The most comprehensive online source of conservation news and events in Maine and beyond, edited by Jym St. Pierre
MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • September 22, 2020
Nestlé Waters North America today announced its intention to construct a 10-megawatt AC (12.97-megawatt DC) renewable energy project at its Poland Spring bottling plant in Hollis, Maine. This proposed solar energy installation, currently in the permit application process, will supply enough clean electricity to meet approximately 20-25% of the current energy needs of the facility.
SUN JOURNAL • September 22, 2020
Officials at ND Paper confirmed Tuesday that an employee died after testing positive for COVID-19. Last week, the state reported an outbreak at the mill that started with four positive tests and grew to 16 by the end of the week. If cases continue to grow and there are not enough people to run the equipment, the mill may have to shut down temporarily. Citing the outbreak of COVID-19 at the mill in Rumford, the Regional School Unit 10 board of directors voted Tuesday to close four of its schools in Rumford and Mexico.
WABI-TV5 • September 22, 2020
The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is celebrating several employees for their outstanding service to the department and the state.
FREE PRESS • September 22, 2020
The Kennebec Estuary Land Trust normally holds programs every summer on the clam flats at Reid State Park in Georgetown to teach people how to gather clams. Due to the pandemic, KELT was not able to offer the programs this summer. Instead, they have created a video to disseminate the information. Maine Shellfish Warden Jon Hentz demonstrates how to dig for clams, and KELT Program Coordinator Ruth Indrick presents a clam dissection, water testing procedures and information about the invasive green crab. To view the video, as well as past videos, lectures and other virtual content, visit kennebecestuary.org/virtual-learning-library.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC • September 22, 2020
The American West is ablaze with fires fueled by climate change and a century of misguided fire suppression. In California, wildfire has blackened more than three million acres; in Oregon, a once-in-a-generation crisis has forced half a million people to flee their homes. All the while, one of our most valuable firefighting allies has remained overlooked: The beaver. A new study concludes that, by building dams, forming ponds, and digging canals, beavers irrigate vast stream corridors and create fireproof refuges in which plants and animals can shelter. In some cases, the rodents’ engineering can even stop fire in its tracks.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 22, 2020
Maine’s ambitious clean-energy and climate-fighting goals reached an important milestone Tuesday when the state Public Utilities Commission approved contracts for 17 renewable power projects – largely solar, but also wind, biomass and hydroelectric. Taken together, the projects have a generating capacity of 492 megawatts. That represents the largest procurement of clean-energy initiated by the state at least since the 1980s and 1990s.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 22, 2020
The Allagash Wilderness Waterway has ample opportunity to catch one of those 20-plus-inch brightly colored male brook trout with a hooked jaw that are something to behold! ~ Matthew LaRoche, superintendent, Allagash Wilderness Waterway
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 22, 2020
For years, the presence of mountain lions here in Maine has been a passionately debated topic. Some are sure they’ve seen the big cats — also known as cougars, pumas and catamounts. Others point to official accounts that claim the last mountain lion in Maine was killed in 1938, and dismiss reports to the contrary as bunk. One thing’s for certain: There are a lot of Bangor Daily News readers who are convinced that they’ve crossed paths with the elusive beasts.
TIMES RECORD • September 22, 2020
Increasing our reliance on Maine farms has multiple benefits. We will better support a vital Maine industry that will continue to support our state’s overall economy. In times of crisis, like this one, when importing becomes difficult, we will already have an established in-state option to get the products we need. And then there’s the positive impact sourcing locally has on the fight against climate change. This pandemic has demonstrated how important it is to control our food stream and expand our agricultural independence. When we spend our food budget on fresh, healthy local meat, dairy and produce, that money stays in our community. Maine farmers are producing what we need, and the more we buy from them, the better off we will be. ~ Rep. Allison Hepler
BLOOMBERG • September 22, 2020
The unprecedented wildfires on the West Coast should cause a sea change in the way Americans think about climate-change risks. Instead of assuming we know all the problems a warming planet will cause, we should assume there will be unexpected and calamitous disruptions. This makes the challenge of slowing down climate change even more urgent. There is no more time to waste; terrible things are happening because of climate change, and only decisive action can prevent even more terrible surprises. ~ Noah Smith
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 21, 2020
A dive team on Tuesday recovered the body of a York woman who had not been seen since her canoe capsized Saturday evening on Flagstaff Lake in Dead River Township. Divers from the state police and the Maine Marine Patrol found the body of 31-year old Caitlin Giunta about 500 feet from shore in about 22 feet of water, the Maine Warden Service said in a news release Tuesday evening. Giunta was canoeing across the lake around 5:20 p.m. Saturday with her boyfriend, Ned Roche, and her brother, Kyle Giunta, when rough conditions on the lake, including strong winds, caused their canoe to capsize. The two men and their dog swam to shore, but Caitlin Giunta did not. None of the people in the canoe was wearing a life jacket, but the Maine Warden Service said they grabbed their jackets after the canoe flipped.
TIMES RECORD • September 21, 2020
The Brunswick–Topsham Land Trust Farmers’Market will be making its second move of the season.From Sept. 26– Oct. 31 it will be located on Brunswick Landing. The land trust moved the market from its usual location at Crystal Spring Farm to the Brunswick High School parking lot at the start of the market season in May. This was to ensure adequate space between vendors and space for customers to spread out due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
TIMES RECORD • September 21, 2020
Central Maine Power soon will turn on a radar system that will control the lights on two transmission towers on Chops Point that have irritated neighbors since they were installed over a year ago. CMP Spokesperson Catherine Hartnett said the radar will be turned on sometime in the next week, but the company hasn’t set a specific date.
TIMES RECORD • September 21, 2020
Topsham’s solid waste director is working to destroy an invasive species of earthworm called crazy worms that were discovered in a woodchip pile at the town’s transfer station early this summer. The worms have the potential to damage local forests. “Basically, they consume all of the (debris) on the forest floor so that it makes it basically a desert underneath there where things won’t grow and roots start to be exposed,” Maine Horticulturist Gary Fish said of the worms.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 21, 2020
A team of interns will be inspecting curbside recycling bins in Portland and Scarborough this fall for materials that could contaminate the recycling stream. The initiative, announced Monday by ecomaine, expands a recycling outreach and education program that began in South Portland and Westbrook earlier this year. Interns in those communities are only authorized to lift the lid of bins, but not to rummage through them. The program is designed to educate consumers about what items should or should not be recycled.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 21, 2020
The U.S. Department of Transportation has again turned down a request for money to help pay for dredging around piers and wharves in Portland Harbor. Dan Haley Jr., chair of the Board of (Portland) Harbor Commissioners, said the cost of dredging the harbor and disposing of the waste will run about $30 million. The state, cities of Portland and South Portland, and wharf owners would all contribute, but most of the money would come from the federal government. As much as 25 percent of the space around piers has been lost because of the silt buildup.
GLOBAL AQUACULTURE ALLIANCE • September 21, 2020
In Maine, Atlantic sea scallops (Placopecten magellanicus) are one of the most valuable fisheries in U.S. waters, the target of deep-sea draggers and divers on dayboats. But compared to a seasonal fishery, an aquaculture crop has the key advantage of a year-round supply and steady pricing. In an attempt to build a fledgling scallop farming industry, Maine shellfish farmers started trialling a Japanese technique called ear hanging in 2017. Taking advantage of a sister state agreement with Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan, growers in Maine are working to establish semi-automated commercial aquaculture operations
SUN JOURNAL • September 21, 2020
Hurricane Teddy is getting closer and will impact Maine on Tuesday. With high winds in our ongoing drought, there is an elevated fire danger for Tuesday and Wednesday. If a fire should spark up, winds will make it spread quickly. The exact track will keep the storm well east of us, but we can expect many impacts in Maine.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 21, 2020
Apple picking can be a healthy outdoor activity with precautions in place. [photo essay]
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 21, 2020
Portland has committed to 100 percent carbon reduction targets and embraced renewable energy. However, current staffing reductions have put our sustainability team four months behind. Cutting these positions further would slow progress towards our goals even more. Our City Council must rise to the challenge and use the COVID-19 experience as guidance for how to prepare Portland for future calamities. In order to be prepared, we must maintain these critical staff positions. ~ Elissa Armstrong and Luke Truman, Portland Climate Action Team
