Maine amends wording of CMP corridor ballot question

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 8, 2020

Based on feedback received during a 30-day public comment period, Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap has amended the wording of a question on the upcoming Nov. 3 ballot that, if approved by voters, would require the PUC to reverse its prior approval of a planned Central Maine Power Co. transmission corridor through western Maine. The question is now slated to read, “Do you want to require the Maine Public Utilities Commission to reject a previously-approved proposal to construct the New England Clean Energy Connect electrical power transmission line through western Maine?”

This fruit tastes like a cross between a blueberry and raspberry, and a Maine farm is turning it into syrup and beer

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 8, 2020

A St. John Valley farming family who planted thousands of haskap berry plants five years ago were convinced that a wide open market for the fruit was an opportunity for northern Maine farmers. It turns out they were right. Haskap berries, which resemble pendulous blueberries and taste like a cross between a blueberry and a raspberry, are rich in vitamins and antioxidants. They are indigenous to Siberia, Japan and China.

Bar Harbor tells small cruise ship firm it can’t resume visits this year

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 8, 2020

Bar Harbor shut its doors to all cruise ships for the rest of the year on Tuesday night, after councilors heard a cruise line’s plans to restart small cruises this summer and fall. The town, which normally gets more than 100 cruise ship visits annually between late April and early November, has had no cruise ship visits this year after the vessels became early hot spots for coronavirus transmission. But Paul Taiclet, of American Cruise Lines, told Bar Harbor councilors on Tuesday that its cruises weren’t subject to the CDC’s no-sail order or the trade group’s suspension because the firm operates ships that carry fewer than 250 passengers. The council voted 6-1 to bar all cruise ships from stopping in Bar Harbor for the remainder of 2020.

Rare, threatened dragonflies have annual hatch in Grand Isle

FIDDLEHEAD FOCUS • July 8, 2020

The Grand Isle boat landing has once again become the hotspot breeding ground for a rare species of dragonfly known to only be in three parts of Maine in June. The Ophiogomphus colubrinus or Boreal Snaketail, is an endangered dragonfly in the state of Maine and is known to be in the upper St. John River near the Grand Isle boat landing, the Penobscot River and the upper Saco River. The bright green dragonfly begins its life cycle in the water where they burrow in the bottom of the stream for several years in the larval stage. After shedding their skin up to 15 times, the dragonfly finally undergoes metamorphosis and emerges as a winged adult. The Boreal Snaketail is known to eat anything it can fit into its mouth including mosquitos and black flies. 

Does it pay to protect nature? A new study weighs in

REUTERS • July 8, 2020

With Earth’s wildlife now facing an extinction crisis, a group of economists and scientists is hoping to persuade governments that it pays to protect nature. Specifically, expanding areas under conservation could yield a return of at least $5 for every $1 spent just by giving nature more room to thrive. That in turn would boost agricultural and forestry yields, improve freshwater supplies, preserve wildlife and help fight climate change – all of which would boost global economic output on average by about $250 billion annually, the group of more than 100 researchers argues in a paper published Wednesday.

Credit union launches program to pay farm closing costs

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 7, 2020

A credit union in Maine said a new program will pay closing costs for purchasing or refinancing farmland in the state. Maine Harvest Federal Credit Union made the announcement about the new Conservation Grant Program on Tuesday. The credit union said the program would help borrowers to take advantage of low interest rates by reimbursing them up to $3,500 per loan. Maine Harvest Federal CU co-founder Scott Budde said the program would incentivize farmers who are interested in buying land.

On this date in Maine history: July 8

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 8, 2020

President Woodrow Wilson designates a large tract of land on Mount Desert Island as Sieur de Monts National Monument, whose name honors a French explorer and colonizer. Composed of donated tracts of land, it is the early form of what later will become Acadia National Park. The site becomes Lafayette National Park in 1919, renamed Acadia in 1929.

Column: Many places to visit in Maine

KENNEBEC JOURNAL • July 8, 2020

Maine businesses that depend on tourists are really struggling, so I hope you are getting out to help them. Today I’m going to suggest some great places to visit. Let’s start with the Maine coast: Kennebunkport and Ogunquit, Monhegan Island, Rockland, Rockport and Camden, Lubec, and Boothbay Harbor. Inland: Aroostook County, Baxter Park, the Rangeley area, Bethel, Greenville and Portland. Enjoy Maine! ~ George Smith

Dutch seafood firm to seek state permit for $110M fish farm proposed in Jonesport

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 7, 2020

A Dutch aquaculture firm that announced plans last fall to expand to North America with a $110 million fish farm in Jonesport, where it hopes to produce 13 million or more pounds of yellowtail each year, is moving ahead with plans to apply to the state for a discharge permit in early August. Kingfish Zeeland, which has an agreement to develop a 94-acre site on Dun Garvan Road, east of central Jonesport on Route 187, needs approval from the state Department of Environmental Protection to draw and discharge seawater between the land-based plant and Chandler Bay.

Vandals threaten endangered species of birds in Old Orchard Beach and Saco

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 7, 2020

Two nests of piping plover, an endangered species, were vandalized over the Fourth of July in Old Orchard Beach and Saco, prompting warnings from state wildlife officials who are investigating both incidents. The nest in Old Orchard Beach was disturbed when its enclosure was purposefully dismantled, forcing a nesting pair of adult chicks to flee the nest and temporarily abandon three eggs, while fencing enclosing another nest at Goosefare Brook in Saco was destroyed. That forced an adult pair and chicks to abandon the nest. One chick was found dead.

New Hampshire man dies while diving off Nubble Light in York

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 7, 2020

Walter Fabian, 67, of Nashua, New Hampshire, was found by local lifeguards on the northeast shore of Cape Neddick, near the lighthouse, on Tuesday afternoon. According to a Maine Marine Patrol statement, Fabian, a recreational diver, was diving with a friend when the two became separated after surfacing. The friend swam to shore and called for assistance. Fabian was the second diver to encounter trouble near the cape, but Monday’s diver was rescued.

Belgrade, marina operator reach agreement in case that went to state Supreme Court

KENNEBEC JOURNAL • July 7, 2020

Brightside Marina owner Shawn Grant can no longer charge people to use the docks at his Great Pond Outlet Stream business. That’s part of a consent agreement reached between Grant and the town of Belgrade, after the town prevailed in a lawsuit appealed all the way to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Grant also agreed to pay $20,000 in fines to the town.

Biologist pitches new study to aid Maine’s moose herd

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 7, 2020

Maine moose biologist Lee Kantar pitched a new study Tuesday that would increase the cow kill during the 2021 fall hunt in half of a hunting zone in northwestern Maine along the Quebec border. Kantar’s theory is that a smaller moose population would lead to an even greater reduction of winter ticks and result in a healthier herd.

Judge sides with former Old Town mill owner in 5-year tax dispute

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 7, 2020

A 5-year-old dispute over the taxable value of the pulp mill in Old Town is headed to Maine’s highest court, with the city planning to appeal a recent ruling by the Maine Superior Court in favor of a former mill owner that has sought a lower property value. If the Maine Supreme Judicial Court upholds the June 30 decision by Superior Court Justice William Anderson, the city will owe the former mill owner, Expera Specialty Solutions, approximately $600,000, but the amount could be closer to $1 million. Expera bought the mill in a December 2014 bankruptcy sale and restarted operations soon after, but it closed the mill back down by the end of 2015 and later sold the property to a liquidator. ND Paper bought the mill in 2018 and restarted operations almost a year ago.

A Maine-based cross laminated timber factory could mean more affordable housing

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 7, 2020

Avesta Housing’s new, affordable, 40-apartment project going up on Brighton Avenue is the first building in Maine to feature stairwells and an elevator tower made from cross laminated timber. The high tech structural material is cheaper and easier to install than the traditional concrete and steel it replaces. However, the material had to be hauled all the way from the closest manufacturing plant, in Montana, at a cost of $40,000. If Maine had its own cross laminated timber factory, the nonprofit housing developer could cut most of the shipping costs and the savings would help Avesta create more affordable housing.

Campaign spending against CMP corridor referendum soars

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 7, 2020

Supporters of a planned 145-mile hydroelectric corridor through Maine, including the state’s largest electricity supplier, have spent nearly $17 million since last fall to back the project, which is being challenged by a referendum. Voters will be asked in November if they want to block the corridor project, which will carry energy generated by Hydro-Quebec in Canada to Lewiston, where it will enter the New England electric grid, destined for customers in Massachusetts. Pete Didisheim, director of advocacy for the Natural Resources Council of Maine, called the spending by the referendum’s opponents “obscene.”

Federal, state agencies investigate death of piping plover chick, destruction of nest enclosures

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 7, 2020

Nesting enclosures in Saco and Old Orchard Beach were destroyed on the night of July 4, resulting in the death of a federally protected chick. The harassment or death of an endangered or threatened species can lead to state and federal charges resulting in fines up to $25,000 and six months in prison.

Siberian Arctic temperatures and fires beat all records – again

BLOOMBERG • July 7, 2020

The vast Arctic Siberia region, already warming faster than the rest of the world, experienced record heat and fires for the second straight year in June, adding to concerns of climate scientists. Average land temperatures last month were the highest ever recorded, more than 5 degrees Celsius above normal.

Here’s what you need to know to catch fish this July in Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 7, 2020

Last week, Erik Poland set a state record when he caught a lake trout that weighed 39.2 pounds. That kind of news can (and will) prompt anglers across the state to head to their local lake or pond and try their luck. Who knows? There might be another state record fish lurking down there, just waiting to take your bait and make you famous. Fortunately, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife biologists regularly compile tips designed to help anglers catch more fish, and go where the fishing will be good.