The most comprehensive online source of conservation news and events in Maine and beyond, edited by Jym St. Pierre
NEWS CENTER MAINE • August 20, 2023
America's heartland will bake this week, but heat will be hard to find in the Northeast. After near-tropical levels of humidity Monday, the dewpoints will come crashing down by midweek with refreshing air for all of Maine.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 20, 2023
Despite what has been a rainy summer, the number of tourists visiting Bar Harbor this year again is far outpacing pre-pandemic levels, when any annual tally above 3 million was considered extraordinary. Now, for the third year in a row, Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park are on pace to come close to or exceed 4 million visits. Matthew Hochman, a town councilor, told other Bar Harbor officials this week that he’d like the town to consider adopting a temporary ban on new lodging businesses so that the town can look into what its tourism limits should be.
SUN JOURNAL • August 20, 2023
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service yet again has designs on “protecting,” through Federal designation, some of the high peaks in Western Maine because it contains habitat that is “under-represented in the national refuge system.” One respected Maine outdoor publication [The Maine Sporstsman] has argued that Maine folks should keep an open mind and weigh the pros and cons. However, the Federal trial balloon has been opposed at the outset by the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, The Professional Maine Guide’s Association, and the Maine Trapper’s Association. When the Federal government pledges to you that a Maine High Peaks Refuge will permit all manner of outdoor recreation, including hunting and snowmobiling, do you honestly think you can take that to the bank? ~ V. Paul Reynolds
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 20, 2023
A form of wilderness therapy developed in Japan, Shinrin-yoku or “forest bathing” has caught on in the United States in recent years as more people are turning to the outdoors to bolster their health and overall well being. The practice involves walking slowly or sitting in the forest, opening your senses to your surroundings and consciously seeking connections to nature. In Maine, the most forested state in the country, this practice is especially easy to pursue. Here are just a few places to forest bathe:
• Frank E. Woodworth Preserve in Harrington
• Bog Brook Cove Preserve in Trescott and Cutler
• Branch Lake Public Forest in Ellsworth
• Furth and Talalay Nature Sanctuaries in Surry
• Edgar M. Tennis Preserve in Deer Isle
• Fernald’s Neck Preserve in Lincolnville
• Hidden Valley Nature Center in Jefferson
• Torsey Pond Nature Preserve in Readfield
• Moose ponds loop near Greenville
• River Pond Nature Trail near Millinocket
• Aroostook National Wildlife Refuge
MAINE MONITOR • August 20, 2023
Social studies is a human geography lesson about how wildfires affect marginalized communities. You even play games themed around recycling and waste during Phys. Ed. And there’s no shortage of climate content for science class — from understanding changing winters and melting ice caps, to connecting food waste and the chemistry of landfills to the warming earth. These units and many more like them are ready for Maine teachers to use in their own classrooms as part of the new Maine Climate Hub, launched this week by the national nonprofit Subject to Climate and the Maine Environmental Education Association (MEEA). It’s a Maine-tailored database of scientist-vetted lesson plans and resources about climate change and the environment, for all subjects and grade levels.
MAINE PUBLIC • August 20, 2023
Underserved and tribal communities are the focus of new research funded by the Environmental Protection Agency that will look at their transition from fossil fuel energy systems to low carbon systems and provide them with tools to succeed. Sharon Klein, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Maine, will lead the research and says Local Energy Action Networks exist to help disadvantaged communities. "A lot of what the EPA grant is focused on is how are LEANS, in Maine and other states, helping underserved communities get the support they need to do the local energy action they want to do for themselves," Klein said. Klein says Millinocket, Eastport, and two Wabanaki communities will participate in the four-year research project and learn how their sustainable energy projects are part of the global climate solution.
MAINE PUBLIC • August 20, 2023
At Moody Beach in Wells Saturday, advocates for beach access rallied to draw attention to a court case that seeks to expand beachgoers' rights. Current Maine law, which dates back to the 1600's, extends the property rights of shoreline homeowners to the low tide mark. The only exceptions for public use are for fishing, fowling, and navigation. One of the plaintiffs in the case, Peter Masucci, says the centuries-old law does not reflect modern beach activities. And he says many beachfront homeowners at Moody post "private property signs" and don't allow any use of the shore. "We're hoping that the court system and the people that are going to adjudicate this thing see the value in making not only Moody Beach, but all beaches and all intertidal area throughout the whole state, free and open to the public," Masucci said.
MORNING SENTINEL • August 20, 2023
As a kid who frequently went snowmobiling with friends in Winslow and far more remote areas of the state, Jake Warn found it difficult to relay trip information to his parents. Sharing those details with others can be important considering Maine has about 14,000 miles of snowmobile trails and riders can easily become lost or stranded deep in the woods. An avid outdoorsman and a curious entrepreneur, Warn recognized the need for an accurate, comprehensive trail map that is accessible online. So he’s spent the last few years mapping over 100 trails that are available to the public for free through SledTRX, his snowmobile mapping business found at sledtrx.com.
NATURE WORLD NEWS • August 20, 2023
Persicaria perfoliata (mile-a-minute), an invasive species that is native to India and eastern Asia, poses a threat to the plant life of Maine. The plant, an annual that has a growth rate of up to six inches per day, nonetheless poses a concern over the winter since latent seeds can still sprout. The plant uses its barbs to cling to native plants and prevent sunlight from reaching desirable plants, which causes great damage. The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association's crop & conservation specialist, Caleb Goossen, stated that once it's established in a region, it's challenging to get rid of it. Additionally, dealing with it would be costly.
MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • August 20, 2023
Bear season, which kicks off Aug. 26 with Youth Day then Aug. 28 for the grown-ups. Maine had been struggling with how to control the burgeoning bear population, which was leading to more human-bear conflicts, and wildlife managers were seriously considering doubling the bag limit to two. A strong lobbying effort from certain special interest groups and a couple good harvest years have quelled that notion, at least for now. Last year’s take of over 40,000 deer was the highest in more than a generation. Whether that represents an over-harvest and bad news, or an indication of the size of the herd and good news, remains to be seen. Despite a crazy winter and a wet summer there will still be plenty of game out there this fall to chase, and the hunt starts soon. ~Bob Humphrey
MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • August 20, 2023
Q: “What could be getting at my feeder when I have not seen any birds there?” A: woodpeckers and chickadees will also drink from hummingbird feeders. We are late enough in the summer that young-of-the-year raccoons may be venturing out on their own, and a sugary drink would be hard to turn down. ~ Maine Audubon Staff Naturalist Doug Hitchcox
MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • August 20, 2023
Take advantage of the last few weeks of summer and head to Readfield for a leisurely 6-mile exploration of Lake Maranacook’s North Basin. Dotted with three large and three small islands, the basin provides superb end-of-summer swimming, birding and gunkholing among islands. ~ Michael Perry
MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • August 20, 2023
The oil and gas industry doesn’t want Mainers to build offshore wind. Locally produced renewable energy threatens its dominance in Maine, the most heating oil-dependent state in the nation. The fossil fuel industry is already making its political presence felt in Maine, and in the coming months is expected to spend more and more out-of-state dollars to sow discord, divide Mainers from each other and try to convince us not to break our dependence on dirty fuels. See through their tactics. Offshore wind will benefit wildlife. Climate change is the No. 1 threat to Maine wildlife and habitat, and it has already changed Maine’s wildlife landscape. ~ Andy Beahm, Maine Audubon
MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • August 20, 2023
Two weeks ago, as my husband and I drove from Maine to Michigan, we crossed into Canada at Niagara Falls and drove the King’s Highway 401 west through Ontario to Windsor. Everywhere along this 240-mile stretch, there were giant wind turbines (windmills), more than we could count in this long stretch of farmland and cities like Hamilton and London, Ontario. There are 2,663 wind turbines in Ontario, according to data from hipurbangirl.com. I know of zero wind turbines near me in Maine. I wonder if Canada is on to something? Yes, Maine’s infrastructure would have to be altered for alternative power sources like wind, but I assume Canada did too. ~ Joan K. Hager, Wells
MORNING SENTINEL • August 20, 2023
As the board chair, I’ve witnessed the remarkable transformation of Unity Environmental University under Melik Peter Khoury’s visionary leadership. He turned a struggling college in rural Maine into an international success story with innovative and affordable experiential online programs focused on environmental stewardship. While all this positivity has been unfolding, most people are likely unaware of the constant, personal attacks aimed at Dr. Khoury by a few former faculty, alums and their circle of friends and relatives, as well as the social media harassment of students who have gone online to celebrate their Unity experience. Unity Environmental University is thriving today because of President Khoury, not despite him. ~ Sharon Reishus, Somerville
KENNEBEC JOURNAL • August 20, 2023
Little has changed after another year of global warming headlines. Maine’s record high temperature of 105°F, set on July 10, 1911, is now 112 years old. Twelve Maine towns and cities have daily high temperature records of 100 degrees and above. Six of the records were set in 1975. The remaining six were set in 1897, 1911, 1911, 1935, 1955, and 1988. Until recently the Maine.gov website stated the “record hottest year in Maine” was 1913 and the “record coldest year in Maine” was 1904. Those records still stand. ~ Joe Grant, Wiscasset
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 19, 2023
A 1989 Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruling affirmed that beach homeowners own the stretch from their homes to the water, not allowing public access. On Saturday, about 100 members of two groups, Our Maine Beaches and Free Moody Beach, participated in a rally that called attention to the longtime dispute over public use of Moody Beach. The groups who want to see public access to the beach are supporting a court challenge to overturn the 34-year-old ruling. Group members say the issue is not limited to Moody Beach, and that there’s a growing trend in Maine of coastal land being shut off to the public.
MAINE MONITOR • August 19, 2023
State and federal environmental regulators have issued fines against three prominent Maine companies, settling separate cases involving potentially damaging chemicals used in their production operations. A state penalty of $101,400 was approved against ND Paper in Old Town through an administrative consent agreement with the Department of Environmental Protection. Separately, the federal Environmental Protection Agency issued $373,490 in penalties against Jasper Wyman & Son and Barber Foods for chemical safety violations.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 29, 2023
Sean Birkel, an assistant professor at UMaine and the state climatologist, created a website called the Climate Reanalyzer that provides weather and climate datasets and software and analysis tools for weather forecasts, climate models etc. He and his climate model were widely referred to last month when the Earth experienced its hottest week ever recorded. When he looks to the future, tapping the combination of datasets and models to see Maine’s projected climate through 2100, Birkel sees temperatures rising from 2 to 10 degrees and 10% to 20% more rainfall, depending on worldwide carbon dioxide emissions. Maine’s climate is going to change, getting both hotter and wetter, and the Gulf of Maine will rise. Maine faces significant challenges, but the state isn’t facing the potential catastrophe that looms for other parts of the world in the next 30 to 50 years.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 18, 2023
Global warming is a direct result of putting carbon into the atmosphere. Climate change, on the other hand, is the result of global warming and all that extra energy in the system. It is totally unpredictable just what will happen. For all we know, we will end up in an ice age if and when the Gulf Stream collapses. What we scientists can tell you is that there is much more energy in the system and that the extremes will get more extreme. scientists cannot well predict climate change. But again, we can say it is a direct result of global warming, and we can say global warming is the direct result of putting so much carbon in the air. We can say, absolutely, that if we want to slow down climate change, we must stop putting so much carbon into the air. It is as simple as that. And time is now of the essence, regardless of cost. ~ Peter J. Stein, Portland-based Scientific Solutions
