The most comprehensive online source of conservation news and events in Maine and beyond, edited by Jym St. Pierre
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
CENTRAL MAINE • August 29, 2025
Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey said Friday the Trump administration has agreed to release more than $180 million in federal funding for AmeriCorps, the federal agency for national service and volunteerism. The administration sought to cut the funding in the spring, prompting more than two dozen states, including Maine, to sue the administration. Maine had approximately 200 AmeriCorps fellows. “At the last minute, when required to provide legal justification as to why it withheld funds, the Administration instead did what it should have done from the beginning and released the funding.” Last year, Maine received $8.6 million in federal funding for AmeriCorps operations that serve veterans, seniors, and disaster victims, among others. The administration continued to withhold $184 million in funding.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 29, 2025
A large, scenic Belfast property once used for commercial blueberry growing is now for sale. That’s raising concern among area residents that the land could be purchased by a developer or private landholder who could bar the public from accessing it. They are now pushing for it to be preserved. The 247 acres were once owned and harvested by Allen’s Blueberry Freezer company. After the company ended its berry harvesting operations several years ago, it sold the bulk of its land to Jasper Wyman & Son. But the land for sale in Belfast is one of several parcels that the Allen family retained. It’s now owned by Jason Allen of Ellsworth, who has listed it for sale for $1.8 million. Some area residents are pushing for one of the region’s land trusts to protect the property so that it can remain open to the public and continue to offer other environmental benefits.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 28, 2025
A bat in Portland tested positive for rabies this week by the state’s Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory. It is the fourth confirmed case of rabies in Cumberland County this year, Portland’s public health division said in a statement on Wednesday. There were eight confirmed cases of rabies in the county last year. Statewide, there have been 26 confirmed cases of rabies so far in 2025.
SUN JOURNAL • August 28, 2025
State forest and recreational rangers will be conducting patrols during the three-day Labor Day weekend on popular Tumbledown Mountain in Township 6, north of Weld in Franklin County, to try and keep hikers safe. The Weld Fire Department has responded six times just since June 8 to help hikers who have either been hurt or lost on Tumbledown Mountain, with one on Little Jackson Mountain, which connects to Tumbledown via trails. Camping has been prohibited on Tumbledown Mountain since 2021 in an effort to protect fragile natural resources and improve the hiking experience for all visitors.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 28, 2025
A Bridgton woman was rescued Tuesday afternoon from a boulder loop trail in New Hampshire. Kristina Reams, 33, was hiking the Boulder Loop Trail in Albany about 3:22 p.m. when she experienced a medical emergency that made it impossible for her to hike out on her own, according to New Hampshire Fish and Game. Rescuers quickly reached her and brought her to a waiting ambulance about 5:48 p.m. She was then taken to Memorial Hospital in Conway.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 28, 2025
Maine utility regulators are weighing whether a proposal by the Passamaquoddy Tribe to install hundreds of rooftop solar panels would violate the state’s net energy billing rules. However they rule, experts say, could affect other groups in Maine looking to lower costly electric bills, too. The tribal government last year secured a $7.4 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to put panels on more than 200 homes and administrative buildings at the tribe’s Indian Township reservation. But the project hit a roadblock when the local electric company, the Eastern Maine Electric Cooperative, argued that it was too big to qualify for a state program the tribe says could save its members hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 28, 2025
Bud Utecht is a registered Maine guide in the North Maine woods where he has several bait sites for hunting bears. Due to the difficulty reaching the area, his bait which consists of expired food, is placed in a pack for portability. This time, though, he forgot the pack at the bait site, and his trail camera captured something quite amusing – a bear picking the pack up, checking it out and then finally using it as a pillow to sleep on.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 28, 2025
Nearly 1.2 million Mainers live in drought areas, encompassing all of southern, western, central and Down East Maine. The conditions have contributed to an unusually high number of wildfires in August. The coastal area now in severe drought has expanded in the past week and now encompasses about 11% of the state, stretching west from Washington County to the eastern half of Lincoln County and including Acadia National Park and the Bar Harbor area.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 27, 2025
Colby College, a private liberal arts college in Waterville, is launching a program based in Port Clyde intended to better prepare Maine communities for the impacts that natural disasters have on infrastructure and local economies. The Center for Resilience and Economic Impact will use interdisciplinary research to search for solutions before and after natural disasters like severe storms, flooding and wildfires, college officials said Wednesday. The center is set to open in 2026 — four years after the average rate of natural disasters in Maine increased from one to nearly five a year.
CENTRAL MAINE • August 27, 2025
Robert Gary, 66, of Oakland, was apparently swimming after his floating boat in Ellis Pond (aka Salmon Lake) on Wednesday when he went under and never resurfaced. Rescue personnel were able to recover the body in about 4 feet of water, about 30 yards to 40 yards from shore. They attempted to revive him with CPR, but Gary was unresponsive and died at the scene.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 27, 2025
In 25 years, a king tide or storm surge could flood significant portions of the Pine Point and Higgins Beach neighborhoods in Scarborough. In 75 years, those floods could happen even in a normal high tide, with blocks of houses seeing daily flooding. The Flooding Vulnerability Assessment, a report by GEI Consultants that was more than a year in the making, found that the risk of coastal flooding in Scarborough will only increase as sea levels rise.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 27, 2025
A New Hampshire woman died in an apparent drowning in Sebago Lake on Wednesday. The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a 41-year-old New Hampshire woman who was unconscious in the water around 11:35 a.m. Sheriff’s deputies, Sebago emergency medical services workers and the Maine Warden Service responded to the incident near Sokokis Road in Sebago, the sheriff’s office said. First responders attempted “all possible life saving measures,” but the woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
MAINE MORNING STAR • August 27, 2025
Typically, Maine has fewer than a hundred wildfires throughout July and August, but this year it’s close to triple that. As of Wednesday, the state has already seen 280 fires since July 1, said Terri Teller, a forest fire prevention specialist for the Maine Forest Service. “We haven’t had a year like this in a long time in Maine,” she said. Without much measurable rain and dry soil conditions, the number of fires has ticked up dramatically. For the past two and a half weeks, southern and central Maine have been at an elevated danger.
MAINE MORNING STAR • August 27, 2025
Across the country, state leaders are racing to fast-track wind and solar projects before the expiration of federal tax credits to support clean energy. Maine regulators are moving up timelines to purchase new power, hoping to give developers a head start on construction. And renewable industry leaders are pressing governors and lawmakers to clear bureaucratic backlogs and connect projects to the grid in the narrow window that remains. Federal clean energy tax credits have been essential to the financing of wind and solar projects across the country, and a key part of states’ plans to transition to wind and solar power. In Maine, the state Public Utilities Commission kicked off an accelerated procurement process last month, seeking bids for nearly 1,600 gigawatt-hours of renewable energy. That’s equivalent to roughly 13% of the state’s electricity usage. By moving up the timeline for developers to submit proposals to build new power projects, regulators hope to give them a better chance to start construction before the deadline.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 27, 2025
Maine prohibits anyone from taking, catching or possessing Atlantic sturgeon in coastal waters. Any sturgeon hooked must be released immediately, alive and uninjured. Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus) are protected because their populations have declined sharply because of overfishing, habitat loss and barriers to migration. Often described as “dinosaur fish,” Atlantic sturgeon are among the oldest living species, dating back more than 120 million years. These prehistoric giants can grow up to 14 feet longand weigh as much as 800 pounds. The ban also applies to the smaller shortnose sturgeon, the only other sturgeon found in Maine. Federally, both species are listed under the Endangered Species Act.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 27, 2025
Perennial plants are a greener option than annual ones. The secret lies in their roots. Because perennials are planted once and can thrive for multiple growing seasons, they have deeper, more complex root systems than rip-and-replace annuals like marigolds and pansies or corn and tomatoes. These perennial plant root systems stabilize soil and prevent erosion. They aerate the soil and enhance its ability to hold water. They help sink atmospheric carbon multiple feet deep into the soil. And, when perennials are no longer productive in 5, 10 or 15 years, the roots decay and participate in the digestive microbial party alive and well in healthy soil. The belles of the edible perennial ball in Maine are asparagus, strawberries, blueberries and raspberries, rhubarb, and herbs like chives, parsley and thyme. Now, Maine farmers are experimenting with a perennial wheat known as Kernza that's an environmental booster. ~ Christine Burns Rudalevige
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 27, 2025
Just 2 inches of rain in 24 hours triggers an automatic closure of all mudflats for shellfish harvesting. Even 1 inch in 24 hours can lead to emergency closuress. These closures affect local jobs, seafood supply chains and the economy tied to Maine’s working waterfronts. Shellfish harvesters, aquaculture farmers, seafood processors and restaurants all feel the ripple effect when polluted runoff makes shellfish unsafe to eat. What causes these closures? Runoff from roads, lawns and parking lots carries pet waste, fertilizers, pesticides, bird/animal droppings and other contaminants into nearby rivers, coves and the ocean. By reducing or eliminating lawn fertilizers and pesticides, planting native vegetation and leaving buffer zones along shorelines and streams, homeowners can help reduce runoff and improve the resiliency of our coastal ecosystems. Properly maintaining septic systems or overboard discharge systems is also a must. Another simple step is cleaning up after pets. And boaters should be mindful of how they dispose of waste. Let’s protect the coast and people who rely on the ocean for their livelihoods, starting from our own backyards. ~ Monique Coombs, Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association
MAINE PUBLIC • August 26, 2025
As human-caused climate change warms the planet, summers are getting hotter. The number of days over 90 degrees is expected to at least double across parts of Maine by 2050. During a heatwave, Mainers can head to the beach, the movies, a cooling center or turn on the AC if they have it. But Maine's wildlife don't have that option. On days where the mercury is high and the heat index is even higher, birds, fish and mammals can be at risk. Extreme heat exacerbates the issues wildlife are already facing: drought, habitat loss and the spread of disease. Development prevents animals from being able to flee to cooler areas. Others are likely to take new risks by venturing places they normally wouldn’t, in search of shade or water — this is often why animals, from turtles to moose, are found crossing roads in summertime.
MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • August 26, 2025
Join a celebration of The Forest Revealed, a stunning new book by naturalist and writer Kateri Kosek, featuring artwork by acclaimed illustrator Jada Fitch. At The Norwich Bookstore, 291 Main St, Norwich, Vermont, September 25, 7 PM.
