Maine’s berry crops are threatened by hordes of this invasive insect

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 13, 2020

This summer, pest experts are warning of a spotted wing drosophila population explosion in the making that should have home gardeners and commercial berry growers concerned. Unlike the common fruit fly drosophila, which is considered a simple nuisance, the spotted wing destroys ripening berry crops, including high bush blueberries, late summer raspberries, everbearing raspberries and strawberries. Once the fruit is picked, it should immediately be refrigerated to at least 34-degrees Fahrenheit to halt the development of any eggs or larvae already in the berries.

Letter: CMP corridor is bad for Maine

SUN JOURNAL • August 13, 2020

Hydro-Quebec is a Crown Corporation owned exclusively by the Province of Quebec. Hydro-Quebec stands to make $12.4 billion in profits off of the proposed CMP corridor project by rerouting power they already sell to the Northeast on existing power lines, and charging Massachusetts more for it. Mainers see only pennies. It’s a terrible deal for Maine, and Hydro-Quebec knows it. That’s why it has funneled $6 million into a campaign to influence Maine voters through a loophole in our campaign finance laws (in addition to the $10 million CMP has spent). We must send a message to Quebec by voting “yes” this November. ~ Linda Flagg, Jay

Column: : The itchy ocean

TIMES RECORD • August 13, 2020

Aside from the salt that can dry on your skin and make you feel a bit crusty, there are actually some critters living in the water can irritate your skin.  I can identify some likely culprits. The first is a sand flea. The other marine creatures that can make you itchy don’t seem so nasty. These are tiny larvae – the babies of creatures like jellyfish or crabs that are floating in the water column before settling and growing into adults. To avoid getting eaten, they have chemicals in their bodies that make them irritating to creatures that come in contact with them. While it may seem icky to think of all of these creatures sharing the waters that we swim in, I think it is pretty neat to know how much life there is in the water that we can’t even see. ~ Susan Olcott

How to get back into a flipped sea kayak while in deep water

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 13, 2020

You’re paddling along and all the sudden, your sea kayak flips. Maybe a wave hit you from the side, or maybe you leaned over too far to inspect a lilypad. Whatever the reason, you’re in the water. So what do you do now? Often, the best option is to get back into your kayak right where you are — in the water. At first glance, getting into a kayak while swimming in deep water may seem like a difficult skill to master, but with a little practice, it soon becomes easy.

Water officials encourage documenting algae, pollution at Lake Auburn

SUN JOURNAL • August 12, 2020

The Lake Auburn Watershed Protection Commission is encouraging people to use a special social network that allows users to upload photos of algae or other potential water quality issues. The app, called Water Reporter, was created to support watershed initiatives, and local advocates of Lake Auburn are hoping it can support water quality efforts to protect Lewiston-Auburn’s public water source.

Column: Maine birds act odd in August, right in Bangor’s Essex Woods

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 12, 2020

August is the month when birds start to do strange things. May features the influx of migrants. June is dedicated to baby-making. July is all about baby-raising. For the first half of summer, birds arrive at their breeding sites, and stay there. But August brings post-baby weirdness. It’s time for birds, young and old, to spread their wings and fly – both literally and figuratively. They wander. A lot. Eventually most will fly south, but not before possibly wandering north or east. Some are fleeing the tundra. Some are fleeing their kids. Some are just settling in for the winter. Anything can happen, and it probably will. ~ Bob Duchesne

Column: A Last Chance for Large Scale Conservation?

WISCASSET NEWSPAPER • August 12, 2020

It may be hard to imagine that there are still a few parts of the world where the land has not experienced human impacts. One of the most important of these regions for Maine is the vast area to our north called the Boreal Forest biome. It has 1.5 billion acres, dotted with millions of lakes and ponds, the longest undammed rivers left in North America, the world’s second-largest peatland, and more surface freshwater and wetlands than just about anywhere else on earth. The biome is estimated to support at least 500 billion trees. An incredible place for all sorts of amazing wildlife, including 3-5 billion birds. More than 1.2 billion acres remain ecologically intact. It is one of the last opportunities to protect as much habitat as science tells us we need to protect in order to maintain the birds and other wildlife and plants, and the ability of the forest to clean the air and water. ~ Jeffrey V. Wells and Allison Childs Wells

Obituary: Richard Prosser Mellon / Quiet philanthropist was ‘a giant’ in conservation

PITTSBURGH POST GAZETTE • August 12, 2020

More than 4 million acres throughout all 50 states, and the protected ecosystems that depend on them, are the beneficiaries of the little known efforts of a man with a well-known name. Richard P. Mellon, the eldest son of the founder of the Richard King Mellon Foundation, is being remembered as having done more for land conservation than any private individual in American history. Mr. Mellon, of Ligonier, died on July 27 at age 81 at his summer home on Cousins Island, Maine. Along with 13,000 acres along Maine’s coast, Mr. Mellon’s advocacy helped to procure privately owned parts of 32 Civil War battle sites for the public to visit.

Maple syrup producers now eligible for pandemic help

ASSOCIATED PRESS • August 12, 2020

Producers of maple syrup, a major agricultural product in northern U.S. states, are now eligible for financial relief to help mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Maple syrup is an economic driver in states such as Vermont, New York and Maine, which are the top three producers in the U.S. The industry, like many sectors of agriculture, has taken a hit from the pandemic, which canceled events such as Maine Maple Sunday.

Mount Blue State Park continues to offer fun summer activities

TURNER PUBLISHING • August 12, 2020

Mount Blue State Park is open and bustling, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, said Bruce Farnham, park manager. The park covers roughly 8,000 acres and is divided by Webb Lake. On one side of the lake there is a campground, a nature center and trails. On the other side there are five mountains and activities associated with the lake, such as boating and swimming. The campground is open, with 136 campsites, a beach with a lifeguard and roped-in swim area and a picnic area. There is also a self-guided trail at the campground, the Hopping Frog trail, that is less than a mile long and goes out to a brook and terminates at an undeveloped section of the lake. The nature center is open seven days a week for a few hours each day. There are several nature programs offered.

Mining Project In Northern Penobscot County Clears Initial LUPC Hurdle

MAINE PUBLIC • August 12, 2020

A proposed mining project in Northern Penobscot County has cleared its first steps with the state's Land Use Planning Commission. Ontario-based Wolfden Resources Corporation is applying for a zoning change on more than 500 of the 6,800 acres it owns around Pickett Mountain near Patten, potentially putting the company on the road to the state's first metallic mining operation since the 1970s. But Maine conservationists are questioning why the LUPC is moving ahead with the application process, when basic aspects of the project remain unclear.

Regulators begin reviewing plan for metal mine in northern Maine

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 12, 2020

A proposal to open Maine’s first, large-scale metallic mining operation in decades is moving forward despite objections from the Natural Resources Council of Maine and other critics. Wolfden Resources, an Ontario-based company, is seeking to rezone 528 acres in northern Maine outside of Patten in order to mine for copper, zinc, silver and other valuable metals. Wolfden’s proposal will be the first test of a 3-year-old state law that set tough standards for metallic mines while opening the door to such large-scale operations in Maine. The project is already drawing scrutiny because of the parcel’s proximity to Baxter State Park and the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument.

Trump administration wants to ease showerhead rules

ASSOCIATED PRESS • August 12, 2020

The Trump administration wants to change the definition of a showerhead to let more water flow, addressing a pet peeve of the president who complains he isn’t getting wet enough. Publicly talking about the need to keep his hair “perfect,” President Trump has made increasing water flow and dialing back long held appliance conservation standards – from light bulbs to toilets to dishwashers – a personal issue. But consumer and conservation groups said the Department of Energy’s proposed loosening of a 28-year-old energy law that includes appliance standards is silly, unnecessary and wasteful, especially as the West bakes through a historic two-decade-long megadrought.

Climate Activists Will Launch Utility Bill Strike In New England Sept. 1

MAINE PUBLIC • August 12, 2020

Activists are calling on electric customers in New England to stop paying their utility bills on Sept. 1, in a strike that aims to put pressure on the regional energy system to address climate change. No Coal, No Gas campaign volunteer Jeff Gang says the goal is to have a thousand people signed up to strike ahead of time. “What we’re asking people to do is something where you’re withdrawing consent from a system that’s working in a really exploitative and oppressive way,” Gang says.

New textile recycling program places bins across Kennebec Valley

KENNEBEC JOURNAL • August 12, 2020

A new partnership between KVCOG, a Fairfield-based nonprofit, and Apparel Impact, of Manchester, NH, means area residents can can now take their textile items to designated drop-off boxes in Athens, Chelsea, Fayette, Hartland, Madison, Pittsfield, Skowhegan, Wayne and Winslow. Acceptable items include clothing, bedding, towels, bags, purses, shoes and hats. The items will then be collected on a biweekly basis by employees of Apparel Impact and properly recycled or donated, effectively removing them from the solid waste stream.

Opinion: Rise in disease is linked to loss of our forests

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 11, 2020

As countries and individuals blame each other for the spread of COVID-19, we overlook how climate change and deforestation have created the perfect environment for diseases like COVID-19 and others to flourish. As global temperatures warm they push vectors such as mosquitos and ticks and the diseases they carry into new habitats. In areas like Maine, winters may become more mild, lengthening the seasonal patterns of disease transmission. In combating climate change and subsequently infectious disease, forests hold the secret. Forests act as a major carbon sink. But between 1990 and 2016, the world has lost total forest coverage the size of South Africa due to climate change and deforestation. As Gov. Janet Mill’s Climate Council moves forward, it is important to consider how they are preserving Maine’s coastal economy, its forests and our future well-being. ~ Amanda Bertana, Maine Chapter of the Scholars Strategy Network, and  Jessica Eckhardt, Northland College

Maine IFW approves record number of any-deer permits

SUN JOURNAL • August 12, 2020

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s Advisory Council on Wednesday unanimously approved a record number of any-deer permits in an effort to cull the state’s growing deer population. State biologists recommended increasing by 100 the 109,890 they proposed in May – making the 109,990 approved by the council’s 6-0 vote the first time the permits have topped 90,000. State biologists say the hefty boost in permits is needed to reach the state’s doe-harvest goal of 13,000 to reduce the state’s white-tailed deer population of nearly 300,000. 

Column: Spiders in the day lilies

MORNING SENTINEL • August 12, 2020

One distinctive characteristic of nursery web spiders is their unusual mating routine in which the female and male dangle together on a thread, with the female wrapped loosely in silk. Afterward she constructs a silk cocoon in which she stores her eggs, carrying it under her body by holding it with her chelicerae, or jaws. When the eggs have matured, she finds a suitable site, such as underneath the leaf of a day lily, and builds a web where she stows the eggs and then stands guard over them. After the spiderlings hatch she keeps standing guard. ~ Dana Wilde

Column: Wildlife sightings in my travels around central Maine

TOWN LINE • August 12, 2020

Traveling through rural Maine can be beautiful, both for its landscape and, secondly, its wildlife. Recently, I had two of those encounters. On Sunday, while on our way in Belgrade, we came across a rafter of turkeys crossing the road. The last one white. My first thought: an albino turkey. It turned out to be a Royal Palm turkey, a domestic breed. My other encounter was a red fox, the largest of the true foxes. ~ Roland D. Hallee

6 former EPA bosses call for agency reset after election

ASSOCIATED PRESS • August 12, 2020

Six former Environmental Protection Agency chiefs are calling for an agency reset after President Donald Trump’s regulation-chopping, industry-minded first term, backing a detailed plan by former EPA staffers that ranges from renouncing political influence in regulation to boosting climate-friendly electric vehicles. Most living former EPA heads joined in Wednesday’s appeal, with Trump’s first EPA chief, Scott Pruitt, being the notable exception. The group — William Reilly, Lee Thomas, Carol Browner, Christine Todd Whitman, Lisa Jackson and Gina McCarthy — served under Republican and Democratic presidents.