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Jym St. Pierre
Editor, Maine Environmental News

Learn about e-bikes at Westbrook’s BikeFest

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 2, 2026

Whether you’ve never ridden a bike or you’re an expert cyclist, prefer road or mountain bikes, bike as your mode of transportation or just do it for fun, Westbrook’s BikeFest is for everyone who wants to learn more about biking. The annual festival is returning to Rock Row from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday to increase awareness and involvement in bike culture. This year’s festival features an educational forum on e-bikes, hosted by Vision Zero Maine, a citizen-led group of Mainers committed to creating safe streets. Industry experts, law enforcement and elected officials will speak about the difference between e-bikes and e-motos and how each should be used. 

Maine OK’d solar panels for balconies. Safety guidelines haven’t caught up.

MAINE MORNING STAR • October 2, 2026

Over the past year and a half, a dozen states, including Maine, have embraced a new vision for solar power: small, cheap panels that can be hung from a balcony or porch, be plugged into a standard wall outlet and take a dent out of residents’ utility bills. These systems, known as balcony solar or plug-in solar, are attractive because they can be installed without permits, contractors or large investments. They can allow renters to tap into clean electricity.  Lawmakers say the systems can help at a time when residents’ power bills are skyrocketing and utilities are struggling to keep pace with demand. But for most Americans the systems still sit in a legal gray area. That’s because the “plug and play” simplicity that creates balcony solar’s appeal might not yet work safely with most household electrical systems, experts and utilities say.

Here’s how experts map Maine’s drought — and how you can help

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 2, 2026

if you want to help inform those responsible for analyzing drought conditions across Maine and the country, all you need is your own observations. It doesn’t take a scientist to tell you that your lawn is turning brown, the pond you frequent is low, or your well is drying up. In fact, that’s where you’re the expert. During a drought, one can’t help but feel a little helpless. It’s not like we can make it rain. But you can help, because the public’s input is taken into account when the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor maps are put together. The maps and data are used to analyze drought impacts, and federal agencies consider them when they weigh whether to declare drought-related disasters.

Column: Shouldn’t it be easier to get to Canada from here?

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 2, 2026

Driving three hours to Bar Harbor to get on the CAT ferry for even longer has never tempted me, but the idea of traveling 10 minutes to go spend the night in a casino and wake up in Nova Scotia? Pretty appealing. Reading more about what the Scotia Prince is considering, however, tamped my enthusiasm. The nearly $1,000 one-way price tag (for two people, a car and a cabin) feels like a lot for a trip that, at 11 hours long, is no quicker than it would be by car at a fraction of the cost, regardless of dreaded gas prices. Being able to pass the time sleeping or playing blackjack doesn’t seem like enough of a selling point. ~ Leslie Bridgers

Low-income Mainers auto-enrolled for electric discounts

MAINE PUBLIC • October 1, 2026

Up to 67,000 low-income Maine households will get discounts on their electric bills this year after an overhaul of a state assistance program. People who already receive public health insurance, food, and heating benefits will now also be automatically enrolled in the Low Income Assistance Program, or LIAP, that provides a percentage discount for eligible customers of Central Maine Power and Versant Power.

States and cities sue over Trump’s EPA eliminating rule that limits emissions from power plants

ASSOCIATED PRESS • October 1, 2026

States and cities sued the Trump administration Thursday for repealing rules that limit planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from power plants fueled by coal and natural gas. Twenty-one states, including Maine, are challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s power plant rule. They argue that “gutting one of the country’s most significant climate protections” will set the nation back decades and worsen the climate crisis.

Water supply for Maine’s Navy shipyard is draining months ahead of schedule

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 1, 2026

Water levels in ponds that supply Kittery remain 12 feet below normal heading into winter, and there is no end in sight to conservation measures now approaching their eighth week. The rare shortage comes just as the district heads into its hardest period. Demand from Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, which uses more than half of the district’s water, rises in winter, while freezing temperatures lock up rain and snow that would refill the ponds. Kittery officials are asking the state to look at the shipyard’s plans for its water system.

Penobscot dam owner replaces faulty poles on line where July failure killed fish

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 30, 2026

The owner of the Penobscot River dam that shut down in July after a transmission crossarm broke and likely killed thousands of fish said it is replacing faulty poles along the 30-mile power line. Brookfield Renewable N.A. said the new poles are part of an annual maintenance program it has run for 10 years. In that time, failures on the line have twice caused automatic shutdowns of the Ripogenus Dam that left thousands of fish dead from a lack of water, according to the Maine Council of Trout Unlimited.

Libra Foundation gives $1.3 million to expand outdoor education for Maine students

DAILY BULLDOG • September 30, 2026

The Libra Foundation will invest $1.3 million over the next two years to expand Maine Outdoor School for All, a statewide program that reached 1,675 students from 43 schools in its first year. The gift will help University of Maine Cooperative Extension, which administers the program, expand opportunities for public school students to participate in interdisciplinary, experiential learning in natural settings. Maine Outdoor School for All connects students with outdoor learning opportunities designed to develop collaboration and STEM skills, build confidence and self-awareness, and introduce academic and career pathways related to the state’s natural resources.

Opinion: New England’s governors need to stop chasing a nuclear energy fantasy

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 30, 2026

Are all six New England governors out of their minds? It’s 2026, renewable energy is surging globally, nuclear power plants remain as dangerous as ever, and they want to build new nukes? New nuclear plants take 10 to 15 years to come online. Solar, wind, storage and efficiency can be permitted and built now, at a fraction of the cost. Every dollar, every year spent chasing nuclear is a dollar and a year not spent on the energy sources that can actually reduce emissions. And every reactor produces radioactive material that will stay lethal for thousands of years, with no permanent storage solution anywhere. Governors, please do your homework to learn why the second Seabrook reactor was never built. In 1972, it was projected to cost under $1 billion. By 1984, the price had ballooned past $10 billion. ~ Rob Okun

Federal funding for tick-borne diseases extended until 2030

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 30, 2026

A 2021 law that provided funding for studying and combating vector-borne diseases, including those carried by ticks, has been reauthorized through 2030. The Kay Hagan Tick Reauthorization Act passed both houses of Congress and was signed into law by President Donald Trump on Wednesday, according to the office of U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, who sponsored the Senate version of the bill. The law provides $10 million in funding for grants to regional centers of excellence in vector-borne diseases and for a national strategy around the diseases, which include such tick-borne illnesses as Lyme disease, Powassan virus, anaplasmosis and babesiosis, along with diseases carried by mosquitoes, such as dengue and West Nile virus.

Opinion: New England’s winter forests need the Roadless Rule

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 30, 2026

Growing up in New England instilled in me a deep appreciation for trees. The roadless areas that remain are vital resources for outdoor recreation and watershed protection. But they are currently under threat. The Trump administration has moved to rescind the Roadless Rule under the guise of more local forest control and wildfire management. The Green Mountain National Forest holds approximately 80,000 acres of inventoried roadless areas. the White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) in New Hampshire and western Maine encompasses an estimated 368,000 acres of inventoried roadless areas. These are the places that create a community of people around shared outdoor experiences. At a moment filled with attempts to sell off our public lands, having the Roadless Rule to protect these places is more important than ever. ~ Anneka Williams

Letter: Vote for Matt Dunlap for our environment

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 30, 2026

Maine experienced a huge explosion in its tick population and a 20-fold increase in Lyme disease between 2000 and 2016. Paul LePage, as governor from 2011 to 2019, blocked or vetoed climate change initiatives. He hindered state-level research on the link between a warming climate and restricted tracking of its link to the spread of tick-borne disease, leaving Maine unprepared. Matt Dunlap, a candidate for the U.S. House in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, is committed to climate action and research to prepare Maine for the future due to warming water, land and air. He is endorsed by the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Action Fund. ~ Carole Beal, Blue Hill

MDI town restricts garage access after bear sightings

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 30, 2026

The fate of the three dumpsters at the Mount Desert Town Garage has taken a backseat to what Town Manager Alex Kimball describes as a more pressing matter: a mother bear and her two cubs. “For at least the past two nights, a mother bear and her two cubs have been spotted at the dumpsters at the town garage,” Kimball wrote in a September 29 email. “They are definitely feeding at the dumpsters, and will almost certainly keep coming back as long as the food source is available to them.” The town will be placing temporary barricades in front of the garage’s entryways.

Birds & Climate Change, Oct 27

MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • September 30, 2026

From large-scale habitat changes associated with European colonization to rapid climate change today, the birds of North America have faced, and will face, dramatically changing habitats across the continent. Steve Hampton examines the past, present, and future of our birds and explores why some are adapting, and some are not. Sponsored by Mid-Coast Audubon, hosted by Camden Public Library, on Zoom, October 27, 2026.

Opinion: Maine’s Blue Economy will form its future

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 30, 2026

For thousands of years, the Gulf of Maine has sustained our communities — we have harvested these waters, building our lives around its tides and seasons. Maine’s coastal communities have reinvented themselves, to innovate and adapt. The almost $6.8 billion in economic activity and 90,000 jobs supported by Maine’s ocean-related businesses are dynamic and reflect an economy that is changing. The Blue Economy Task Force 2.0 identified five opportunity for growth in Maine: aquaculture and marine vegetation, marine biotechnology, ocean data and research, resilient coastal infrastructure and sustainable boatbuilding and marine propulsion. Maine’s first Blue Economy Week (Sept. 29-Oct. 2) is a way to have scientists, investors, students, fishermen and educators come together to chart our course. To collectively ask: How do we build upon what Maine already does well while continuing to innovate to meet this moment? ~ Rhiannon Hampson, Gulf of Maine Research Institute

This weekend could be the ‘gem of all gems’ in Maine’s fall foliage season

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 30, 2026

Maine’s fall foliage display was largely spared by the recent nor’easter and could show out in parts of the state this weekend. “I’m going to go out on a limb and say this weekend is shaping up to be the gem of all gems for leaf enthusiasts in Maine!,” Gale Ross, fall foliage spokesperson for the state said.

Column: Breaking ground for a new farmers market in Brunswick

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 30, 2026

On Sept. 24, well after actual ground had been broken, Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust held its ceremonial groundbreaking for its new farmers market, and, in a slightly longer future, a home for community programs and the land trust itself. It seemed especially apt that this land trust, with agriculture central to its DNA, would come to Dionne Farm, which lies at the heart of Crystal Spring Farm along the conservation and agricultural corridor from Brunswick to Freeport. The Crystal Spring Farm land family has grown to 360 acres. Those acres include the site we stood upon, the 25-acre Dionne Farm, whose generously-supported purchase was completed in 2025 as a gift of place to our whole area. ~ Sandy Stott

Couple sued by lobster co-op over fraud scheme sells marina to pay off penalty

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 30, 2026

A couple accused of defrauding a Maine lobsterman’s cooperative have paid their court-ordered penalty in full after selling a Winter Harbor marine facility and ferry terminal for $3.2 million. Anthony and Josette Pettegrow were ordered to pay just over $3.8 million after they were sued in federal court in 2019 by Lobster 207 over a fraud scheme connected to the couple’s Trenton lobster pound. Joseph Townsend, a local philanthropist and conservationist, purchased Winter Harbor Marine Center, which serves as the terminal for a ferry to Bar Harbor.