CMP requests Jay delay action on permit application until it can submit requested data

SUN JOURNAL • March 5, 2020

Central Maine Power Co. has requested the Planning Board to withhold consideration of its shoreland zoning permit application related to its proposed 145-mile transmission line until it makes its supplemental findings available to the board. CMP also asked that two board members recuse themselves from discussion and voting on the application. The controversial $1 billion New England Clean Energy Connect project to bring hydro power from Quebec to supply Massachusetts residents has received some permits but not all from state, federal and local entities. Petition organizers have collected enough signatures to put the proposal before voters statewide in November.

Opponents Of Transmission Line Project Say CMP Group Hired A Private Investigator To Monitor Them

MAINE PUBLIC • March 5, 2020

Opponents of a controversial transmission line are condemning a Central Maine Power political action committee for hiring a private investigator to monitor their efforts to scuttle the project via ballot initiative. Meanwhile, the director of the CMP PAC says the investigator's findings raise questions about whether opponents have violated state law in their attempt to qualify for the November ballot. The controversy centers on corridor opponents' efforts to get enough signatures to make the November ballot.

Turner resident wins national agriculture teaching scholarship

TURNER PUBLISHING • March 5, 2020

Audrey Varney, of Turner, has been chosen as a recipient of the White-Reinhardt Scholarship, one of 10 teachers and classroom volunteers nationwide to receive the honor. Varney is a senior atthe University of Maine in Farmington, where she is on the dean’s list, and plans on being an elementary teacher. She has also done extensive volunteer work, including an internship with the Maine Cooperative Extension / Maine 4H, teaching STEM lessons to children.

First phase of North Pond Watershed protection plan a success

TURNER PUBLISHING • March 5, 2020

The North Pond Assocation, in partnership with the 7 Lakes Alliance, has received and implemented the first phase of a grant awarded in the fall of 2018 for $80,000. North and Little ponds are surrounded by the towns of Mercer, Rome and Smithfield. Along with matching funds, the grant’s goal was to implement projects initially recommended in the North Pond watershed-based protection plan.

Maine Voters Likely To Decide In November On Referendum Aiming To Kill CMP Corridor

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 4, 2020

A referendum to stop Central Maine Power’s transmission line project through western Maine has qualified for the November ballot, setting up a high-stakes showdown as the project appears to be progressing through state channels. The Maine Secretary of State’s office said Wednesday that the Say No to NECEC campaign submitted nearly 70,000 signatures, easily clearing the threshold needed to put a question on the ballot aiming to kill the $1 billion project. The proposal law will now go to the Maine Legislature, which is allowed to pass the measure as written, send it to voters or place it on the ballot alongside a competing measure.

Kingfield board considers land purchase

SUN JOURNAL • March 4, 2020

Kingfield Selectmen this week revisited the possibility of purchasing a 215-acre forest and pond that could be used for recreation and timber harvesting revenue. The gated acreage, which is owned by the Winter family, is at the top of Tufts Pond Road and includes Shiloh Pond. The family has a purchase and sale agreement with the Trust for Public Land would provide most of the $355,000 purchase price. However 20% would be paid by the town, donations, grants, fundraisers or other sources. Selectman Walter Kilbreth said some townspeople worry that future maintenance costs won’t be affordable. 

Letter: Mainers should oppose NECEC

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 4, 2020

The proposed Central Maine Power corridor would drastically change an area hardly touched by man in western Maine. The corridor would also lessen the value of the pure natural sights that tourists from thousands of miles away come to see. Soon this issue will likely be placed directly into the hands of a Maine voter. Most residents of Maine seem to be against this proposal for clean energy. I believe the continued resistance against the corridor will soon put an end to all talks and discussions of ruining Maine land for Hydro-Quebec to make money while providing Massachusetts with cheap, clean energy. ~ Robert Tomilson, Veazie

Bluefish Are Overfished, So Feds Say Anglers Must Take Fewer

ASSOCIATED PRESS • March 3, 2020

One of the most popular fish with recreational anglers on the East Coast will be subject to new fishing restrictions. The new restrictions apply to bluefish, which sport fishermen seek from Maine to Florida in the U.S. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the fish have been declared overfished.

7 Lakes Alliance gets national accreditation

TURNER PUBLISHING • March 3, 2020

7 Lakes Alliance was recently recognized as a nationally accredited organization, joining a network of more than 400 accredited land trusts across the nation. The 7 Lakes Alliance conserves the land and water of the Belgrade Lakes region in order to protect the water quality, wildlife, recreation and natural beauty that sustain communities and economy. The Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program that recognizes and ensures national quality standards of excellence for protecting natural places and working land.

Letter: Reasons to vote against the CMP proposal

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 3, 2020

I am troubled by the proposal to allow Central Maine Power to build a transmission line through the mountains of western Maine. The construction of this line would destroy the natural beauty of western Maine. As an avid outdoorsman, I appreciate Maine and its natural beauty. The line would disturb a part of Maine that could never be replaced. Another reason I am troubled by CMP’s new transmission line is that Maine would give up its land for the benefit of Massachusetts. The final nail in the coffin is that J.D. Power has recently ranked CMP among the worst utilities. Let’s hope that the people of Maine decide to vote this down and keep Maine beautiful. ~ Colby Fournier, Glenburn

Letter: Maine’s public lands worth defending

MORNING SENTINEL • March 3, 2020

Central Maine Power’s NECEC transmission corridor route travels directly through Maine public land in Johnson Mountain and West Forks, effectively cutting it into two pieces. To lease public land, state law requires a two-thirds vote by the House and Senate. CMP disregarded this law in 2014 and obtained a lease without informing officials what it was for. Is there no end to what CMP will do to ram this project down the throats of Mainers? ~ Edwin Buzzell, Moxie Gore

Quebec Man Wins Maine Can Am Crown Race - By 35 Seconds

MAINE PUBLIC • March 2, 2020

Mushers began crossing the finish line Monday morning in the 2020 Can-Am Crown race. The winner of the race, technically called the Irving Woodlands Can-Am Crown 250, was Denis Tremblay, a longtime musher from Quebec. In second place was Catherine Langlais of New Brunswick, just 35 seconds later. Can-Am Director Alan Dow says it's the closest finish ever in the race.

Maine Coast Heritage Trust Celebrates 50th Anniversary and Completion of a $125M Campaign

MAINE PUBLIC • March 1, 2020

Maine Coast Heritage Trust, a Topsham-based conservation organization, is celebrating its 50th anniversary and the completion of a six-year campaign to raise $125-million. Tim Glidden, the group's president, says the funding comes at a time when sea level rise poses a threat to shoreline access and climate change threatens more than a third of Maine's native plants and animals. Maine Coast Heritage Trust was originally formed in 1970 to protect the Maine coast from "rapid and unplanned" development. Since then, the group has protected more than 150,000 acres.

'A Win-Win' Rep. Pingree On The Agriculture Resilience Act

MAINE PUBLIC • March 1, 2020

Agriculture in the United States is responsible for an estimated 8 to 9 percent of the country's greenhouse gas emissions, but it's also one of the industries most at the mercy of climate. U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree is putting those two concepts together in her Agriculture Resilience Act, calling for American agriculture to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions over the next 20 years.

Canadian Fisheries Regulators Take New Steps Aimed At Protecting Right Whales

MAINE PUBLIC • February 28, 2020

Canadian fisheries regulators are taking new steps aimed at protecting endangered North Atlantic right whales from entanglement in fishing gear and vessel strikes. These steps include temporary closures of certain lobster and crab fishing areas. Most of the right whales found dead over the past four years have been found off Canada — likely because climate-driven shifts in their prey's abundance have led them to new feeding grounds in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where managers were initially unprepared for their arrival.

Maine farm product, pickup directory now available

TURNER PUBLISHING • March 23, 2020

A new online Maine farm product and pick-up directory is now available that provides information on available local farm products and alternative pick-p options developed by farmers statewide to accommodate the recommended social distancing in light of COVID-19. The farm product and pick-up directory of the participating farms can be found at extension.umaine.edu/agriculture/farm-product-and-pickup-directory.

People and the Land: George Smith, outdoorsman and conservationist

TURNER PUBLISHING • February 28, 2020

George Smith has always been, among other things, an avid sportsman. Some of his earliest memories are of hunting and fishing with his dad, Ezra, and close friends. He spent 18 years as the executive director of the Maine Sportsman’s Alliance. And he also cares deeply about land conservation. In 2018, Smith donated his 125-acre woodlot in Mount Vernon to the Kennebec Land Trust, intending that it be used to educate the community about keeping habitats intact for Maine’s wildlife. Though these two perspectives – outdoorsman and conservationist – are often assumed to be separate and divided, Smith demonstrates and discusses how important it is that everyone be on the same team when it comes to caring for the natural spaces around us.

Loon Echo LT environmental education grants awarded to area schools, libraries

TURNER PUBLISHING • February 27, 2020

Loon Echo Land Trust has announce the recipients of its 2019 Environmental Education Grant Program. Loon Echo has awarded grants to Raymond Village Library, Naples Public Library, Spaulding Memorial Library in Sebago, Harrison Elementary School and Sebago Elementary School.

Acadia Is Developing A Reservation System For Some Of The Park's Busiest Spots

MAINE PUBLIC • February 19, 2020

Acadia National Park is developing a reservation system for some of the park's most popular landmarks. A timed-entry system will be tested at Cadillac Mountain and the two-mile Ocean Drive in October. The system is intended to help reduce the growing rate of congestion.

Maine Lawmakers Question Legality of 2014 CMP Lease of State Lands for Transmission Corridor

MAINE PUBLIC • February 18, 2020

A legislative committee is questioning the legality of a lease for state lands that Central Maine Power needs for its proposed transmission corridor through Western Maine. Lawmakers say the lease requires approval from two-thirds of the Legislature. Members of the Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee say that a lease between CMP and the Bureau of Parks and Lands for a mile-long parcel of state land that was signed in 2014 should be canceled. They cite a statute requiring that state lands can't be conveyed for a transmission project unless it has received a permit from the state's Public Utilities Commission — a permit CMP did not win until 2019.