MORNING SENTINEL • July 11, 2023
The Winslow Town Council on Monday decided to keep land along China Road near Pattee Pond zoned as conservation, but chose to change regulations in such a way that allows a new development to move forward.
Maine has a five-year vision for distributing $70M to farmers impacted by PFAS
MAINE PUBLIC • July 11, 2023
A state advisory commission has approved a five-year plan for helping Maine farmers impacted by so-called forever chemicals. The plan, born from months of discussion with farmers, state officials, health experts and agricultural advocates, describes how Maine will administer some $70 million in state and federal funds to farmers whose land or water is contaminated with PFAS. About $30 million would go directly to impacted farmers to replace lost income. Farmers trying to stay afloat could receive up to two years of help. Others looking to dissolve their businesses would receive a year's worth of assistance to help them figure out their next steps. Roughly $20 million is available for the state to purchase, hold and manage contaminated property that farmers want to sell. Funds could be ready to distribute later this summer,
Maine Outdoor Film Festival announces its 2023 lineup
FORECASTER • July 11, 2023
The Portland-based 2023 Maine Outdoor Film Festival will feature 96 outdoor adventure and conservation films, July 20 to 30, at six different indoor and outdoor venues throughout the city. The festival schedule will also include panel discussions, networking parties, and a bazaar with outdoor retail and craft vendors. While the festival will showcase national and international filmmakers, 29 of the films featured were made by Maine directors or shot in Maine. The films and shorts span a wide range of subjects, such as extreme sport, art in nature, conservation and indigenous communities’ relationship with the land.
Group warns of potentially polluted water identified at Maine beaches
MAINE PUBLIC • July 11, 2023
Thirty-six beaches in Maine were considered potentially unsafe for swimming on at least one day of bacteria testing in 2022, according to a recent report. Sewage overflows and runoff pollution contaminated the waters surrounding multiple popular swimming spots such as Gooch's Beach in Kennebunkport and Ferry Beach in Scarborough. John Rumpler is the clean water director at the Environment Maine Research & Policy Center who co-authored the report. With the heavy precipitation these last few weeks, Rumpler is worried that pollution levels may be higher. Beach water quality updates can be found on the Maine Department of Environmental Protection website.
Exhibit in Freeport features art of Penobscot Bay across time
FORECASTER • July 11, 2023
An exhibit of works by artists featured in the upcoming book “Art of Penobscot Bay” has opened at the Thos. Moser showroom in Freeport. The furniture maker invited all 100 artists in the book by brothers Carl and David Little to participate in the exhibit, and about 40 applied, said Meg Hurdman, assistant showroom manager. “The book has about 40 historical pieces, (but) the lion’s share of the book is devoted to about 80 different contemporary paintings,” Carl Little said. He and his bother wanted to include work that would show the bay, which stretches from Rockland to the Blue Hill Peninsula, over time, in all seasons and weather conditions. The show is available for viewing from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. It will remain up until January.
Opinion: Addressing the causes of climate change is better than fixing its damage
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 11, 2023
State Farm General Insurance Company is no longer taking applications for homeowners’ insurance in California, because of the growing risk from wildfires and other catastrophes and the high cost of rebuilding. This increased risk is directly related to climate change. There are two kinds of actions that nations and individuals can take to respond to the damage caused by the climate crisis. Adaptation includes actions that repair something damaged by climate events caused or exacerbated by climate change. Mitigation responds to the root cause of the destruction such as reducing the greenhouse gases that join the gaseous blanket that surrounds the earth. Fixing brokenness is easier than preventing. That seems backwards. Making the connection between stopping climate change and repairing the impacts would increase the amount that is spent by all nations on mitigating the existential challenge that is the climate crisis. ~ Rev. Richard Killmer, Yarmouth
Long-sunken trawler leaks diesel fuel into Mackerel Cove
HARPSWELL ANCHOR • July 11, 2023
A trawler that sank to the bottom of Mackerel Cove, Bailey Island, in the 1990s leaked diesel fuel into the cove on Monday, July 10. A local diver plugged the leak late Monday afternoon and the U.S. Coast Guard plans to pump out the rest of the fuel, according to Harpswell Harbor Master Paul Plummer. The amount of fuel that leaked is not known. “We don’t have a clue,” Plummer said. Plummer said he was in his office on Monday morning when he received a call from a commercial fisherman who told him “the whole cove stinks” from the fuel. Soon afterward, another caller reported a sheen “across the entire cove.”
Maine CDC warns against mosquito-borne disease for summer months
SPECTRUM NEWS • July 11, 2023
With summer upon us, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention is reminding Mainers to take care around mosquitoes, which can carry some very serious diseases. In Maine, mosquitoes spread diseases including Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus (EEE), Jamestown Canyon virus (JCV), and West Nile virus (WNV). Untreated infections can be fatal.
Opinion: Until we get off fossil fuels, stuck weather patterns will worsen
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 11, 2023
Monday, July 3, was the hottest day in at least 125,000 years of planetary history. Until Tuesday happened. Then Wednesday equaled Tuesday. Thursday broke that record, and Friday still topped Monday and Tuesday. Saturday again beat the previous high. As did Sunday. Heat is the deadliest weather pattern in the United States, killing more than the combined sum of hurricanes, tornadoes and flooding. The Arctic that is warming four times faster than the global average. The underlying cause – and the one directly within our control – is our addiction to fossil fuels. Maine may not have the same heating threats as a state like Texas. However, from temperature variabilities damaging iconic crops from maple syrup and blueberries to the worst season for moose hunting; from an aging population to pests affecting the lumber industry, our threats are very real. ~ Susana Hancock is an international climate scientist and polar explorer living in Maine
Settlers left this Down East island littered with skeletal remains
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 11, 2023
In June 1604, a ship carrying 79 French sailors made its way up what is now called the St. Croix River in what is now Washington County, and landed at a small island in the river. The island, called Metnegwis by the Passamaquoddy people, had been seasonally visited by them for many centuries, but was empty at the time. The sailors, led by French explorer Pierre Dugua de Mons, created a settlement on the 6.5-acre strip they named St. Croix Island, with plans to lay claim to the region for France and bring more people to the area. In all, 35 out of the 79 died from scurvy that winter, and 20 more were severely sickened. In June 1605, a French relief ship came to St. Croix, and Dugua de Mons and Champlain quickly chose to pack up and leave for what is now Nova Scotia. Today, St. Croix Island International Historic Site is maintained by the National Park Service and Parks Canada as the only international historic site in the parks system.
UMaine researchers want to understand how PFAS affect crops
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 11, 2023
Researchers have identified locations in Maine that test high for levels of so-called forever chemicals, but the effect on food grown in contaminated soil remains uncertain. That’s why University of Maine researchers are partnering with Maine organic farmer Sue Hunter whose land is highly contaminated with the toxins. They hope to determine how much or how little specific crops absorb the toxins.
Letter: Troubled by mine proposal
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 11, 2023
I am deeply troubled by Wolfden’s proposed metallic mineral mine at Pickett Mountain near Mount Chase. It poses a threat to the health and wellbeing of Katahdin region communities and guiding businesses, like mine. Wolfden has never successfully developed a metal mine site, let alone one that didn’t pollute gravel and surface waters with mine drainage. The proposed mine could pollute the headwaters of the Upper West Branch of the Mattawamkeag watershed, habitat for wild native brook trout and endangered Atlantic salmon. Wolfden is currently employing a public relations effort apparently to convince selectmen in the surrounding communities how great this mine would be for them when they should be spending their money on scientists and hydrologists. It’s much easier to prevent a mining disaster than to clean one up. Please oppose this project. ~ Kevin Slater, Master Maine Guide, Newry
Doug Tompkins: Think Big
MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • July 10, 2023
I first met Doug Tompkins in 1991 when he gathered wilderness activists and conservation biologists to discuss how to reinvigorate the conservation movement. One consequence of that meeting was the formation of the Wildlands Project, which advocated for a continental vision of protected wildlands across North America using conservation biology concepts. Doug constantly reminded me that most conservation groups were too timid and lacked the imagination and courage to think big. He even chided me as board president of RESTORE: The North Woods because he thought our 3.2 million acre proposal for a Maine Woods National Park was too “small,” though it was a million acres larger than Yellowstone National Park. Doug kept telling me to argue for 5 million acres. Doug didn’t lack courage, vision, or imagination when advocating for large, protected landscapes. ~ George Wuerthner
Auburn council approves new rules for city’s agricultural zone
SUN JOURNAL • July 10, 2023
Long-debated changes to the city’s Agriculture and Resource Protection zone — a rural area that makes up some 20,000 acres — were approved by the City Council on Monday after a recent framework received broad support. The new zoning language will replace the long-held income standard with language that ties residential construction to a connection with the land.
Texas teen with ankle injury rescued off Appalachian Trail in Franklin County
SUN JOURNAL • July 10, 2023
A 14-year-old girl from Texas hiking the Appalachian Trail with a group from a summer camp in Leeds was rescued late Sunday night after she injured her ankle on the Bemis Mountain Trail in Franklin County. Eight firefighters, three NorthStar EMS ambulance personnel and a Border Patrol officer responded to a report of an injured hiker about 6 p.m., climbing a steep trail, with steep vertical rock faces and slippery rocks. Rescuers brought her down slowly in a basket, in some areas using ropes. Firefighters and others helped some of the other girls down and carried some of their backpacks.
How Kent Island Became a Thriving Scientific Sanctuary
BOWDOIN COLLEGE • July 10, 2023
The Bowdoin Scientific Station on Kent Island is an oasis of opportunity—two hundred acres of lush nature serving as the backdrop and the raw material for students to do hands-on research. The scientific sanctuary recently found itself in the spotlight before a broader audience, thanks to a series of reports airing on the CBC.
Company holding a series of public meetings to discuss Aroostook County powerline plans
MAINE PUBLIC • July 10, 2023
The company hoping to build a powerline to connect Aroostook County to the southern Maine electrical grid is holding a series of public meetings beginning this week to discuss the project. The billion-dollar powerline known as the Aroostook Renewable Gateway would run from Glenwood Plantation to Coopers Mills. In addition to linking the grids, it would send power south from the proposed 1,000-megawatt King Pine wind farm northwest of Houlton. Doug Mulvey of LS Power says the meetings will be opportunities to see maps of the proposed powerline routes, and provide feedback. The meetings will begin July 11 in Mattawamkeag, July 12 in Howland, and July 13 in Bradford. Other meetings are scheduled the following week in Etna, Albion, and Windsor.
As browntail moths emerge, Waterville launches experiment to limit exposure
MORNING SENTINEL • July 10, 2023
Those visiting four city parks in the next few days might see some unusual-looking light structures made of canvas stretched across wooden frames. No one should touch or handle the structures, which are part of a test project to determine how limiting certain kinds of light might reduce browntail moths in the city. The goal is to help the city and surrounding communities find low- or no-cost ways to limit exposure to browntail moths.
Maine PFAS panel approves $70M plan to help farmers through ‘trying times’
SPECTRUM NEWS • July 10, 2023
A state panel approved a $70 million plan Monday to help farmers cope with fields contaminated by the forever chemicals known as PFAS. The five-year plan proposes to spend $30.3 million on direct support for farmers, $21.4 million on land purchases and property management, $11.2 million on research and $7.2 million on health needs. More than $16 million is for land purchases. The proposal calls for impacted farmers to approach the state if they want to sell and for the state to pay fair market value for the land as if it were not contaminated. The state would then own the land with the goal of eventually returning it to agricultural production.
Little owl recovering after Westbrook hit-and-run
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 10, 2023
A barred owl was hit and injured by a car Sunday evening near Cumberland Street, according to the Westbrook Police Department. Passersby stopped to help keep the owl safe, though it was a flight risk — it tried to escape to the woods. It was corralled by an officer, and a game warden took the owl to a rehabilitation center to recover from its injuries.