Ferry ridership between Maine, Nova Scotia still ahead of last year

MAINE PUBLIC • August 11, 2023

Bay Ferries reports ticket sales for the CAT high-speed ferry linking Bar Harbor and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia continue to be higher than last year. The company says, through Aug. 10 it has sold 34,542 tickets, 2,864 more than last year at the same time. But the current, Progressive Conservative government of Nova Scotia continues to move toward an economic study of the service. The province paid Bay Ferries nearly $18 million (Canadian) in subsidy last year. The economic study is meant to determine if the province is getting value for that subsidy.

Opinion: Aroostook Renewable Gateway will be bad for people and the planet

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 11, 2023

The proposed LS Power Grid power lines would go through Unity, about 70% of which has been designated an area of special ecological importance. As currently planned, the route also runs through 0.6 miles of protected aquifer district; 1.4 miles of conserved land at the Unity Agricultural Center, where at-risk youth learn biodynamic farming skills; the hills of Overland Farm, where Highland cattle spend their lives before feeding locals in the form of beef; almost half a mile of endangered and threatened species habitat within the Sandy Stream watershed, and 2.3 miles of deer wintering area. What are the environmental implications of carving 150-foot easements through ecologically sensitive places? Of maintaining corridors by spraying herbicides that leach into the ground, poisoning the soil and threatening farmers’ livelihoods? Of core-drilling 10 feet to 20 feet through ledge, creating pathways for PFAS to enter aquifers and contaminate more wells? ~ Joshua Abram Kercsmar teaches at Unity Environmental University

Commentary: What does climate change have to do with migration? More than you think

KENNEBEC JOURNAL • August 11, 2023

Climate change will leave more people vulnerable to natural disasters, droughts, extreme temperatures, and other disruptions to their way of life, motivating many to migrate north to cooler parts of the planet. How will leaders respond to this migration? Many politicians and public officials frame climate migration as one simple story: a threat to national security. Migration is a much more complex issue. It’s better to use a polycentric approach, meaning one that employs multiple decision-making bodies that operate independently of each other. We’ll find the right responses to climate migrants like Francis if we create opportunities for responses at every level instead of relying on a one-size-fits-all national response. ~ Nathan Goodman, Mercatus Center, and Justus Enninga, King’s College London

Letter: Congress should keep working on permitting reform

SUN JOURNAL • August 11, 2023

Our nation’s permitting process has become far too inefficient, leading to massive delays that threaten the viability of critical infrastructure projects. While Congress has made some progress to reform the permitting process this year, there is still more work to do. This includes updating the National Environmental Policy Act permitting process by requiring the agency to complete a given project’s permitting process within two years. ~ Former State Rep. Dale Crafts, Lisbon

Letter: We must end the culture war on climate change

SUN JOURNAL • August 11, 2023

For many years taxpayers have spent tens if not hundreds of billions of dollars to repair damage from storms made worse by human activity. Countless lives have been lost. We do not stand alone in the world. Our actions affect all of human life and the biodiversity of our planet. It is short-sighted and selfish to not make our decisions with our planet in mind. We must end the culture war on climate change and make decisions based on facts. ~ Stan Tetenman, Poland

Column: The many wonders of birding at Head Harbor Passage

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 10, 2023

Head Harbor Passage is a world-class adventure. Tides here are double the height of those reached in Bar Harbor, only 70 miles southwest. In the pre-COVID era, I liked to take my tiny inflatable boat into the channel to look for rare birds. The tubes on my inflatable are about the same shape, length and color of gray seals. I started to wonder if the sharks could tell the difference. I also wondered if the minke whales surfacing all around me would even notice, if they came up directly under me. I stopped doing it. Nowadays, I happily pay for Head Harbor boat tours. Minke whales are easy to see all summer. Fin and humpback whales are less common, but visit regularly. Gray seals and harbor seals are frequent sightings, and you can’t miss the roaming pods of harbor porpoises. But I go for the birds. Bonaparte’s gulls, Little gulls, Black-headed gulls, Atlantic puffins, razorbills, common murres. ~ Bob Duchesne

New aquatic invasives law tightens restrictions on boaters in Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 10, 2023

The state this year passed a tougher law to reduce the chance of introducing potentially damaging plant species into Maine waters. The emergency legislation, which went into effect immediately after receiving the governor’s signature, makes it illegal for boaters to “drain or release water held on or within a watercraft, allowing that water to enter any inland water body of the state.” The intention is to prevent boaters from introducing water, plants or other pollutants into a lake or pond. There are 11 invasive aquatic species that have been identified under Maine law as illegal to import, sell or transport. Those can disrupt or displace native plants and animals and cause irreparable harm to water bodies.

Campus of former Unity College going up for sale

MORNING SENTINEL • August 10, 2023

The Waldo County campus of Unity Environmental University is up for sale after years of consideration. A&G Real Estate Partners announced Wednesday that the school, formerly known as Unity College, was accepting offers for the 225-acre property. Unity Environmental University’s board of trustees has been weighing options for the largely vacant campus for years. In the most recent development, nonprofits and immigrant groups were hoping to create housing for asylum seekers in the empty dormitories – but money and concerns from townspeople posed a barrier. The school shifted its headquarters to a new campus for environmental professions programs at Pineland Farms in New Gloucester in 2021.

Jay will not be reimbursed for reduced state revenue-sharing funds related to mill explosion

SUN JOURNAL • August 10, 2023

Legislation that would have reimbursed the town $600,000 for lost state revenue-sharing funds as a result of the Androscoggin Mill explosion in 2020 has died in the Senate. The bill passed through the Taxation Committee and was approved by the House and Senate last spring. It went to the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee in June for funding but died after it went back to the Senate. One of two wood pulp digesters in the mill exploded April 15, 2020, leading Pixelle Specialty Solutions to permanently idle one paper machine, lay off workers and cease making wood pulp. Pixelle had continued to operate two specialty paper machines using purchased pulp until March, when it shut down permanently.

Canada’s devastating wildfire season prompts calls for new approach

THE HILL • August 10, 2023

The wildfires that ravaged Canada this summer have some experts calling for a more aggressive approach to the blazes than the country’s historically reactive, case-by-case approach. As of Tuesday, 1,160 fires are burning across the country. This year, nearly 30 million acres have burned across Canada, an area bigger than several individual U.S. states. The area burned — the fourth-most of any season on record — is too large to rely on colder weather and precipitation to do the bulk of the work in extinguishing the blazes.  

Hawaii wildfires burn through Maui, killing at least 36 people

ASSOCIATED PRESS • August 10, 2023

Thousands of Hawaii residents raced to escape homes on Maui as blazes swept across the island, destroying parts of a centuries-old town and killing at least 36 people in one of the deadliest U.S. wildfires in recent years. It’s the latest in a series of disasters caused by extreme weather around the globe this summer. Experts say climate change is increasing the likelihood of such events.

Biden pitches his efforts on clean energy, infrastructure as key to reviving manufacturing jobs

ASSOCIATED PRESS • August 9, 2023

President Biden declared on Wednesday that his economic policies are reviving U.S. manufacturing as he toured the West to drum up support for his efforts on jobs and inflation in the face of voters’ doubts. The claim from Biden and the White House that the administration has bolstered U.S. manufacturing is backed by a rise in construction spending on new factories.

Maine Warden Service urges paddlers to exercise caution

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 9, 2023

The Maine Warden Service is asking canoeists and kayakers to exercise caution when paddling on the Saco River in Fryeburg and Brownfield. Storms that dropped several inches of rain in Oxford County and other regions of the state have caused river levels to rise, currents to flow faster, and caused trees to fall into the river. In mid- to late July, several canoes flipped over or got stuck in debris in the Saco River, necessitating rescues by emergency responders of 17 paddlers.

Brunswick-Rockland train line launching weekend service

TIMES RECORD • August 9, 2023

The latest attempt at a Midcoast passenger train line is steaming ahead. The Coastliner is billed as an excursion experience, connecting a 57-mile stretch from Brunswick to Rockland known as the Rockland Branch in about two hours. Stops in Bath, Wiscasset and Newcastle are planned. The Brunswick-Rockland service will launch in about a month and run Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The train car has restrooms, air conditioning and bigger windows than Amtrak. A second 76-seat train car is expected soon after the service launches.

Land trust and Georgetown work to restore Swett Marsh

FORECASTER • August 9, 2023

Swett Marsh in Georgetown has experienced ongoing environmental degradation due to agricultural impacts from centuries ago. Now, the town and Kennebec Estuary Land Trust are collaborating to restore the marsh for the betterment of species that live there and the health of the broader marine ecosystem. Healthy plant life in the marsh is vital to catching sediment before the water filters out to the Kennebec River and eventually the Gulf of Maine.

Brunswick seeks input for climate action plan

FORECASTER • August 9, 2023

Brunswick’s new climate action plan will identify key areas of risk that are most vulnerable to climate change, as well as determining short and long-term actions that can reduce emissions and build resilience to impacts of climate change. The town is looking for feedback from residents, and has posted a survey to gauge how the public feels about climate change and its effects on the area. FMI: brunswickcap-gpcog.hub.arcgis.com/pages/get-involved.  

Column: Fluke or flounder? Consider the season and their eyes when identifying these flatfish

TIMES RECORD • August 9, 2023

Fluke is the common name of a summer flounder, one of the many very flat fish that live in the Gulf of Maine. Their close relative, the winter flounder, which spends the colder months closer to shore and doesn’t do the same type of seasonal migration. One thing they do have in common, however, is that at some point during their development, both fluke and flounder end up with two eyes on the same sides of their bodies. The difference, however, is that flukes end up with their eyes on the left side of their body and flounders end up with their eyes on the right. ~ Susan Olcott

Bureau of Parks and Lands to help stabilize road to Tumbledown trailheads

SUN JOURNAL • August 8, 2023

The state Bureau of Parks and Lands is willing to share the cost with Franklin County and lend its expertise to fix Byron Road where the trailheads to Tumbledown Mountain are located. Byron Road in Township 6 North of Weld is part of Franklin County unorganized territory infrastructure. It was damaged during the June 26 rainstorm. Bill Patterson, deputy director of the state Bureau of Parks and Land, said he envisioned the state pitching in up to $5,000 a year for five years to get the road stabilized.

An invasive weed that grows 6 inches a day has been found in Maine

MAINE PUBLIC • August 8, 2023

Agriculture officials say that they've detected the first occurrence of an invasive weed that can grow up to six inches per day. The Maine Department of Agriculture says it's verified the presence of what's known as "mile-a-minute" weed at a home in Boothbay Harbor. The agency says the landowner found it while cleaning up weeds from new landscape plants. The "mile-a-minute" weed has triangular leaves and small blue fruits and can grow up to 25 feet in only a few months. The agency says the invasive plant can harm reforestation projects and nurseries, and anyone who finds it should report it to the state.