Help Keep the News Coming

Thank you for reading Maine Environmental News. Each year, we post thousands of news summaries, notices, and links related to important environmental issues from across the state (and beyond). If you find this service useful, you can help us continue to provide it by making a donation. Just click on the button below and contribute whatever you can afford. Thanks again for your generous support!

Sincerely,
Jym St. Pierre
Editor, Maine Environmental News

Maine, northeast states file new lawsuit against Trump’s payouts stopping offshore wind

MAINE MORNING STAR • September 22, 2026

Attorneys general from eight East Coast states are suing the feds over the buyouts of two offshore wind leases, under which the Trump administration pledged to pay developers Bluepoint Wind and Invenergy $1.4 billion to abandon their projects. Those projects were slated to be built off the coast of New York and New Jersey. Under the agreements with federal agencies, the companies will reinvest the funds into oil and gas projects elsewhere in the country. The lawsuits were joined by the attorneys general of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. 

Maine joins lawsuit over federal deal to redirect offshore wind investments to fossil fuels

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 22, 2026

Maine and six other states have joined New York in a lawsuit against the Trump administration over a maneuver to kill offshore wind developments and steer energy developers toward fossil fuel enterprises. In a pair of lawsuits, filed in New York and Maine, attorneys general from the states claim the administration illegally used $1.4 billion in public funding to pay two companies that planned to build offshore wind developments on the East Coast to instead invest in fossil fuel plants in other parts of the country. The states argue that the payments, in addition to being illegal, will deprive them of electricity that they needed from the offshore wind developments.

After 15 years, a once robust fish canning business returns to Maine

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 22, 2026

Maine Canned Fish began its 20 month build-out in fall 2024. It is the first new seafood canning factory in the state in over 50 years. “Our tins are filled with wild caught, Maine caught fish, landed fresh, handled locally, and packed with care. No shortcuts, no imports, no mystery. Just honest seafood, caught in our waters and canned in our cannery in Topsham, Maine,” reads some of the promotional material from Maine Canned Fish. During the height of Maine’s fish canning industry in the 1900s, over 8,000 people were employed by canneries.

YMCA welcomes pickleballers while Belfast works to appease City Park neighbors

MIDCOAST VILLAGER • September 22, 2026

The effort to resolve the pickleball dispute at Belfast’s City Park has produced a temporary place to play, promising results from quieter equipment and what Mayor Eric Sanders describes as a productive search for long-term answers. The Waldo County YMCA has agreed to make room for two pickleball courts at the rear of its back parking lot until snow arrives, Sanders said in a Saturday update. The city plans to provide nets and other equipment for the courts. The arrangement is intended as a short-term measure while Belfast continues examining how to preserve the fast-growing sport without subjecting nearby residents to hours of the sharp, repetitive noise that prompted complaints this year.

A walking trail bench divides a midcoast Maine town

HARPSWELL ANCHOR • September 22, 2026

Ruby Pinders grew up in Maine, spent years building a business with her husband in Vermont, and then came home. As her 77th birthday approached this summer, she traveled to the Giant’s Stairs on Bailey Island to walk beside familiar waters. “I came back to Maine when the ocean called me back to retire,” Pinders said. But the relaxing stroll she envisioned was not to be, even with the walking poles she used to steady herself on the dirt and rock path running along the giant stone steps. After going just a short way, she lost momentum and — finding no place to rest — headed back to the car. There might have one day been a bench, if Harpswell Parks Director Katie Neal had succeeded in winning approval to place one along the path as part of a broader effort to make town trails more accessible. But that effort recently died amid objections from some of the people who own oceanfront homes and cottages along the trail.

Opinion: Maine needs to be standing ready for the next big storm

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 22, 2026

From working waterfronts to inland towns, storms are not distant possibilities. They are part of life. This year’s National Preparedness Month theme is Americans Stand Ready. This September, take one concrete step. Make the plan. Sign up for alerts. Check the batteries. Set aside supplies for your family and pets. Call a neighbor. Visit Ready.gov/stand-ready for free tools and checklists. The next storm will not wait for us to get ready. We should not wait for it. ~ Pete Rogers, director, Maine Emergency Management Agency; Jarrett W. Devine, acting regional administrator of FEMA Region 1

Letter: Maine’s electricity needs should take priority over data centers

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 22, 2026

No data centers should be approved in Maine until the electric utilities reliably deliver 120 volts to current customers. Data centers and other businesses that consume large amounts of electricity should be approved at the state level, not by local governments. ~ Steve Painter, Kennebunkport

Jay solar proposal puts $45M tax benefit under scrutiny

SUN JOURNAL • September 22, 2026

A developer proposing a large-scale solar project in Jay said the town could receive $45 million over the project’s estimated 40-year life, but residents at a Sept. 14 public hearing pressed for details on how much of that money would ultimately benefit local taxpayers. The discussion raised a central financial question surrounding the proposal: not simply how much Walden would pay, but how tax exemptions, school and county obligations, a possible TIF and additional municipal costs would affect Jay’s bottom line.

Dead Katahdin hiker was still alive when 1st 911 call went out

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 21, 2026

A hiker on Katahdin was still alive when the first 911 call came in, Baxter State Park’s director told the Bangor Daily News. Another hiker encountered Bert Peter Goris, 64, of Colton, California, around 1:15 p.m. on Sept. 14 on Hunt Trail near York Valley, Director Kevin Adam said Monday. Goris had a leg injury and difficulty talking and could not move well. The Maine Army National Guard deployed a helicopter to rescue Goris. Baxter State Park rangers hiked up to Goris and helped him to the helicopter that landed on Katahdin’s Tablelands around 4:40 p.m. Goris was confirmed deceased at Millinocket Airport where ambulance staff met the helicopter, Adam said.

Westbrook’s Vertical Harvest faces foreclosure

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 21, 2026

Vertical Harvest is facing foreclosure on more than $8 million in financing it received for its Westbrook hydroponic farm, according to a complaint filed by the lien holder. “The farm is operating, our team is at work, and we are supplying customers throughout the state through Native Maine (Produce and Specialty Foods),” Vertical Harvest CEO Nona Yehia said.

Thru-hiker died after summiting Katahdin, official says

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 21, 2026

A California thru-hiker died last week just hours after reaching the northern end of the Appalachian Trail on Katahdin. Kevin Adam, director of Baxter State Park, said Monday that another hiker called 911 at 1:15 p.m. on Sept. 14 to report a man lying on the Hunt Trail near York Valley, experiencing difficulty talking, unable to move and showing signs of a leg injury. Adam said the victim has been tentatively identified as Bert Peter Goris, 64, of Colton, California.

Maine publishes comprehensive study of the state's birds

MAINE PUBLIC • September 21, 2026

Maine has finally published the most comprehensive survey of the state's bird life ever compiled. The Maine Bird Atlas is the product of volunteer observations from nearly every corner of the state between 2018 and 2022, according to Maine Audubon naturalist Doug Hitchcox. "Just the fact that we had these thousands of volunteers and millions of cumulative records over those five years, it's easily the largest citizen science project that the state has ever seen," Hitchcox said. The atlas records bird species that breed or spend winters in Maine and is broken down into nine-mile blocks. It's an in-depth update to the first atlas published over 40 years ago.

These signs mean Maine’s fall salmon run is getting started

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 21, 2026

Landlocked salmon are one of Maine’s top freshwater fish, typically ranking right behind brook trout in surveys occasionally taken over the years. And they should be. They are one of Maine’s true natives, originally found in only four river basins, including the St. Croix, Union, Penobscot and Presumpscot. Stocking in other Maine waters started as early as 1868. Today, salmon fisheries, either self-sustaining or supplemented and maintained by stocking, are found in approximately 300 Maine lakes and about as many miles of rivers. Genetically, landlocked salmon are closely linked to Atlantic salmon. There is one important factor when it comes to fishing the fall run. When will the run commence?

Juniper Ridge wants to treat its toxic runoff 20 miles away

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 21, 2026

The operators of the Juniper Ridge Landfill have alarmed environmental and community groups with plans to move a proposed PFAS treatment system to an offsite location, requiring the facility to truck its toxic runoff 20 miles away. The treatment system is a key requirement for approval of a 61-acre expansion permit that environmental organizations and abutters are currently fighting in court. Opponents learned of the plan to truck leachate from the landfill in Old Town and Alton to the Pine Tree Landfill in Hampden through a document filed in court and with state regulators by the company that runs Juniper Ridge. “That brings into question new environmental and public health concerns because you’re transporting massive amounts of leachate 20 miles south,” said Nora Bosworth, a lawyer for the Conservation Law Foundation.

Letter: Maine’s rare and fragile fisheries require discretion

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • September 20, 2026

The Sept. 13 report “Could Arctic char be restocked in Rangeley Lake?” was profoundly irresponsible. Broadcasting the exact location of a rare, fragile fishery like Long Pond is not good journalism; it’s reckless “spot-burning” and completely careless to conservation. The author broke the angler’s code in the worst possible way. There is a cardinal rule in the Maine woods: never expose a good fishing spot. This isn’t local greed, it is vital preservation. ~ Sara Smith, Rangeley Plantation

Watch out for these fuzzy caterpillars in Maine this fall

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 20, 2026

Several caterpillar species in Maine can cause skin reactions, including the invasive browntail moth. One of the most common caterpillars in the fall — the hickory tussock moth — can cause skin irritation if touched. At first glance, they may look almost cute, but don’t be fooled.

Maine’s Arctic char are showing off their stunning fall colors

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 20, 2026

Maine’s fall foliage isn’t the only place to find spectacular colors this time of year. Some of Maine’s rarest fish are now showing the brilliant orange-red colors they develop for their fall spawning season. Arctic char — also known as blueback trout and Sunapee trout — are native to only two states: Maine and Alaska. Maine has 14 lakes and ponds where Arctic char populations remain, most of them in the northern and western highlands. Several of those waters are state heritage fish waters, which are managed to protect native fish populations.

Column: Donnell Pond Public Land offers all the views, without Acadia crowds

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 19, 2026

Looking for an Acadia-like hiking experience without the crowds of Mount Desert Island? Head farther Downeast through to Donnell Pond Public Land, which spans the towns of Franklin and Sullivan and the unorganized townships of T9 SD and T10 SD. Amid the unit’s 15,500 acres, you’ll discover mountains, trails, views and elbow room aplenty. ~ Carey Kish

10 surprising facts about Katahdin

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 19, 2026

Katahdin, Maine’s tallest peak, has long been a source of awe and adoration. Over the years, I’ve learned some interesting things about the mountain’s history and habitats. Here are just a few of those fascinating facts.