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Fire at Portland recycling center under investigation

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 13, 2026

The Portland Fire Department says the flames burned in a large pile of metal at a recycling center on Riverside Street, sending a huge plume of smoke into the air.

They aren’t cops. So who are these people in uniforms in downtown Portland?

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 13, 2026

They aren’t police officers, but these uniformed personnel — dubbed “constables” — are part of a new program in the Portland Police Department’s community policing division. The five employees were hired this year to patrol and maintain the city’s public areas and parks.

Telstar teacher rescues amphibians, part of Maine Big Night

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 13, 2026

So far, Maine Big Night — as it’s called — has helped more than 20,000 amphibians cross roads safely. A “big night” is a critical moment in an amphibian’s life cycle, when certain species — prompted by temperature and rainfall — begin a mass migration to breeding grounds. The event can involve large numbers, making it both striking and ecologically important. Volunteers like science teacher Mack Connor also collect data to better understand how wildlife interacts with infrastructure and how design can reduce harm.

Letter: Dismayed at Maine’s growing litter problem

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 13, 2026

One only needs to drive along Maine’s scenic roads and byways, or almost anywhere in the United States, to see bottles, cans, plastic and assorted trash strewn along the roadside, either carelessly tossed from vehicles or blown from uncovered truck loads. For a state that proudly markets itself as “Vacationland: The Way Life Should Be,” and one that depends heavily on tourism, our leaders seem strangely indifferent to Maine’s growing litter problem. ~ Charlie Britton, Southport

Brook trout explode on mouse flies in remote Maine pond

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 13, 2026

Nick Hebert and his friend Clayton Mason recently traveled from their homes in Massachusetts to northern Maine to fly fish for brook trout. Hebert and Mason camped in the North Maine Woods and landed multiple brookies Sunday morning. The pair usually fish the Katahdin region in spring and the Moosehead area in fall. Hebert said they have explored everywhere from the western mountains to the potato and blueberry fields of northeastern Maine. “Every part is beautiful,” he said.

4 economic goals Maine business leaders want the state to reach by 2035

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 12, 2026

Maine businesses are keen to grow and invest in their operations, but they need a more predictable environment and more workers to make it happen, according to a report released Tuesday by the Maine State Chamber of Commerce and the Maine Development Foundation. “Maine Economic Vision 2035” lays out priorities to boost business competitiveness, lower housing costs and increase wages 20% within the next decade. [The report also includes a call to “eliminate housing from the state’s Site Location of Development Law.”]

Maine environmental coalition lays out policy priorities

MAINE PUBLIC • May 12, 2026

More than a dozen environmental groups have laid out their policy priorities for the next five years ahead of a busy election season that will see turnover in the Maine State House and governor's office. The Maine Conservation Alliance's policy guidebook proposes 46 distinct actions across five areas it wants lawmakers and government officials to pursue. Eliza Townsend, conservation policy director at the Appalachian Mountain Club, said, "It isn't that the issues are new, or the strategies to address them are new, but the fact that they are urgent is more evident than ever." The policy guide includes sections on conserving land, water and wildlife, creating healthy and prosperous communities, sovereign Wabanaki nations, clean and affordable energy and changes to government.

Calls to remove Ellsworth dam grow after state issues 2nd water quality denial

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 12, 2026

Calls to remove an Ellsworth dam are mounting after the state signaled it would deny a water quality permit for the second time, renewing questions about the future of the Union River dams. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has issued a draft denial to Black Bear Hydro Partners — a subsidiary of Brookfield Renewable that owns the Union River dam and the upstream Graham Lake dam — for its second water quality certification application, required for its federal relicensing effort. Black Bear Hydro was denied its last water quality certification in 2020, though the dams continue to operate on a temporary license.

See the alewives return to central Maine

CENTRAL MAINE • May 12, 2026

May marks the start of the annual return of alewives, a species of sea-run herring, to lakes and ponds to spawn. They gather in schools offshore, and as the weather warms, the silvery fish with the dark backs make their way to historic breeding grounds, many of them in central Maine or just a short drive away. On Saturday, Benton is set to host its annual Alewife Festival from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Riverside Park at the town office, located at 1279 Clinton Ave. On May 23, during Memorial Day weekend, the Damariscotta Mills Fish Ladder Restoration organization in Nobleboro plans to host the Run with the Alewives 5K race. Maine Rivers has put together a map of locations where alewives can be seen. 

Game warden crashed plane while helping stock fish in western Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 12, 2026

Game Warden pilot Joshua Tibbetts made a low-altitude turn while helping stock fish in waterways before he was killed in a Tuesday plane crash near a western Maine pond. Flight tracking data showed that Tibbetts, 50, took off around 8 a.m. from Dry Pond Seaplane Base on Crystal Lake in Gray, piloting a Cessna A185F Skywagon. He had served 18 years with the Maine Warden Service and became a warden service pilot in late 2023.

Conservation groups seek to join lawsuit over North Atlantic right whale protections

NEWS CENTER MAINE • May 12, 2026

Multiple conservation organizations are seeking to join a federal lawsuit aimed at protecting the endangered North Atlantic right whale.

Consumers willing to pay more for lobster harvested with ropeless technology, UMaine study finds

UMAINE • May 12, 2026

U.S. consumers are willing to pay more for lobster harvested using ropeless fishing technology designed to reduce whale entanglement risks, according to new University of Maine research. A study by the University of Maine’s Maine Business School found that consumers are willing to pay an average of $3.42 more for a lobster roll made with lobster harvested using ropeless fishing technology when presented with information on animal welfare.

Group Calls On Trump To Nominate A Competent Park Service Director

NATIONAL PARKS TRAVELER • May 12, 2026

The Association of National Park Rangers (ANPR) is calling on President Trump to nominate a competent director of the National Park Service. Trump’s previous pick, Scott Socha, a long-time officer for national park concessionaire Delaware North, was withdrawn by the White House in April after widespread backlash against the choice. The Park Service has been without a Senate-confirmed director since Chuck Sams left the position at the end of the Biden administration. “Accomplishing the National Park Service mission is possible only if we care for the dedicated public servants who protect parks and ensure that the agency that employs them is adequately staffed and supported,” said Mike Pflaum, president of ANPR.

Maine Warden Service plane crashes in Franklin County

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 12, 2026

Authorities from multiple local agencies responded Tuesday morning to a plane crash in the Franklin County town of Avon. The crash happened around 11 a.m. Local officials said it was a Maine Warden Service plane. According to scanner traffic, at least one person was reported alive inside the plane but that could not be confirmed early in the afternoon.

It will be raining rabies vaccines in Aroostook starting tomorrow 3

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 12, 2026

It will be raining rabies vaccines over Aroostook County starting this week. About 450,000 oral vaccines will be dropped from the air between Wednesday and May 22, according to Lindsay Hammes, a spokesperson for the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. That will be in addition to the annual fall rabies vaccine drop.The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services, which is partnering with the Maine CDC, is dropping the extra vaccine doses because of a spate of reports of rabid raccoons over the past year.

Meeting the Moment: An Environmental Policy Guide for Maine, 2026-2031

MAINE CONSERVATION ALLIANCE • May 12, 2026

Maine people are experiencing difficult change. our public policies and government systems can and must reflect our shared values, our changing world, and the challenges and opportunities before us. Together, we can forge new paths that utilize our environmental resources wisely, connect the dots across our communities, and integrate the wisdom and problem-solving skills of the people in Maine. This policy guide outlines five areas of focus and the specific actions needed to rebalance Maine’s environmental policies in favor of fairness, responsibility, sustainability, and collaboration.

Maine environmental advocates call on state to turn climate goals into mandates

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 12, 2026

Tribal land return, a total ban on synthetic pesticides and the creation of a new state office of conservation anchor a new environmental report that calls on Maine to convert its voluntary climate goals into state law over the next five years. The Meeting the Moment report, released Tuesday by a coalition of 17 advocacy and public health organizations, challenges Augusta to adopt a values-driven blueprint for protecting the state’s natural assets as Mainers face record energy costs and increasingly destructive storms.

Column: Hummingbirds’ arrival has Mainers buzzing

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 12, 2026

While red hummingbird feeders long have been fixtures of Maine yards and decks (especially at camp), technology has taken a once-passive hobby and put it into hyperdrive, enabling birders to keep better track of avian visitors and share their excitement with fellow enthusiasts online. Although many species of migratory birds show up in Maine this time of year, there seems to be heightened anticipation around ruby-throated hummingbirds, which travel from as far away as Central America to destinations throughout the eastern U.S. and up into Canada.

Small MDI town votes to reverse nearly 100-year ban on deer hunting

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 12, 2026

Following months of public hearings, Tremont residents on Monday voted to allow a deer hunting season within town limits, reversing a nearly 100-year ban. Deer hunting has not been allowed on the island since 1931, though special permits have been issued for nuisance deer. 314 residents voted in favor of the plan and 227 voted against the proposal in a secret ballot. The hunt is intended to manage the town’s — and island’s —  deer overpopulation, which has contributed to more vehicle collisions with the animals, concern over Lyme disease and complaints of residential property damage.