BikeMaine 2020 Cancelled

MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • May 27, 2020

The Bicycle Coalition of Maine today announced the cancellation of its BikeMaine 2020: Katahdin Frontier event, citing the safety of riders, volunteers, host communities, and staff during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. BikeMaine, held annually in a different region of Maine since 2013, was scheduled to take place this year from Sept. 12-19, 2020, and visit the host communities of Old Town, Lincoln, Patten, Millinocket, and Dover-Foxcroft. The ride is capped each year at 450 riders, but also includes more than 70 volunteers. Registered riders have the option of rolling over their registration to 2021, requesting a refund, or donating all or part of their registration.

Scallop Fishing Off New England To Be Limited For Months

ASSOCIATED PRESS • May 27, 2020

Federal regulators say scallop fishing off New England will be subject to limitations for about the next 10 months. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it has closed the northern Gulf of Maine fishing area, which means vessels fishing under federal regulations can’t fish for or possess scallops in the area until March 31. NOAA says closure is necessary because of projections that the total allowable catch for the area has been spent. There are exemptions for Maine and Massachusetts vessels that fish only in state waters.

Opinion: Avangrid versus the people of Maine

SUN JOURNAL • May 26, 2020

The news that Avangrid, the parent company of Central Maine Power, has filed suit against its customers to deny them the right for self-determination in a citizens’ initiative is a shocking development in the CMP corridor debate. A foreign company (81.5% owned by Iberdrola, a Spanish conglomerate) is litigating against its own customers and their neighbors to take from them the ability to vote on the future they wish to have as a people. Our own business and political leaders are telling Maine people: “The needs of the capital markets do not allow you to weigh in on a matter that will affect you and you families for generations. Just be silent and obey.” ~ Richard Bennett, Oxford, has 25 years of experience leading companies specializing in corporate governance

Column: When home life goes wild

KENNEBEC JOURNAL • May 27, 2020

When battles with wild critters move into the home, things can get ugly. I’m not just talking about mice, although we’ve done battle with plenty of them. My mouse stomping record is eight, in a two-week period. After getting educated to the benefits bats bring to the neighborhood, I started catching them in a long-handled fishing net, and gently releasing them outside. Then there were the snakes, red squirrels, raccoons and a rabid fox. Choosing to live in and around our homes in rural Maine, we must expect, occasionally, that these wild critters will like our homes. Some we can live with. Some not so much. ~ George Smith

Letter: CMP corridor threatens ‘Forest of the Enchanted’

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 27, 2020

New England Connect Transmission Corridor or “Forest of the Enchanted”? This forest is 1.6 million acres with only one paved road as access, the Old Canada Road National Scenic Highway. This distinguishes Maine as not just a coastal tourist state but as the only state east of the Mississippi that is wilderness as well. The old timers called this “The Forest of the Enchanted” because there are places where streams disappear only to pop up miles away. I prefer the name “Forrest of the Enchanted.” You decide in November. ~ Ed Buzzell, Old Canada Road National Scenic Byway, Pittsfield

Letter: Tourism industry puts profits ahead of public health

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 27, 2020

Whoever drafted the letter from the Tourism Alliance tells us several things. The most salient is that the primary concern of the group is money, not the people of Maine. The second is that the desires and comfort of visitors from out of state are of far greater importance than those of the people of Maine. The third is that they don’t know our very capable governor or anything about her. Repairing the economy is very important, but never at the expense of the lives of the people of Maine. Visitors can be welcomed again when we have a vaccine that is available to all. ~ Judith Pollock, Yarmouth

Red’s Eats to open Saturday

TIMES RECORD • May 27, 2020

Red’s Eats, a summer staple in downtown Wiscasset, will open on Saturday, May 30, but customers in line will be asked to keep 6 feet of space between them and others in line. Necessary social distancing due to COVID-19 could produce more traffic, both pedestrian and vehicular, around the establishment than usual.

Opinion: Coming clean with real benefits

SUN JOURNAL • May 27, 2020

In a recent guest column, Tom Saviello asked Hydro-Québec to come clean on the benefits of the New England Clean Energy Connect. I offer some fact-checking that demonstrates the economic and environmental benefits of the project. It will generate 1,600 jobs for the duration of the project. In addition, the NECEC has awarded more than $300 million in contracts to companies that do business in Maine. The most important point is that the project will bring almost a billion dollars in benefits to the state and will inject another $250 million directly into the state’s finances. Another fact: hydropower is much cleaner than natural gas or coal. Is there any other project in Maine that will offer as much while another state foots the bill? ~ Serge Abergel, Media and External Affairs, Hydro-Québec

Into the woods: The unique conservation story of a Maine hut-to-hut hiking trail

ROADTRIPPERS • May 26, 2020

I’m walking through Maine’s Carrabassett Valley. Maine Huts and Trails (MH&T), the nonprofit behind the trail I’m walking on, is one of the keepers of this wilderness. The idea for the trail system was born in the 1970s by Larry Warren, and inspired by the hut-to-hut trails he’d seen in the European Alps. So, how did this system find its way to the middle of Maine, oceans away from the original trails that inspired it? The answer is a unique story of protected lands and public access.

Proposed Lakeville Expansion of the Downeast Lakes Community Forest ranked first in nation by USFS

MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • May 28, 2020

The U.S. Forest Service has ranked the Lakeville Expansion project of the Downeast Lakes Community Forest first out of 22 applications from across the country to the Community Forest and Open Space Program. Local communities in eastern Maine, Downeast Lakes Land Trust, and The Trust for Public Land are working to protect 2,025 acres to create the Lakeville Expansion of the Downeast Lakes Community Forest .

Column: How to identify birds beyond your yard

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 26, 2020

This was the year I planned to add a new program to my offerings: “Birds Beyond The Fence.” I’ve walked neighborhoods with friends, pointing out all the birds. They were dumbfounded. How did I hear all those birds when they didn’t hear anything? Actually, they heard everything I did. They just didn’t notice. So the first step in taking the mystery out of birds beyond your fence is to simply notice the noise. The second step is to avoid getting overwhelmed by a lot of birds are making noise at once. The third step is to pick out one bird and go find it. The fourth step is to take note of the habitat where the song is coming from. ~ Bob Duchesne

Auburn expanding solar ordinance to include agricultural zone

SUN JOURNAL • May 26, 2020

Large-scale solar arrays will now be allowed in the Agriculture and Resource Protection district, the city's largest land area, which has been the subject of controversy in recent years. Mayor Jason Levesque said this week that solar projects in the agricultural zone could allow landowners to “monetize” land that is currently unused.

Maine Turnpike Memorial Day Traffic Was A Trickle Compared To Previous Years

MAINE PUBLIC • May 26, 2020

Traffic on the Maine Turnpike over the holiday weekend was a far cry from the usual Memorial Day onslaught that kicks off the state summer tourist season. Peter Mills, executive director of the Maine Turnpike Authority, says that during last year's Memorial Day weekend, drivers went through the tolls more than one million times. This past holiday weekend, the number was just over a half million. Mills adds, though, that the turnpike's revenues did not drop by as much this weekend because of robust truck traffic, which pays more in tolls per trip.

The hottest place to go birding in eastern Maine is right in Bangor

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 26, 2020

Bob Duchesne is back with a social distancing-friendly activity right in town. BDN’s resident bird expert is in Bangor City Forest this week where he shows you the best ways to spot a variety of songbirds. [video]

COVID-19 Disrupted The Meat Supply Chain. Proposal Would Let Local Processors Step Up To The Plate

MAINE PUBLIC • May 26, 2020

While there is plenty of meat being produced by farmers, they have had trouble getting their meat processed due to outbreaks of COVID-19 at processing plants. In Maine, many processors have more work than they can handle. The situation may be breathing new life into a bill co-authored by U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine, called the PRIME Act. Critics say it could turn the clock back on consumer safety, but supporters say it would create a safer and more stable meat supply.

State guidelines convince more Maine summer camps to close

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 26, 2020

About 14 of the state’s 270 summer camps decided to cancel their 2020 season, either after seeing the new guidelines or in anticipation of them, during the past week or so, said Ron Hall, executive director of Maine Summer Camps, which represents 147 Maine overnight and day camps. In a video announcing the closing of Camp Beech Cliff, a day camp on Mount Desert Island, director Matt Cornish spoke about the challenges of trying to keep the camp open and running as usual while following social distancing and other guidelines. “We had to be honest with ourselves, Camp Beech Cliff is the opposite of social distancing,” Cornish said.

Column: Last significant population of wild Atlantic salmon swim the Saco River

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 23, 2020

The last significant remaining wild Atlantic salmon populations in the United States are found only in Maine. The Saco River has been used for hydropower for hundreds of years. The dream is to make fish passage as easy, or in fact even easier, than it was before any man-made structures changed the flow. The Nature-Like Fishway is a key step in that direction. ~ Marty Grohman

Letter: A bid for caring about the earth

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 26, 2020

By no means would I consider the global pandemic a welcomed awakening. However, it is a necessary awakening. We can no longer take this home of ours for granted, and we must strive to reach for a new normal that keeps the foundation of life at the top of the list, Earth. Let’s listen to this bid for caring. We may not be given another chance. ~ Anne C. Small, Bangor

Mills Makes New Effort To Get FERC To Drop Jurisdiction Over Forest City Dam

MAINE PUBLIC • May 25, 2020

Gov. Janet Mills is making a new push to prevent a potential drawdown of East Grand Lake that could leave thousands of camps and residences high and dry. Mills sent a letter last week to the chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) presenting a rationale for the agency to drop jurisdiction over what is called the Forest City Dam. Part of a 100-year-old hydropower system, the dam sits partly in the United States and partly in Canada, and it keeps the 16,000-acre international lake at its current levels. The dam's owner, Woodland Pulp and Paper, wants to cede it to someone else or abandon it, saying FERC's licensing requirements are too expensive. FERC has so far balked.