E-bikes creating problems for horses on Acadia’s carriage roads

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 31, 2020

Horseback riders and horse-drawn carriages have long experienced problems with speeding bicyclists on the carriage roads of Acadia National Park, but with the recent introduction of electronic bikes, or e-bikes, the issue has only gotten worse. In response, the park is trying to increase its public outreach, educating carriage road users about the rules of the road and proper trail etiquette. But that may prove challenging during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the park’s volunteer bike patrol has been asked to put its work on pause. Acadia’s carriage roads are shared by cyclists, horseback riders, horse-drawn carriages, hikers and runners — and in the winter, cross-country skiers, snowshoers and, in some sections, snowmobiles.

Bear season outlook is a mixed bag for Maine guide businesses

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 31, 2020

As Maine’s bear hunting season begins, wildlife officials expect the bears to be actively visiting bait sites because natural foods are in short supply. But with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, will the hunters still come? Don Kleiner, executive director of the Maine Professional Guides Association, has heard varied reports from association members. Paul Laney, the owner of Laney’s Guide Service in Grand Lake Stream, is among the guides who are experiencing a boom in their business. Matt Whitegiver, who owns Eagle Mountain Guide Service in Township 24, said the pandemic has taken a toll on his business. Of the 2,897 bears tagged in 2017, a total of 1,889 were taken by hunters who were using guides, 1,927 bears were shot over bait, 614 were taken with the aid of dogs, 126 were trapped, 87 were shot by hunters who were actively deer hunting at the time, and 37 were taken using spot-and-stalk techniques.

Saco woman dies as a result of scuba diving accident

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 31, 2020

A Saco woman has died at a New Hampshire hospital after being injured while scuba diving off the coast of Kittery on Sunday. Tanya Cianchette, 45, of Saco, was identified as the victim of the diving accident in a news released issued Monday night by the Maine Marine Patrol. Cianchette was scuba diving with a recreational dive charter company near the Isle of Shoals on Sunday when she was injured. Cianchette was transported to Portsmouth Regional Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Trump administration rolls back Obama-era rule aimed at limiting toxic wastewater from coal plants

WASHINGTON POST • August 31, 2020

The Trump administration on Monday weakened a 2015 regulation that would have forced coal plants to treat wastewater with more modern, effective methods in order to curb toxic metals such as arsenic and mercury from contaminating lakes, rivers and streams near their facilities. Environmental groups condemned the changes, calling them a gift to the power industry and a short-sighted decision focused only on potential costs to companies, rather than on the benefits to wildlife and to people living near coal plants. The rule was based on years of peer-reviewed studies, input from health experts and a mountain of public comments.

With precautions in place, apple picking is on

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 31, 2020

Maine’s pick-your-own apple orchards are open for business this fall, many kicking into gear this weekend. Orchard owners from around the state held a meeting this summer to figure out how to open safely, and discuss things like the state’s limit on outdoor gatherings – 100 people – as well as reducing contact and the state’s requirement that masks be worn when social distancing can’t be practiced. Most are discouraging people from eating the apples while they pick.

Agency denies critical habitat for endangered bumblebee

ASSOCIATED PRESS • August 31, 2020

Federal regulators said Monday they would not designate critical habitat for the first bee species in the continental U.S. to be listed as endangered, a move that environmentalists said would worsen its chances for recovery. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it had determined the rusty patched bumblebee could survive without having specific areas managed for its protection, even though its population has plummeted 90% in the past couple of decades. Biologists have concluded that habitat loss is not the biggest reason for the bee’s decline, the service said. Additional factors include pesticides, disease and climate change.

Ten projects share $2.2 million in awards from Maine Technology Institute

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 31, 2020

The Maine Technology Institute has approved 10 grants totaling nearly $2.2 million for state businesses trying to drive innovation and gain market share. The money originated with the $45 million Maine Technology Asset Fund, approved by voters in 2017, and became available when a Montana manufacturer of cross-laminated timber failed to expand to Maine, thus forfeiting its MTI grant. Funded projects include those in Maine’s traditional industries of agriculture, forest products and boat-building, as well as those in aquaculture and precision manufacturing. 

Maine Marine Patrol searches Piscataqua River area for missing kayaker

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 31, 2020

A search was underway Monday for a missing kayaker whose overturned boat was found Sunday afternoon between Kittery and Portsmouth. The Maine Marine Patrol searched for 53-year-old Dan Vardell Jr. of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. His capsized kayak was discovered at 2:40 p.m. near Wood Island at the mouth of the Piscataqua River by a recreational boater.

Trump pushes offshore aquaculture, but environmentalists dig in

ASSOCIATED PRESS • August 31, 2020

The president issued an executive order in May that promised broad changes in how the U.S. regulates fish farming. It included provisions to expedite the development of offshore aquaculture in deep federal waters.  But a coalition of environmentalists believes his plan would be bad for the oceans, unnecessary for food security and difficult to implement.

New England offshore wind

electrek • August 31, 2020

Forty organizations have formed New England for Offshore Wind, which describes itself as “a growing regional coalition of businesses, academic and research institutions, associations, environmental organizations, and labor unions.” Its aim is to: “Drive New England governors and legislatures to support regional collaboration and more offshore wind procurements…Build public support to enable offshore wind projects to come online in a timely, responsible way.” Campaign partners include Maine Conservation Voters.

Are those moose crossing signs south of Portland really just there to excite tourists?

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 31, 2020

No, those signs aren’t just for tourists. And yes, there really are moose that far south – and they’ve been known to mosey into the road and cause crashes. Signs, whether on the turnpike or a more rural road, are usually posted in areas with high concentrations of wildlife and where collisions are a problem. On the 109-mile stretch of the Maine Turnpike from Kittery to Augusta, there are a total of nine moose crossing signs. Six of those signs are south of Scarborough.

Maine businesses look for ways to extend outdoor service into the colder months

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 31, 2020

The current public health guidance is that it’s harder to catch COVID-19 outdoors. That has businesses such as restaurants, gyms, day care centers, breweries and even manufacturers thinking about how to accommodate virus-wary visitors in the open air or in unenclosed tents where air can circulate. But with cooler weather on the horizon, business owners are trying to figure out how to keep their patrons comfortable outdoors. The pandemic could be an opportunity to revisit Mainers’ hardy heritage, according to Andy Shepard, general manager of the Saddleback Maine ski resort, if for no other reason than the mental health benefits of being outside during stressful times. 

On this date in Maine history: Aug. 31

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 31, 2020

Aug. 31, 1961: Portland’s Union Station, which stood on St. John Street for 73 years, is torn down and later replaced by a strip mall that is still there. The demolition of the mostly granite building, including its prominent clock tower, occurs about a year after passenger train service was discontinued in southern Maine. Loss of the station becomes one of the reasons for the establishment, three years later, of Greater Portland Landmarks, an organization that seeks to preserve historic buildings in the area.

Opinion: New Mainer eager to support Maine’s green economy

PRESS HERALD • August 31, 2020

I am originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I earned a bachelor of science in engineering from the American Christian Liberal Arts University in Kinshasa and did graduate coursework at Technische Universität Berlin in Germany. I have lived in Portland since April 2019 and am studying electrical engineering at the Southern Maine Community College. My passion is for solar energy. My education and work experience throughout Africa and Europe and my studies here have shown me the economic potential of a clean-energy future to put Maine on a strong economic and environmental footing. Let us rise to the challenge to ensure that affordable clean energy, clean transportation, and energy efficiency opportunities are available to all Mainers, New Mainers included. ~ Moise Mulamba, Portland

Letter: The heat is on – we need federal leadership to slow it

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 31, 2020

Climate change is raising temperatures around the world, and Maine is no exception. July was the hottest month on record for Portland, and Portland even broke records for the highest low temperature on July 27, when the temperature never got below 78 degrees. The Maine Climate Council is hard at work to develop an economic and climate action plan for Maine’s future. But Maine can’t, and shouldn’t, go it alone. Federal leadership is essential. That’s why I’m asking for Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King and Reps. Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden to offer their full support for (1) Maine’s plan and (2) federal climate action. ~ Erica L. Bartlett, Portland

Letter: Safe streets for pedestrians and bicyclists

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 31, 2020

The Bicycle Coalition of Maine applauds the Aug. 24 editorial, “Crosswalks, no matter their color, are failing to protect pedestrians,” as we, too, have seen the troubling data concerning pedestrians injured or killed in crosswalks across the state. Since 2015, the coalition has been conducting “Imagine People Here” demonstrations as a direct response to crash data, speed and yield studies, and the comments of concerned Mainers who feel walking and biking is too dangerous in their cities and towns. These temporary installations aim to improve road designs in ways that calm traffic and make pedestrians, cyclists, and other “vulnerable users” more visible to motorists. ~ Matt Sulem, Westbrook

$26M solar farm to benefit Milo and Maine electricity consumers

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 30, 2020

Construction of a large solar farm is under way at the Eastern Piscataquis Industrial Park in Milo. When it’s completed, the site will feature 67,000 solar panels on land located just north of downtown off Route 11. Peter Hamlin, chair of the Milo Select Board, said the town will benefit through lease payments it receives for use of the land and a percentage of the money earned by the sale of electricity. A $26 million investment is planned in the Milo solar farm, which is expected to produce 20 megawatts of alternating current to be sold to consumers.

Summer's Erratic Weather Will Likely Result In A Small Wild Blueberry Crop

MAINE PUBLIC • August 30, 2020

One of Maine's truly iconic crops is the wild blueberry. It's been something of a wild ride for the berries over the last decade, with some bumper crops, some not so bumper crops, tariffs, competition and, of course, always the weather. David Yarborough, a blueberry specialist and professor emeritus at the University of Maine at Orono, said early in June we had three or four freezes, then it was really hot, really dry. And principally downeast, in Washington County where most of the blueberries are grown, there was very little rainfall. Consequently, the berry size was very small and productivity was down. 

Column: New normal is still a lot of fun at Maine Wildlife Park

KENNEBEC JOURNAL • August 30, 2020

I hadn’t been to the Maine Wildlife Park in Gray in years. This past week, desperate to get out of the house and give a visiting family member a Real Maine Experience™, I brought her and my sister to the park. And I have to say, I was extremely impressed by their coronavirus precautions. The park requiresreservations, which you can make online. The Maine Wildlife Park isn’t a zoo – the animals there are not bred or purchased. They are wild animals who can no longer live safely in the wild, usually because of injury or having been orphaned at a young age or raised illegally by humans. The park serves a dual purpose: It cares for those animals, and it educates people about the wildlife in our state. ~ Victoria Hugo-Vidal