The most comprehensive online source of conservation news and events in Maine and beyond, edited by Jym St. Pierre
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Sincerely,
Jym St. Pierre
Editor, Maine Environmental News
SINGLETRACKS • February 11, 2026
A $260,000 grant is bringing 3.5 miles of new mountain bike trails to northern Maine’s Peavey Brook Outdoor Center, expanding the remote town of Patten’s trail network to as much as 10 miles and positioning this timber town-turned-outdoor-recreation hub as the next destination in the state’s growing mountain bike scene. The expansion at Peavey Brook Outdoor Center will add to the existing five miles of trail on the property. PBOC was created by the Elliotsville Foundation, Inc. and is co-managed by the Outdoor Sport Institute and Mt. Chase Lodge. Patten sits 40 miles northeast of Millinocket at the northern entrance to Baxter State Park. While Millinocket has seen increasing popularity as a regional riding destination in the Katahdin Area Trails network—popularity that will only grow with new trails coming to Hammond Ridge—Patten is carving out its own identity in Maine’s trail landscape.
This bill authorizes the National Park Service to secure a legal interest over an existing road and public access into Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument . The bill does not mandate the federal government to buy any land. It simply allows NPS a seat at the table with local landowners to help secure public access to the monument. The underlying land is already for sale and we expect the Penobscot Nation, a federally recognized tribe in my district, to purchase it. The Penobscot support this bill, along with local businesses and community groups, nearby town governments, and many others. The goal is a system of shared management and partnership that keeps the land in private hands, while creating certainty for a broad range of stakeholders. That includes people looking to pass through into the monument. It also includes hunters, fishermen, foragers, and other sportsmen, as well as loggers and others in the timber economy. ~ U.S. Rep. Jared Golden
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 11, 2026
A Bar Harbor business group argued before a federal judge Wednesday that cruise ship passengers are being unfairly targeted by the town’s cruise ship restrictions. Wednesday’s hearing was the latest development in a yearslong debate over limiting cruise ship visits to Bar Harbor that has produced two voter-referendums that impose a 1,000-passenger daily cap. Attorneys for a group of Bar Harbor businesses that are challenging the restrictions, argued that cruise ship passengers are a small portion of the total pedestrians causing congestion in downtown Bar Harbor. They make up just 5 to 7% of visitors to the town. They said the ordinance doesn’t “meaningfully” reduce downtown congestion.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 11, 2026
New England’s largest standalone battery facility is now operating in Maine, bringing the state a key step closer to the Mills administration’s electrification and clean energy goals. The Cross Town Energy Storage facility boasts a capacity of 175 megawatts, bringing the state’s total energy storage capacity to about 240 megawatts — more than halfway to its capacity goal for the end of 2030. At a Wednesday ribbon-cutting, Gov. Janet Mills touted the roughly 5-acre facility as a key part of the state’s transition to 100% clean energy by 2040, a goal the Maine Legislature formalized last year.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 10, 2026
Maine’s Wild Blueberry Commission has created a new program offering $1.3 million in emergency funding to keep growers in business after serious crop losses in 2025. The commission looked for options to offer emergency funding last fall after a season that began with a wet spring reducing pollination and then moved into a summer of high heat and fast-onset drought, leading to an estimated $28.1 million in lost revenue. The season was one of the industry’s most challenging in decades.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 11, 2026
Every winter for 17 years, the McMahon family has fed deer on their property in Brownville to help sustain them through northern Maine’s coldest months. What started with a few bags of oats each morning has grown into an industrial-level feeding operation, attracting thousands of live viewers to the McMahons’ YouTube channel, But not everyone is a fan of the food pantry. State officials, for one, say it’s more natural to let deer fend for themselves. Maine residents are allowed to feed deer between Dec. 16 and April 30, but the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife does not condone it. They say feeding deer can disrupt migration, impact long-term behavior and cause deer to starve because they can’t digest certain foods, like hay.
MAINE PUBLIC • February 11, 2026
With every recyclable bottle of beverage purchased in Maine, consumers pay a bottle deposit of 5 or 15 cents. But not all of those deposits are being claimed. According to industry experts, the current rate of redemption is about 75%, which leaves $10 million-$16 million of unclaimed deposits annually. Now, the Maine Legislature is considering a bill that would dedicate $4 million annually from unclaimed bottle deposits to protecting Maine lakes and farmland: $2 million in unredeemed deposits to the Lake Water Quality Restoration and Protection Fund, and another $2 million to the Maine Working Farmland Access and Protection Program. Proponents of the bill argue that current funding to protect farmland and fight against algal blooms in Maine lakes is not enough. But opponents, including beverage distributors, say the bottle deposit money is needed to help meet the recycling requirements of the state's existing bottle bill.
TIMES RECORD • February 11, 2026
There certainly has been enough cold weather this year to support the little village of ice shacks that has now popped up along the shores of the Androscoggin. These little shacks come and go each year, assuming the ice is thick enough, and their owners use their shelter to drill a hole in the ice and try their luck at catching the sometimes elusive smelt that swim underneath. It’s a pretty neat tradition in wintry climes like Maine. What I didn’t know until recently is that, in addition to this seasonal fishery, there were once commercial fisheries on the river as well. Populations of fish including salmon, sturgeon, shad and river herring once were abundant enough to be harvested by local fishermen and sold to nearby residents. And long before that — as long as 13,000 years ago — the Wabanaki people used to smoke fish right along the shore. Now that the new Brunswick-Topsham bridge is open, there is a whole new perspective to be had looking out over the river. There is an opportunity to rethink what the river means to the town and just how much it has to offer including a potentially abundant source of local seafood as it has in the past. ~
Susan Olcott, Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 11, 2026
The Wabanaki Alliance was formed in 2020 by leadership of all of the Wabanaki Nations in our homelands now called Maine. Last week we held a press conference at the State House to outline our legislative priorities for the second session of the 132nd Legislature which includes sovereignty, conservation easements and Wabanaki Studies. We are working with Rep. Jim Dill on a bill to expand the definition of conservation easements to include cultural practices. The bill also updates the statute to include tribes as entities able to hold these easements. ~ Maulian Bryant, Wabanaki Alliance
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 10, 2026
A Mount Desert man who has run several times for elected office is facing a felony charge for allegedly vandalizing signs at a Mount Desert Island land preserve. Ian J. Schwartz is accused of damaging multiple signs and trailmarkers at a Mount Desert Land and Garden Preserve on March 28, 2025. The damage amounted to $1,000. The preserve manages 1,400 acres of public land on Mount Desert Island, including Asticou Azalea Garden, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden, Thuya Garden and land surrounding Little Long Pond.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 10, 2026
Federal officials have launched a second investigation into a January gas leak at a Baileyville paper mill that killed a University of Maine student and injured nine other workers. Kasie Malcolm, 20, a chemical engineering student at UMaine who was born in Japan and grew up in Sanford, died hours after the incident occurred at Woodland Pulp. The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, an independent federal agency, announced its investigation into the incident in a news release Monday. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration has also initiated its own investigation.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 10, 2026
Authorities are still investigating the death of a Maryland man whose body was found near Bar Island in Acadia National Park late last month. Christian Leveron, 24, of Annapolis, Maryland, went missing while hiking on Jan. 28 and was found dead a day later after a multiagency search. His cause and manner of death have yet to be determined.
NATIONAL AUDUBON • February 10, 2026
The entry period for the 2026 Audubon Photography Awards ends in three weeks on Wednesday, March 4, at 12 p.m. (noon) U.S. Eastern Time. There’s still time for you to submit your best bird photos and videos for a chance to win. This year, in addition to $5,000, the Grand Prize winners will each receive a voyage to Antarctica to combine birding, conservation, and exploration on a one-of-a-kind trip. Winning photos and videos will be published in the Fall 2026 issue of Audubon magazine and on audubon.org. Youth entrants can also win a special prize: A trip to Hog Island Audubon Camp in Maine.
Hog Island Audubon Camp in Maine opened in 1936 with a singular vision – to teach people about nature conservation and inspire them to become leaders in the environmental movement in their own communities. Thousands of people have been touched by the magic of Hog Island over the years creating ripple effects that have been felt across the country. We are proud to be here today continuing the legacy of exceptional environmental education. Join us as we say "Thank You" at a Friends of Hog Island Appreciation Dinner & Keynote Speaker, August 21, 2026, 5-9 pm.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 10, 2026
The fast-paced march of technology is blurring the lines of ethical hunting as never before. The increasing use of highly sophisticated electronic devices such as wireless cell phone trail cameras and the recent advent of aerial drones fitted with thermal imaging devices present difficult new ethical questions. These technologies test both the limits of fair chase and the ability of law enforcement to keep pace. In Maine, it is not legal to hunt with drones or drones equipped with thermal imaging devices. It is, however, legal to use wireless cellular trail cameras to locate and pattern game behavior, even during the legal hunting season. What about using a drone with thermal imaging to locate and recover a wounded animal in Maine? There is already too much ambiguity when it comes to enforcing fish and game laws related to these technologies. When modern technology gives me an unfair advantage over my prey, the hunt simply stops being fun. ~ V. Paul Reynolds
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 10, 2026
Saturday marked the fourth annual ice fishing derby at Belgrade Chains, raising funds for St. Michael School in Augusta. This year, 918 anglers registered, with 1,006 tickets sold, a dramatic increase from the 25 participants in the first derby. The event covered Great, Long, North, East and McGrath ponds, Salmon Lake and Messalonskee Lake. Derby sponsor Alyssa Quintal said she loved seeing anglers of all ages enjoying the event.
DEMOCRACY FOR AMERICA ADVOCACY FUND • February 9, 2026
For fifty years, Section 401 of the Clean Water Act has empowered states and Tribes to protect their waterways by reviewing federal projects before they move forward. This authority allows communities to defend drinking water, fisheries, wetlands, and ecosystems from pollution and long-term harm. It has served as one of the most effective tools for local oversight of powerful industries. The EPA is now proposing a rule that would sharply narrow this authority. The proposal restricts reviews to only narrow definitions of “direct discharges” into federally protected waters. This change blocks states and Tribes from considering broader environmental impacts such as altered water flows, habitat destruction, groundwater contamination, erosion, and climate-driven harms tied to major infrastructure projects. The EPA is accepting public comments on this proposal through February 17.
TURNER PUBLISHING • February 9, 2026
Rangeley Wild is having an auction/raffle event at the Rangeley Inn on 2/28 at 5:30pm. Our hope is to turn this into an annual WILD Weekend for all to participate in celebrating the local/native wild animals. We’re fundraising to build a rehabilitation center for injured and orphaned wild animals, but would love for you to get involved too.
MAINE MORNING STAR • February 9, 2026
New wind projects could be coming to Northern Maine — just not new power. The Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has released a final Request for Proposals (RFP) for up to 1,200 MW of new onshore wind or other renewable generation — enough to power nearly 450,000 homes — plus a new transmission line to carry that power to southern Maine and New England. Maine has been trying for years to build new renewable generation in its most remote northern counties, Aroostook and Washington, an area with enormous potential wind and biomass resources but one that, due to a historic quirk of grid architecture, is electrically disconnected from the rest of New England. With the effort facing headwinds ranging from a hostile presidential administration to local opposition to transmission, the destination for the power could become the thorniest issue of all.
