The state is asking Mainers to keep track of how many deer they’re seeing

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 14, 2020

For years, the common question among hunters has been, “Got your deer yet?” Thanks to a pilot program aimed at helping management efforts, this summer’s refrain might change to “Seen any deer yet?” Nathan Bieber, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s deer biologist, explained that the agency is trying to gather more data by asking Mainers to take part in the Maine Deer Spy project. Participants will log their deer sightings between July 20 and Sept. 10, keep track of whether they are seeing does, bucks or fawns, and send the info to DIF&W to help determine the number of doe “harvest” permits to be issued.

14-year-old surfer at Kennebunk’s Gooch’s Beach saves woman from drowning

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 13, 2020

A 14-year-old surfer saved a woman from drowning at Gooch’s Beach in Kennebunk by pulling her onto his surfboard and pushing it to shore. Kennebunk Fire Rescue Division Chief John Brady said that the two women got in trouble at the beach despite being experienced and that Lucas Drinkwater Drinkwater handled the rescue very well.

Roxbury ATV club carves out 8.5-mile trail to Rumford

RUMFORD FALLS TIMES • July 13, 2020

ATVers in the River Valley have completed a mission to build an 8.5-mile trail between Roxbury and Rumford. For the past 3½ years they have cleared brush, built bridges, installed culverts, made water bars, laid down swamp mats and dug ditches.

When a moose got stuck in mud, Maine biologists and wardens scrambled to try to save it

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 13, 2020

Maine Game Warden Jonathan Parker had planned to spend Saturday with friends, enjoying the Maine outdoors. Instead, after an angler discovered a cow moose mired in the mud of Pushaw Stream, he spent the day up to his waist in muck, helping a team of would-be rescuers as they tried to save the animal’s life. The moose didn’t make it — but not for a lack of trying.

Maine Open Farm Day pivots to virtual format for 2020 event

PISCATAQUIS OBSERVER • June 13, 2020

Maine Open Farm Day organizers encourage the public to visit farms online beginning Sunday, July 26 to learn how to support Maine agriculture this summer. “Our interactions with agriculture will be different this summer than in years past, especially as many cherished fairs and outdoor events have canceled or postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, because farmers are very skilled at problem-solving and adapting to changes, many farms across Maine are more accessible than ever this growing season,” says Amanda Beal, commissioner Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. The 31st annual Open Farm Day is one way to connect with area farmers. It will be presented as a virtual event and kicks-off the fourth week.

Letter: Carbon pricing key to climate plan

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 13, 2020

Although there is no silver bullet to solve the climate crisis, carbon pricing is the most effective single policy as it alone applies across the entire economy. Without carbon pricing, we’ll be forever playing “whack-a-mole” fighting each carbon source individually. The Democrats’ latest plan favors carbon pricing but fails to acknowledge that a well-designed carbon fee and dividend must be included to make other facets of the plan more palatable by creating political and economic demand for clean energy alternatives. Maine is the only state with both of our senators on the Senate Climate Solutions Caucus. Ask Sens. Angus King and Susan Collins to join Rep. Pingree and endorse effective and equitable climate action like the carbon cash-back policy of HR 763. ~ Annie Antonacos, Portland

Column: Danger lurks off the leash

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 13, 2020

 I love to go for long walks with my dog, Janey. I get to absorb the quiet beauty of the woods, and Janey gets to smell it. I absolutely love dogs, but I am a hardcore right-wing conservative when it comes to the issue of leashing dogs. Unless you are in a place that specifically has signs designating it as an off-leash area, or if you are on private property, I believe your dog needs to be leashed. “But my dog is well-trained,” you might say. No, they aren’t. Unless your dog has been professionally trained since puppyhood on recall, they are not safe enough to be trusted 100 percent of the time off-leash. And it takes only once for fatal consequences to happen. ~ Victoria Hugo-Vidal

Microplastics are harming the Gulf of Maine’s baby lobsters, study finds

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 11, 2020

Researchers at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in Boothbay examined how microplastics — pieces of plastic broken down into tiny particles — affect lobster larvae in the gulf. They found that lobster larvae, which float in the water column and typically are found in shallow water, get fibers caught under their shells and sometimes ingest particles. The issue of pollution in the Gulf of Maine, where millions of pounds of lobster fishing gear is deployed each year, has environmental and economic implications for Maine. The study did not examine where the plastic comes from, but it is believed to have many sources, including lost fishing gear such as plastic rope or plastic foam lobster buoys, wastewater treatment plants, or even transported by winds through the atmosphere.

Fish are dying in four northern Maine lakes

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 11, 2020

Reports of dead fish — most of them yellow perch — on four lakes in northern Maine have prompted questions from the public. While it might seem unusual, the official word from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is that the fish die-off on Long Lake, Cross Lake, Square Lake and Madawaska Lake is natural. It shouldn’t cause concern.

Aroostook County experienced driest June in more than 100 years

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 12, 2020

The northern crown of Aroostook County is in a severe drought — the worst conditions in the state, the United States Drought Monitor said Thursday. The area recorded the driest June on record since 1895. Precipitation over the last 60-90 days was below average following dry conditions over the past few months, the National Weather Service in Caribou said.

Happy Birthday, Henry

MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • July 12, 2020

American essayist, poet, and practical philosopher Henry David Thoreau was born on July 12, 1817. In 1845, he began his famous two-year stay on Walden Pond, which he wrote about in Walden. He died on May 6, 1862. His book The Maine Woods was published posthumously in 1864.

Portland Fish Exchange losing its longtime general manager

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • July 12, 2020

The longtime general manager of the city-owned Portland Fish Exchange has announced that he plans to retire at the end of the year. Bert Jongerden was hired as general manager in 2007, managing the seafood auction house at a time when groundfish landings in Maine were experiencing a decline  When it opened in 1986, the Fish Exchange transformed Maine’s seafood marketplace by placing the daily harvest of freshly caught cod, haddock, flounder and other groundfish in a refrigerated warehouse where the catch could be inspected by wholesale buyers. All of the fish was sold during a noontime auction and shipped out by truck in the afternoon.

With annual clean-ups canceled, this group recruited boaters to keep Maine islands clean this summer

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 12, 2020

Swept in by the tide, heaps of plastic bottles, styrofoam and broken fishing gear accumulate on Maine’s islands each year. To clean up this mess, the Maine Island Trail Association usually organizes annual trips, filling boats with volunteers armed with trash bags. But this year, COVID-19 put a halt to that program. MITA launched a Call to Oars initiative this spring, inviting all recreational boaters to adopt Maine islands for the season and clean them up. So far, dozens of boaters have answered the call.

Maine bats - on the path to extinction?

WISCASSET NEWSPAPER • July 12, 2020

The Kennebec Estuary Land Trust and Midcoast Conservancy invite the public to learn about the lives of Bats! Join Jan Collins, Maine Master Naturalist, for a live webinar on Thursday, July 23 at 6 p.m. to learn about her studies on bats in Maine. This free event is great for naturalists 10 years old and up. Jan Collins is a 26-year veteran high school science teacher, a former interpretive specialist for the Appalachian Mountain Club, a two-time Appalachian Trail thru-hiker, co-author of “Forty Nature Walks in Southern Maine,” and a 2016 graduate of the Maine Master Naturalist program. 

On this date in Maine history: July 12

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • July 12, 2020

July 12, 1995: The bald eagle is removed from the federal endangered-species list. When the species was put on that list in 1972, Maine had only 29 nesting pairs and eight eaglets – a steep 97 percent decline from the amount estimated to have been present in the state 150 years earlier. Much of the drop was attributed to environmental pollution. After environmental controls and improvement in land-use management are imposed, the number rises quickly. In 2013, a survey finds 633 nesting pairs in Maine.

Wilderness camping is a remote retreat, but not a sure thing

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • July 12, 2020

During the coronavirus pandemic, when going hiking, birding or fishing, have a backup plan so that when the parking lot at the trailhead is full, you can move on to a less crowded spot, social distance and help stop the spread of the virus. Add to the list of outdoor activities that require a Plan B – wilderness camping. In 2020, with so many Mainers clamoring to get outside during the pandemic, many wilderness camping sites across Maine might as well have “No Vacancy” signs. At all of the wilderness camping sites in the North Maine Woods forests there has been a surge in use by campers going off the grid, an increase of at least 15 percent over last year – which was a record camping year at Maine state parks. Sometimes, even a Plan B is not good enough. Sometimes you’ve got to pack right.

Column: How do birds react to fireworks?

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • July 12, 2020

Q: Do fireworks and loud noises bother birds, especially nesting loons? A: This simple answer is yes, fireworks definitely disturb birds. Perhaps the biggest threat to wildlife from fireworks is displacement of nesting species. Are fireworks really necessary? If you want to see a (figurative and literal) “real” light-show, mark your calendars for the Perseid meteor shower later this summer! ~ Doug Hitchcox, Maine Audubon Staff Naturalist

Lewiston’s Garcelon Bog: From ‘disease-ridden’ swamp to protected refuge

SUN JOURNAL • July 12, 2020

It’s something of a miracle that nobody ever quite got around to draining a swampy section of the city known today as Garcelon Bog. Owned by the city and protected by the Androscoggin Land Trust, the area offers pleasant walking trails and a refuge for plants and wildlife that struggle to find a haven in urban environments. While people today may see the area as a preserve, for most of the city’s history it’s been eyed as a potentially lucrative source of fuel, an odiferous mess or a fine place for a highway. Somehow it survived anyway.

Fairfield woman dies after being ejected from raft on Kennebec River

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 11, 2020

Emily Fournier 33, and her family were whitewater rafting on the Kennebec River Saturday with the Magic Falls Rafting Co. when she and two others were ejected from the raft as they paddled through one of the larger rapids on the upper Kennebec River at about 11:30 a.m. Fournier floated through a portion of the river after being ejected and was pulled back into the raft but was unresponsive. Emergency life-saving measures were performed until the raft pulled over at an emergency evacuation point at the Moxie Lake Boat launch, where it was met by EMS personnel, and Fournier was loaded into an ambulance. She was declared deceased at about 1 p.m.