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
WIKIPEDIA • December 23, 2025
For an area to become a unit of the National Park System, it must possess nationally significant natural, cultural, or recreational resources; be a suitable and feasible addition to the system; and require direct management by the National Park Service (rather than protection by the private sector or other governmental agencies). Members of the United States Congress can authorize the NPS to conduct a special resource study to gather information surrounding potential inclusions into the National Park System. Each special resource study will examine each of the above four criteria individually. However, units of the System are ultimately created by legislation. Proposed parks which have seen legislation put forth in Congress are shaded in green in this list. Other proposals, including those by the public in the form of documents or editorials in local media, are also included.
EARTH JUSTICE • December 23, 2025
Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is set to give corporate polluters what they want and put many thousands of formerly protected wetlands and waterways at risk of toxic pollution and industrial development. Tell the administration that you oppose their plan to destroy critical clean water protections. Submit your comment today.
MAINE PUBLIC • December 23, 2025
Since August, Maine has faced a persistent drought. The Maine-based Poland Spring bottled water company, which draws from sources in Fryeburg and other sites, said at the time it was voluntarily reducing withdrawals. Paul Blest, a reporter from the journalism outlet More Perfect Union, discovered that during September, Poland Spring was taking more water from both places than it did in September the two previous years. Maine Public's review of the data found that over the past two years, between January and September, Poland Spring's withdrawals increased by more than 40% in Fryeburg and nearly 23% in Denmark. But Poland Spring stands by its commitment to long-term sustainability. "I'm angry and I'm frustrated and I wish we had control of our water," said Emily Strahler, who serves as a trustee for the Fryeburg Water District. She says it was concerning to hear that residents' wells dried up over the summer and then find out that Poland Spring is extracting more water from the town this year than it did last.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 23, 2025
Several of Maine’s leading conservation organizations have filed an appeal with the state’s Board of Environmental Protection, challenging Central Maine Power’s conservation plan for the New England Clean Energy Connect transmission line. The groups say the plan falls short of protecting mature forests in western Maine as required under CMP’s permit. The appeal, filed by the Appalachian Mountain Club, Maine Audubon, Natural Resources Council of Maine and Trout Unlimited, argues that CMP’s plan prioritizes heavily logged areas rather than true mature forests, potentially setting a troubling precedent for future development projects.
WORLD ATLAS • December 23, 2025
If you wish to witness up close the sometimes rugged scenery of America's Atlantic coastline, there are a number of highway routes you can explore, ranging from the sun-baked sands of Florida to the wildernesses of New England. At nearly 147 miles in total length, the Bold Coast Scenic Byway in Maine covers one of the most incredible northern stretches, where cold waves crash against the area's towering cliffs, old-growth forests, and old-timey fishing towns year-round.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 23, 2025
Joe and Samantha Legendre, with the support of the International Order of Theodore Roosevelt, have filed a civil suit against the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. They argue that IF&W’s designation of fly-fishing-only waters does not pass constitutional muster and that Maine’s new right-to-food constitutional amendment renders those designations unconstitutional. Of Maine’s more than 5,000 lakes and ponds, IF&W has designated 225 as fly-fishing-only waters. The Legendres previously sought to overturn Maine’s Sunday hunting ban because it interfered with a citizen’s right to obtain food by foraging for wild game on Sundays. That case was dismissed when the courts ruled IF&W and the Legislature have the legal authority to protect Maine’s natural resources through regulation and management. It is doubtful Maine voters intended the right-to-food amendment to create a free-for-all in the state’s woods and waters. ~ V. Paul Reynolds
CENTRAL MAINE • December 23, 2025
Lawyers have dropped a federal lawsuit against Maine state officials that was filed on behalf of a Mercer turkey farmer who later said he unknowingly became the sole plaintiff in the case. The attorneys — one from Maine and two from the national, [far right] Pacific Legal Foundation — filed the voluntary dismissal of Scott Greaney’s lawsuit Wednesday. The lawsuit questioned the constitutionality of the composition of the Maine Agriculture, Food System and Forest Products Infrastructure Investment Fund Advisory Board. The board oversees the investment fund, which is intended to strengthen Maine’s agricultural, food and forest products industries, prioritizing historically marginalized, underrepresented, and underserved communities; address barriers to capital access for businesses in those communities; expand investments in infrastructure; and establish technical assistance programs.
SPECTRUM NEWS • December 22, 2025
A clipper system is swinging into Maine on Tuesday, and it's expected to bring heavy snow to the Midcoast region, which could cause dangerous road conditions for holiday travelers.
MAINE PUBLIC • December 22, 2025
Maine utility regulators are jumpstarting a major new wind power development and electric transmission line in Northern Maine. The Public Utilities Commission released a request for proposals last week and asked private developers to submit bids for the project by the end of February. The agency intends to build turbines that can produce up to 1,200 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 475,000 homes. The development is meant to be paired with a major new transmission line linking wind generation near Houlton to an upgraded substation in Pittsfield. PUC Chair Phil Bartlett said in an interview that the project offers New England an opportunity for significant new inexpensive power at a time of surging electricity demand and high prices. The PUC awarded a similar contract for a power and transmission project in 2022, but cancelled the deal about a year later over cost concerns.
SUN JOURNAL • December 22, 2025
The old Central Fire Station at 151 Congress St. is being leased to Inland Woods + Trails as a home base for recreation, according to Executive Director Gabe Perkins. The Select Board voted Dec. 17 to lease the historic 1924 building to the trail conservation group for three years. This will be a central location for office space, equipment storage, information center as well as a gear library. For contractors coming to do trail work or a state crew they’re thinking about bringing in to help elevate Maine’s outdoor recreation, the building can also serve as a place to sleep at night. Founded in 2011, Inland Woods + Trails serves communities in Western Maine through the management of high quality, durable trails and woods for all seasons. It owns 1,956 acres of community forest land in both Bethel and Rumford and maintains over 85 miles of trails in five towns throughout Oxford County.
MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • December 22, 2025
The U.S. House on Thursday passed, 211-204, a bill to remove Endangered Species Act protections for the gray wolf outside Alaska. The bill, sponsored by Colorado Republican Lauren Boebert, would direct the Interior secretary to reissue a 2020 rule removing ESA protections that delisted wolves other than the Mexican wolf in the lower 48 states, while stipulating it could not be challenged in court. The rule from President Donald Trump’s first administration was struck down by a federal court in 2022. House Natural Resources Committee ranking member Jared Huffman said the bill set a “troubling” precedent by blocking judicial review. “It tells the American people they no longer have the right to challenge unlawful government actions.”
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 22, 2025
There were some highs amid a lot of lows in a roller coaster year for clean energy as President Donald Trump worked to boost polluting fuels while blocking wind and solar. Energy experts said clean energy must continue to grow to meet skyrocketing demand for electricity to power data centers and to lower Americans’ utility bills. Solar builder Jorge Vargas said it has been “a very tough year for clean energy” as Trump made headlines criticizing renewable energy and Republicans muscled a tax and spending cut bill through Congress in July that dramatically rolled back tax breaks for clean energy. Trump called wind and solar power “the scam of the century.” Companies can’t make billion-dollar investments with so much policy uncertainty. Consequently, greenhouse gas emissions will fall at a much lower rate than previously projected. The year ends with subsidies stripped back, a weakened supply chain, higher costs from tariffs and some customers questioning their commitment to clean energy.
ASSOCIATED PRESS • December 22, 2025
The Trump administration said Monday it is pausing leases for five large-scale offshore wind projects under construction in the East Coast due to unspecified national security risks identified by the Pentagon. The pause is effective immediately and will give the Interior Department, which oversees offshore wind, time to work with the Defense Department and other agencies to assess the possible ways to mitigate any security risks posed by the projects.
CENTRAL MAINE • December 22, 2025
To protect Maine people and our environment, state regulators need to push back on Central Maine Power’s massive electricity rate increase and flawed mitigation plan for its transmission corridor. CMP wants to collect an additional $1.4 billion from Maine ratepayers The Public Utilities Commission denied CMP’s rate plan. But CMP will return. Also, CMP had years to develop a required conservation plan but came back with a junker — 50,000 acres of some of the most heavily harvested forestland in Maine, with almost no mature trees and little protection for the few remaining older trees still standing. CMP told regulators to wait 40 years for tall trees to return. Despite the flaws, DEP approved it and wrote that future regulators should ignore the precedent. We should not be hit by electricity price hikes tied to CMP’s profit-seeking, nor should we be left holding the short end of the stick, literally, with a lousy NECEC mitigation plan. ~ Tony Owens, Cape Elizabeth, and Lois Winter, Portland
RANGELEY HIGHLANDER • December 22, 2025
Across the state, from coastal towns like Portland and Boothbay to interior communities such as Farmington and Jay , cold-weather species arrive, behaviors shift and familiar birds become easier to observe in the quiet of the season. For many residents, getting outside to look for birds is both a mental-health boost and a way to stay connected with the natural world when the days are shortest. Across Maine, wildlife officials and conservation groups encourage residents to get outside even briefly during winter. Maine Audubon stresses that time outdoors supports mental health and strengthens people’s connection to the natural world, benefits that become especially important during the darkest part of the year.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 22, 2025
Acadia National Park has weathered periods of disruption in past years, but 2025 will stand out. Acadia’s number of staffed positions was slashed this year by President Trump’s administration, and it experienced its longest-ever federal government shutdown in its 109-year history. And, by the end of this month, Acadia is expected to set a new record in annual visitation of roughly 4.08 million visits for the year. As tourists show up in bigger numbers, and as the park’s staff face layoff threats amid federal wrangling over their budget, it feeds into concerns about whether ever-increasing tourism might be more than the park or surrounding communities can bear. “We need the park to be fully funded and staffed to make sure visitors have a positive experience,” said Perrin Doniger, of Friends of Acadia.
MAINE MONITOR • December 21, 2025
Christine Callahan and her husband, John Callahan, hoped that a heat pump for their home in Waterville would reduce their heating costs, but the equipment turned out to be faulty. “We were freezing,” Christine Callahan said. “The pipes froze from the inside. That’s how cold it was.” The breakdown between the Callahans and their contractor prompted rare intervention on Efficiency Maine’s part. A second heat pump wasn’t perfect: Around New Year’s, it started shutting off after only a few hours of use, Christine Callahan said. The system’s air filter was clogged but it was replaced. Efficiency Maine made changes to restrict which houses are eligible for the mobile home rebate program based on their type of heating system. Efficiency Maine Executive Director Michael Stoddard said the agency can’t monitor every interaction between customer and contractor, but it can step in when needed.
MAINE PUBLIC • December 20, 2025
A coalition of environmental groups is challenging a conservation plan proposed by Central Maine Power as part of its permit to develop a new electric transmission line through western Maine. The groups filed an appeal with Maine's Board of Environmental Protection asking regulators to require CMP to protect more mature forest habitat. "The transmission line has already caused harm by fragmenting mature forest habitat," said Natural Resources Council of Maine woods, waters and wildlife director Luke Frankel. "We're calling on the BEP to ensure that CMP's conservation plan complies with the requirements in the permit." NRCM was joined in the appeal by Maine Audubon, Appalachian Mountain Club and Trout Unlimited. CMP was required to set aside 50,000 acres of forest in exchange for building the new transmission line to connect Quebec hydropower to the New England electric grid.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 20, 2025
The 126th annual Christmas Bird Counts got underway on Dec. 14, with teams of birders attempting to count all the birds within a predetermined circle in a day. There are hundreds of these circles, a few dozen of which are just in Maine. The count runs through Jan. 5, and different counts are run on different days. Only about half of the counts in Maine have taken place, but we are getting some preliminary numbers that give us insights around what is happening with our birds this winter. We were expecting this to be a good year for many irruptive species, like redpoll, pine grosbeak, and snowy owls that come south (to Maine) from the boreal forest. However, that excitement seems to have fizzled. Another noteworthy observation is the lack of gulls around Portland. One important takeaway is the importance of community science projects in monitoring all birds. ~ Maine Audubon Staff Naturalist Doug Hitchcox
