tick populations will increase again this year following a winter that was not consistently cold enough to reduce their numbers. Nearly seven years ago, a bill which I co-authored was signed into law. It established a comprehensive approach to combat Lyme and other vector-borne diseases at the national, state, and local levels. Earlier this month, I led legislation strengthening that landmark law passed the Senate. I am optimistic the House will pass the bill before the end of the year. ~ Susan M. Collins represents Maine in the U.S. Senate

Tour boat spots great white shark feeding on a seal off MDI

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 31, 2026

Another great white shark was spotted feeding on a seal off Mount Desert Island on Sunday, according to a Bar Harbor whale watching company. It was at least the second sighting of the apex predator in the waters off MDI in August, joining what appears to be a growing number of shark encounters off Maine’s coastline in recent years.

At 91, Dale ‘Grey Beard’ Sanders reclaims record as oldest hiker to complete the Appalachian Trail

ASSOCIATED PRESS • August 31, 2026

More than 14 million older adults fall every year in the U.S., perhaps none so often as 91-year-old Dale Sanders. By his count, Sanders fell 71 times while reclaiming his record as the oldest hiker to complete the Appalachian Trail. Six were what he calls hard falls, including one that led to a brief hospitalization and another just 200 yards from the finish. But none were enough to permanently divert him from the 2,193-mile trail that runs between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Katahdin in Maine.

Column: Bear population is right where it needs to be

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 31, 2026

For a brief period, there were efforts to increase hunting opportunities with the goal of increasing the bear harvest. Opposition was strong enough to quell them, and we have since learned that was not necessarily a bad thing. Thanks to our Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and its careful stewardship of a public resource, our bear population is right about where it should be. Let’s hope the agency, and we hunters, can keep it that way by preserving the measures in place to do so. ~ Bob Humphrey

Column: Hiking the Cobscook Shores trails

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 31, 2026

The Shore Trail to Black Duck Cove on Seward Neck in North Lubec provides the opportunity to hike in an area where the once-booming herring fishing industry thrived and is now protected by Cobscook Shores. The 5-mile roundtrip trek begins on the west side of North Lubec Road about 2 miles north of Route 189 in Lubec. Not only are the Cobscook Shores trails a great alternative when it’s too windy to paddle, they are an outstanding destination. ~ Ron Chase

Opinion: Make Maine walkable again

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • August 30, 2026

Being able to walk to day-to-day destinations is important for the vast majority of Americans, but our residential communities aren’t designed for it. Mainers are no different. Local surveys and planning projects in Falmouth, Presque Isle, Rumford, Waterville and others demonstrate walkability is a preference across generations and across the state. Not only is pedestrian access to nearby amenities and services important for individual health and happiness, walkability is a proven economic engine that benefits local businesses and raises tax revenue for communities. Although cars have long been symbols of American freedom, we shouldn’t forget the foundational role of connectedness by rail, trail, coach and trolley in building our economic centers and freeing us to explore the best of what’s out there. ~ Aaron R. Hanlon, Waterville

Maine bear discovers the perfect napping spot

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 31, 2026

Ben Utecht has several bait sites for hunting bears in the North Maine Woods. His sites are remote, requiring a 3-mile, one-way canoe paddle and a short hike. Because of low water conditions, he had to reroute access to some sites or walk through two feet of mud. Due to the difficulty reaching the area, his bait, which consists of expired food, is placed in a pack for portability. This time, though, he forgot the pack at the bait site, and his trail camera captured something quite amusing — a bear picking the pack up, checking it out and then finally using it as a pillow to sleep on. Utecht did get his pack back, and surprisingly, it was unharmed.