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2026 Thoreau-Wabanaki Trail Festival

MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • June 9, 2026

Each third week in July, the Thoreau-Wabanaki Trail Festival provides programs about all manner of subject having to do with the Maine Woods.

Greenwood planning board member quits over ordinance inaction

BETHEL CITIZEN • June 9, 2026

Greenwood Planning Board member John Kwoka resigned last month, citing what he described as the select board’s reluctance to review ordinances he believes are outdated and in need of revision. Some local zoning disputes, he said, highlight ongoing tensions over land use, local oversight and whether Greenwood’s ordinances provide adequate protections for residents. To date, voters have shown little appetite for additional regulation, rejecting a proposed noise ordinance in 2025. “They are way behind, the ordinances are not current with the times,” Kwoka said. “I don’t know what the reluctance is.” Meanwhile, Kwoka’s wife, Anne, recently resigned as Greenwood’s code enforcement officer and has since become chair of the planning board.

Opinion: Susan Collins needs to stand up to attacks on public lands

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 9, 2026

As Mainers, the natural world is key to everything we hold important: we shape our identities with it, it builds our economies, even our license plates bear its symbols. With places like Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument and Acadia National Park, we are lucky that our wild is protected for future generations of Mainers and non-Mainers alike. Utah’s Sen. Mike Lee comes from a state with similarly immense natural beauty. However, Lee’s time as a senator is notable for his assaults on the wild. Why should you care? On a vote to overturn Lee’s effort to allow mining that threatens protections for Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area, Maine’s Susan Collins was one of only two Senate Republicans to break with the party and attempt to keep protections in place. If Collins wants to keep her seat this November, it’s important she ensures our public lands stay protected regardless of where they are. Call your local branch of Susan Collins’ office to ensure these treasures exist in the future. ~ Peter Eckhardt, South Portland

Opinion: Help Maine fight the invasive emerald ash borer

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 9, 2026

Due to the introduction of the invasive emerald ash borer, North America is rapidly losing its ash trees. This destructive beetle is one of the most devastating invasive species on the continent. This ecological crisis directly affects local communities and severely threatens the indigenous Wabanaki people. The ash tree is the unique material required to weave traditional baskets, and the resource is vanishing rapidly. To volunteer to help our woods, contact the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry at 800-367-0223. Or simply keep your eyes open the next time you are walking in the forest. If you spot an emerald ash borer, report when and where you saw it to the Maine Forest Service at (207) 287-2431. ~ Nolan Davis, eighth-grade student, Poland

Letter: Coal ash protections must remain in place

SUN JOURNAL • June 9, 2026

The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing dangerous rollbacks to coal ash protections that would endanger the health of communities across the country. Coal ash, the toxic waste produced from burning coal, contains arsenic, mercury, lead and other hazardous pollutants that are linked to cancer and serious illness. For decades, utilities dumped this waste into unlined ponds and landfills, allowing it to leak into drinking water. Strong federal safeguards put in place in 2015 and expanded in 2024, finally began holding polluters accountable. Now, those protections are being dismantled. The EPA’s job is to protect people, not corporate polluters. Speak out and demand that these safeguards remain in place. ~ Heather Keast, South Portland

Deer Isle causeways to be raised 4 feet to withstand storm surge

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 8, 2026

The state revealed Monday that it plans to raise the Deer Isle Causeway 4.3 feet higher to better withstand sea level rise and strong coastal storms. Under the proposal, nearly a mile of the main causeway connecting Deer Isle-Stonington to Little Deer Isle and another, smaller one near the base of the Deer Isle-Sedgwick Bridge would be improved through a $22 million, two-year project. The new elevation is “practical, feasible and responsive for the next 75-plus years,” according to the Maine Department of Transportation — several feet above predicted sea level rise by the end of the century.

Opinion: MainePERS needs to divest from fossil fuels. Now.

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 8, 2026

A 2021 legal mandate directed the state of Maine to divest its assets from the fossil fuel industry. The Maine Treasury, tasked with managing state investments, complied with the mandate. The Maine Public Employees Retirement System (MainePERS) did not. LD 99 was the first state law in the country that directed a state government to divest its financial assets from the fossil fuel industry. For years, the fossil fuel industry has underperformed, yet many public pension funds, such as MainePERS, remain invested in an option that jeopardizes the savings of former, current and future public employees. Hundreds of global institutions with a fiduciary duty to pensioners or beneficiaries have divested. ~ Jackson Chadwick, Maine Youth for Climate Justice

Letter: Let’s build more wildlife crossing sites in Maine

SUN JOURNAL • June 8, 2026

In Maine alone, 5,000 large animals are hit by cars every year. From salamanders to deer, any collision between an animal and a car is bound to leave the driver rattled and the animal in bad shape. Thankfully, wildlife crossings, which utilize bridges and tunnels to give animals designated spaces to cross our roadways, offer a solution. The 2021 Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program, which granted Maine millions of dollars for construction of a crossing in Caribou, is set to expire in September without congressional action. With support from representatives like Chellie Pingree, we could take a step in the right direction, renewing the program, building more wildlife corridors across our state and making the world a little bit safer for humans and animals alike. ~ Dahlia Stebbins-Sharpless, Portland

5 summer adventures your public library can help you get for free

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 8, 2026

The only thing you need to explore Maine this summer is a library card. Maybe you don’t have the budget for tickets to see a play or visit the Maine Coastal Botanical Gardens in full bloom, or you don’t have room in your home to store beach chairs or sporting equipment. Public libraries across the state offer all kinds of items and passes beyond books.

Opinion: Susan Collins should reject a dangerous threat to public lands

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 8, 2026

As the Senate prepares to consider S.J. Res. 109, Sen. Susan Collins faces a consequential choice. Senate Joint Resolution is a measure that would let Congress wipe out the approved plan for Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. This is not just a fight about one landscape. It is a test of whether years of public input, Tribal consultation, and public lands stewardship can be tossed aside with a single vote. That should matter to anyone who believes public decisions should reflect the public’s voice. Here in Maine, Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument is going through its own management planning process. People are taking time to attend meetings, submit comments, and share what they want for future generations. If politicians in Washington can sweep aside a completed planning process in Utah, what should Mainers conclude about the value of their participation? ~ Jeremy Sheaffer, Maine state director, The Wilderness Society

Invasive browntail moth caterpillars in Maine are getting killed off by fungi and viruses

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 7, 2026

Browntail moth caterpillars, the invasive insects carrying rash-causing hairs, are continuing to die off across Maine. A state monitoring program with sites in Bangor, Bridgton, Newport and Turner has found visible differences in development among caterpillars at the same sites within the last month, a trend similar to last year. That can be a sign of parasitism or infection by pathogens. The caterpillars affected more than 150,000 recorded acres across Maine at their 2022 peak.

‘Cocoon of love’ helped family heal in year since father-daughter hikers died on Katahdin

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 7, 2026

A year after two hikers died on Katahdin, their family returned to the area to thank the rangers who found the pair after a multi-day search. Tim Keiderling, 58, and Esther Keiderling, 28, attempted to hike Katahdin on June 1, 2025, when they likely encountered extreme conditions on Maine’s tallest mountain. A search started the next morning for the father and daughter. They were found dead days later, after multiple agencies conducted a large air and ground search. On Thursday, some of the Keiderlings’ surviving family members went to Millinocket to meet with Baxter State Park rangers and people from other agencies who were involved in the search. The family wanted to commemorate the anniversary of Tim and Esther’s deaths and thank the searchers, said Joe Keiderling, Tim’s brother.

Bob Duchesne talks birds on a walk in Bangor and Orono

MAINE PUBLIC • June 6, 2026

Aislinn Sarnacki - Author & Hiking Guide joins Bob Duchesne—creator of the Maine Birding Trail, author, Bangor Daily News columnist, and vice president of Maine Audubon's Penobscot Valley Chapter—for a bird walk through the Bangor City Forest and the Orono Bog Boardwalk.

Letter: Beware, meat allergy ticks are in Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 6, 2026

This is in response to the recent story about not worrying about tick bites and allergies to red meat. I have been diagnosed with AGS — Alpha Gal Syndrome — which is indeed being allergic to red meat from a tick bite. Studies now are indicating that the blacklegged tick, also known as a deer tick, can carry this also. I’m now in my third year with this allergy. When in doubt, remove the tick safely and save it for the doctor’s visit. ~ Robert Rooney, Vassalboro

This South Portland woman has a green thumb – and 200 types of seeds

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 6, 2026

Isabella Phipps has foraged, befriended gardeners and even ordered seeds from a free website to build her seed collection over the past few years. Now, she has more than 200 different kinds.

10 places where you can get seeds for free

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 6, 2026

Many towns across the state have seed libraries, mostly housed in public libraries. These are free and accessible ways to acquire and occasionally donate seeds.

Aroostook sawmill expansion will double space and production

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 6, 2026

Irving Forest Products’ Ashland sawmill will soon double its space with help from the Finance Authority of Maine. FAME has approved approximately $42 million in tax credit financing for the project. The funding will allow Irving to modernize the mill in Nashville Plantation, which borders Ashland, at a time of growth for Maine wood products. The expansion will double the mill’s production and bring about 80 new jobs to the rural community.

Four of Maine's largest abandoned derelict vessels to be removed beginning this fall

MAINE PUBLIC • June 5, 2026

Four of Maine's largest abandoned derelict vessels will be removed starting this fall thanks to a $750,000 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They include a 95-foot steel car ferry in Roque Bluffs and a WWII Navy minesweeper in Wiscasset. John Noll, director of Maine's Submerged Lands Program, said the DEP and Coast Guard pumped out fuel from the vessels years ago, but the wooden boat hulls soaked with oil continue to pollute the environment. “It improves the habitat they're displacing; you're removing the possibility of painted wood or chemicals that leach out of the boat to continue to leach out. But it also frees up that area for public trust rights...fishing, fowling and navigation," Noll said.

A rat poison so toxic it can kill bears will be pulled from Maine shelves

MAINE PUBLIC • June 5, 2026

The Maine Board of Pesticide Control voted unanimously Friday in favor of banning a toxic class of rodenticide. Francesca Gundrum of the Maine Audubon Society said that the potent chemicals can persist in the environment long after they've been ingested, harming other wildlife. "So think owls, hawks, fox, bobcat, even up to bears," she said. That's because those animals prey on the rodents that ingest the poison — which is also potent enough to kill them, too. "We know that these really potent, extra harmful chemicals persist in the environment for a long time," Gundrum added. The State of Maine conducted a limited sampling for rodenticides in 2024, and found that 4 out of 4 bears and 4 out of 6 hawks tested positive for rodenticides. The ban on the sale of the products will go into effect next week.