Under pressure for plastic use, Poland Spring to work with UMaine on sustainable packaging

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 29, 2020

Water bottler Poland Spring said Tuesday that it is collaborating with the University of Maine to develop bio-based alternative packaging. The move comes as Poland Spring’s parent, the Swiss conglomerate Nestle, looks to sell the Maine company partly because of rising consumer resistance to its plastic bottles. Nestle said in June that it wants to make its entire group of companies, which also includes the Deer Park and Pure Life water brands, carbon-neutral. The process to explore the sale is to conclude in 2021, according to Nestle.

Poland Spring seeks new packaging materials derived from Maine’s woods

SUN JOURNAL • September 29, 2020

Poland Spring is collaborating with the University of Maine to look into alternative packaging materials derived from Maine woods. The company said Tuesday that the university’s Forest Bioproducts Research Institute will help “evaluate and develop bio-based solutions” for packaging that the bottling company could use.

Backers of consumer-owned power utility move to put question on Maine ballot

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 29, 2020

Advocates for buying out Maine’s two investor-owned electric utilities and replacing them with a ratepayer-owned entity have begun an effort to bring the question to voters next year. The supporters of a consumer-owned power authority filed a request on Sept. 18 with the Secretary of State’s Office. The secretary of state has until Oct. 9 to rule on the language. If approved in its current form, the advocates could begin circulating the petition and collecting signatures.

Eggs of invasive insect that could harm crops are found in Maine

ASSOCIATED PRESS • September 29, 2020

Agriculture authorities in Maine said Tuesday that the eggs of an invasive insect that could harm crops have been located in the state. The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry said egg masses of the spotted lanternfly have been found on trees in at least four communities.

Bee Populations Increase in Maine 73% in 2 Years

GOOD NEWS NETWORK • September 29, 2020

Recent data collections released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture show that some states are experiencing growths in colony numbers of 70% or more. Maine, the number one state for thriving bees, grew colony numbers by 73% since 2018. In the first half of 2020, the United States as a whole added roughly 420,000 more colonies to its bee populations than were lost.

Friends of Hog Island’s New Digital History

FREE PRESS • September 29, 2020

Friends of Hog Island has mounted a digital history about the Hog Island Audubon Camp in Bremen, which was founded in 1936 as a hands-on conservation camp for teachers. The camp’s historical documents now comprises a digital archive with more than 25,000 preserved photographs, scrapbooks, documents and other items. The site details the contributions of its many luminaries — Roger Tory Peterson, Allan Cruikshank, Mabel Loomis Todd, Millicent Todd Bingham, Rachel Carson, the Cadbury family, Duryea Morton, Steve Kress and others.

Consumer power backers in Maine seek citizens’ initiative question

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 29, 2020

Advocates for buying out Maine’s two investor-owned electric utilities and replacing them with a state-owned entity have begun an effort to bring the question to voters next year. The supporters of a consumer-owned power authority filed a request on Sept. 18 with the Secretary of State’s Office. The Secretary of State has until Oct. 9 to rule on the language. If approved in its current form, the advocates could begin circulating the petition and collecting signatures.

Maine businesses host online forums on climate change action

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 29, 2020

Members of Maine’s business community will discuss what their organizations are doing to prepare for and mitigate the changing climate on Thursday, at the second of four online forums of the Maine Climate Table, a statewide, nonpartisan network of businesses and nonprofits seeking climate change solutions. The upcoming session, called “Confronting Climate Change in Maine’s Natural Resource Sectors: Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries,” takes place from 10 a.m. until noon. It is moderated by Andy Whitman of Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences. The panelists will be Greg Adams of Irving Woodlands, Bill Mook of Mook Sea Farms and Jenni Tilton-Flood of Flood Brothers Farm.

NOAA Urging Vessels To Slow Down Off MA To Protect Whales

ASSOCIATED PRESS • September 29, 2020

The federal government is once again urging mariners to slow down off New England to help protect a rare species of whale. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has extended a voluntary vessel speed restriction zone south of Nantucket. The agency implemented the zone in late August due to a sighting of a group of right whales. The use of the zone has been extended through Oct. 9. NOAA is asking mariners to proceed through the area at 10 knots or less, or avoid it altogether. The right whales number only a few hundred and they are vulnerable to collisions with ships.

Moosehead Pinnacle Pursuit hiking challenge adds a new badge

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 29, 2020

The Moosehead Lake Pinnacle Pursuit is a hiking challenge in Moosehead Lake in which hikers who complete all six hikes can become a registered member of the Moosehead Pinnacle Pursuit. It began as a program of Destination Moosehead Lake in 2016, and currently has 210 registered members. The hikes consist of Borestone, Number Four Mountain, Kineo, Big Moose, White Cap,and Eagle Rock. There are five levels available to achieve.

Opinion: College must create its own future

MORNING SENTINEL • September x, 2020

Unity College is evolving. The College has been criticized for dissolving the four-year residential model in favor of the eight-term hybrid learning model. As the board of trustees, we have a fiduciary duty to Unity College’s mission. An education from Unity, America’s Environmental College, has become more affordable, accessible and flexible than ever before. We are doing what Unity College has always done by blazing new trails. We have a record-breaking 1,300 eager students on their own journey to earn a degree from Unity College. We are creating our future, just as those students are, and leaving a road map for other institutions to follow. ~ Sharon Reishus, chairwoman, Unity College board of trustees

Maine Voices: Canada’s ‘Atlantic Loop’ power grid could bring big value to Maine

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 29, 2020

The Atlantic Loop would be a new series of electric transmission interconnections tying all five provinces together, allowing Labrador and Quebec hydropower to reach other provinces and eliminate their use of coal. Hydropower would flow south, likely using the proposed new transmission line to connect with the New England grid in Maine. Other lines north, from Maine to New Brunswick, would complete the Loop. Maine could get the same kind of benefits as the Atlantic provinces. There are two dangers for Maine. The first is that Hydro-Quebec and Central Maine Power’s Spanish parent will try to seize the initiative to turn economic gains to their own coffers rather than for Maine customers. The second is that Maine will delay in getting into the project planning and find itself facing a done deal. The best way to avoid both dangers is for Maine state government to get involved now. ~ Gordon L. Weil

This is the only effective DIY way to get rid of skunk stink

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 29, 2020

Because of their stinky reputation, the mere sight of skunk stripes is enough to strike fear into hearts. If you are unfortunate enough to get sprayed with skunk stink, there is an easy odor remedy that uses materials you probably already have in your home. There is an easy home remedy for getting skunked that works — and, no, it is not tomato juice. A recipe of “one quart hydrogen peroxide, [a quarter] cup of baking soda, and a teaspoon of liquid dish soap.”

Gift of Shiloh Pond parcel to town accepted by townspeople

TURNER PUBLISHING • September 28, 2020

The town of Kingfield, in a historic vote Sept. 22, accepted the Shiloh Pond conservation parcel, 119-64. The 215-acre parcel will be gifted to the town, protecting public access for generations to come. The project, led by a partnership of High Peaks Alliance, The Trust for Public Land, and town of Kingfield is made possible by gifts from private and public donors ensuring that Kingfield’s first piece of conservation land will be a reality at no cost to the local taxpayers.

As climate change threatens Maine fisheries, it’s not all bad news for oysters

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 28, 2020

Despite the threat climate change poses to longstanding Maine fisheries such as lobsters and softshell clams, and the harm it already has inflicted on northern shrimp and groundfish, there is one Maine fishery that has seen rapid growth in the past decade and is expected to continue expanding: oysters. Out of 185 permitted commercial-scale aquaculture lease sites listed on the Maine Department of Marine Resources website, 98 are licensed for growing oysters. Three more sites in Hancock County and two more on the Damariscotta River are scheduled to be reviewed at public meetings next month. Bill Mook, who founded Mook Sea Farm on the Damariscotta River in 1985, said climate change has been a mixed bag for oyster growers.

How historic drought affects potato harvest in Aroostook County

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 28, 2020

The potato harvest is part of the family business for Bartlett Farms in Littleton, a small town next to Houlton. But it isn’t business as usual this year because Aroostook County is experiencing a drought of historic proportions, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture declaring The County to be a drought disaster area. Rivers have dried up considerably, and potato crops, as with other crops in the area, have suffered due to the lack of water. The USDA has made Aroostook farmers, as well as those living in adjacent counties, eligible for emergency funding.

Mainers could be asked to approve consumer-owned utility at ballot box

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 28, 2020

A group of former lawmakers and environmental advocates are looking to create a consumer-owned utility through a referendum as soon as 2021 after a similar legislative effort was pared back this year. The application filed on Sept. 18 by six Mainers, including former independent Sen. Richard Woodbury of Yarmouth and attorney and former lawmaker John Brautigam, is the second referendum effort launched since the state’s highest court struck down an effort to block Central Maine Power’s controversial power line project in August that would target the for-profit utility.

Warm day doesn’t slow down early hunters on opening day of moose season

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 28, 2020

In all, 955 hunters headed afield on Monday, as the first of four moose permit seasons opened. Over those four seasons, a combined 3,135 moose permits have been allotted. Maine’s modern moose hunt began 40 years ago, in 1980, when it was staged on an experimental basis. After a one-year hiatus, it returned in 1982 and has been held annually since.

What To Expect As Maine's Drought Continues

MAINE PUBLIC • September 28, 2020

2020 has been a very dry year. Now with autumn underway, the drought is continuing. Ryan Gordon, a hydrogeologist with Maine Geological Survey told Maine Public a little bit more about what's going on. “About half of the population of Maine gets their water from a private well that's on their own property. Those wells are more susceptible to drying up then public water supplies. The shallow are usually older wells are the most susceptible to drying up.”

Maine loons swim against a beautiful backdrop of fall colors

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 28, 2020

While on a recent paddling trip to enjoy the fall foliage, BDN bird expert Bob Duchesne set out to find one of Maine’s most iconic birds, the loon. His goal: to photograph and capture video of the beautiful water bird surrounded by a kaleidoscope of fall colors. In this video, you’ll see that Duchesne rose to the challenge.