Greenville ski trails closed for the past 19 years are reopening

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 22, 2023

The group that maintains Big Moose Mountain in Greenville is clearing four trails that people last skied nearly two decades ago. Friends of the Mountain, a nonprofit, pledged in March to use $200,000 to improve the ski area, including an overhaul of the lift and parking area upgrades, among other projects. One of those is reclaiming trails on the upper mountain, which began in early July and will cost about $57,000. Clearing the trails, along with the other improvements, is important to some community members whose hopes for a flourishing Moosehead Lake region were crushed late last year when developers working to revitalize the partially defunct ski resort halted their $126.3 million plans after failing to come to terms with James Confalone, who owns the property.

DACF Proposes Expansion of Quarantines to Slow the Spread of Three Tree Killing Invasive Species

MAINE GOVERNMENT NEWS • August 21, 2023

The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry proposes expanding three forest protection quarantines to slow the spread of emerald ash borer, hemlock woolly adelgid, and European larch canker. Public hearings on September 6, in Augusta and Old Town. Written additional comments due by September 22, 2023, 5 PM.

Invasive freshwater zebra mussels creeping closer to Maine

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 21, 2023

A freshwater mussel that has infested lakes and rivers around the world is creeping closer to Maine, with confirmed sightings in Canada less than 30 miles from the Maine border. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife issued a warning Monday, calling attention to a new law requiring boaters to drain any water that might contain microscopic larvae and bring zebra mussels into Maine waters. “Zebra mussels have not yet been confirmed in any water of the state of Maine, but represent a high threat level to the health of our waters, fish and wildlife,” the agency said. “Zebra mussel infestations result in irreversible negative impacts on native species and water body systems and are nearly impossible to eradicate once introduced.”

Plaintiffs hope a lawsuit will expand public access along a southern Maine beach

MAINE PUBLIC • August 21, 2023

Enter Moody Beach in the coastal town of Wells and you'll be greeted by signs that declare it's private property. And if there's any question where the public beach ends and the private beach begins, a line of seaweed piled on the sand by one of the homeowners makes it clear. The seaweed border is emblematic of a legal dispute between shoreline homeowners and public beachgoers. About 100 people rallied at the beach on Saturday to draw attention to the issue. In 1989, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled that private property rights extend down to the low tide mark based on a colonial-era law from the 1600s that carves out an exception for limited public use: for fishing, fowling, and navigation. Now a lawsuit seeks to expand and modernize the list of the activities the public is allowed to do on the sand in front of private property owners, from beachcombing to building sandcastles.

Maine's offshore wind research array clears an initial regulatory hurdle

MAINE PUBLIC • August 21, 2023

As momentum builds for developing offshore wind energy in the Gulf of Maine, a proposed research array of wind turbines is one small-step closer to regulatory approval, after a determination from the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. The state of Maine is developing the research array in partnership with New England Aqua Ventus. It would include up to 12 floating wind turbines 44 miles southeast of Portland, generating up to 144 megawatts of power. The federal agency determined that a research lease of up to 10,000 acres in federal waters is consistent with the Maine Coastal Zone Management Program. This lease is a preliminary step that would not authorize the placement of wind turbines, but would allow for the deployment of a meteorological ocean buoy, and other activities to gather data in the lease area.

Auburn plans changes to drop-off recycling after bins overflow on weekends

SUN JOURNAL • August 21, 2023

The city plans to change the details of its recycling program yet again because bins at its drop-off location on Gracelawn Road have been left overflowing on weekends. City Manager Phil Crowell said the program will now have certain hours of operation, and likely reduced hours on weekends due to issues with the drop-off system at the Public Works facility. He said while the city has been working with recycling contractor Casella on the new-look program, the Casella facility is not open on weekends. However, that’s when most people have been bringing material to the drop-off containers, leading to full bins and complaints from residents that they are not able to drop material.

Wolves In Maine: Will Poop Prove They Are Returning to New England?

DISCOVER • August 14, 2023

The presence of wolves in Maine is hotly debated after they were extirpated from the Northeast due to centuries of bounties, habitat alteration and development. But with evidence of a possible wolf roaming the trails, researchers must turn to poop, or scat, to really understand if they’ve returned. Differentiating between different canid species can be challenging, especially from visual observations or scat analysis alone. Wolves, coyotes and domestic dogs can have overlapping characteristics, and hybridization between these species can further complicate identification. John Glowa, the founder of Maine Wolf Coalition (MWC), says differentiating between a wolf, a coyote and a hybrid animal on a trail camera is complicated. “We acknowledge the only way to be certain is through DNA,” Glowa said, “but the evidence we have collected certainly points to an Eastern wolf.” Some of that evidence is scat samples, which were analyzed in 2020. In addition to deploying trail cameras and pouring over footage looking for wolf-like animals, Glowa and a small team of volunteers have been collecting scat for noninvasive genetic sampling. 

Maine's apple season is shaping up to be hit-or-miss

MAINE PUBLIC • August 21, 2023

A period of extreme cold back in February and late-season frosts in May have not been kind to Maine's peaches and apples. Renae Moran, a fruit tree specialist for the University of Maine's Cooperative Extension, estimates that the frosts in May knocked out about half of the state's apple crop. But Maine's peach farmers have fared far worse this year, because of a few days of extreme cold in February. Peaches are difficult to grow in Maine, and the crop is prone to partial or complete loss about every other year or so.

Merrymeeting Bay Bird Walk, Aug 26

FRIENDS OF MERRYMEETING BAY • August 21, 2023

Merrymeeting Bay is internationally recognized for its unique tidal freshwater ecosystem. This ecosystem attracts a diversity of birds drawn to its unique waters and the Bay is recognized by The American Bird Conservancy as a Globally Important Bird Conservation Area. To help you learn more about this habitat and its avian array, Friends of Merrymeeting Bay (FOMB) is pleased to host ornithologist Will Broussard who will lead a morning Bird Walk in Bowdoinham on Saturday, August 26 from 8-10 a.m.

Letter: Mack Point is the better choice for wind port

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 21, 2023

Maine offshore wind port planners now acknowledge the projected construction cost to develop a manufacturing, assembling and launching facility at either Mack Point or Sears Island in Penobscot Bay are essentially the same. And the dredging needed to develop such a port at Mack Point is now understood to be nominal. This limited dredging can be undertaken with little or no impact on water quality, while clear-cutting trees, filling wetlands and harvesting more than a million cubic yards of soil on Sears Island are necessary to develop the facility there. If Maine pursues building an offshore wind port facility in Penobscot Bay, Mack Point is best for business, best for the environment and best for Maine. ~ Stephen Miller, Islesboro Islands Trust

Letter: Vote for Pine Tree Power

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 21, 2023

The reasons to support Pine Tree Power, a nonprofit’s purchase of Versant Power and Central Maine Power, are compelling. Versant and CMP are both primarily owned by large entities based in other countries: Versant in Canada, and CMP in Spain. Millions of dollars flow out of Maine, and out of our country, to their shareholders. Wouldn’t people rather see these millions of dollars poured back into upgrading Maine’s grid infrastructure? I know I would. These large companies are using their inexhaustible resources to overwhelm us with advertising and lobbying. Don’t let them deceive you. People should tell everyone they know to vote for Pine Tree Power, and hurry! ~ Sue Owen, Orono

Man drowns trying to rescue mother and child from New Hampshire river

ASSOCIATED PRESS • August 21, 2023

A man died over the weekend while rescuing relatives from a New Hampshire river in the second such death in the state less than a week. A mother and a child became stuck around midday Sunday in a fast stretch of the Swift River in Albany, New Hampshire. The father, Vincent Parr, 37, of Lawrence, Massachusetts, went in to help and also got caught in the current. The mother and child reached shore safely, but bystanders had to bring Parr to the riverbank. He was pronounced dead after lifesaving efforts at the scene. Melissa Bagley, of Lynn, Massachusetts, drowned Tuesday while trying to rescue her 10-year-old son, who had fallen into a swift current while visiting Franconia Falls.

Boats bring in a record haul during Casco Bay Bluefin Bonanza

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • August 20, 2023

Each of the top-five finishers caught tuna weighing at least 700 pounds. In all, 34 boats hauled in a record 66 bluefin during the fifth-annual Casco Bay Bluefin Bonanza. Proceeds from the nonprofit event go toward community college scholarships for students enrolled in trades and marine science programs, internships for University of Maine students working at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, and an endowment with the University of Maine Foundation supporting bluefin tuna research at the University of Maine’s Pelagic Fisheries Lab at GMRI.

Old Town cop frees skunk’s head from Dunkin’ cups

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 21, 2023

An Old Town police officer recently freed a skunk whose head somehow became stuck in two Dunkin’ cups. The skunk’s misadventure likely began while it tried to indulge its sweet-tooth or get a late-night caffeine boost before heading back to the University of Maine. In an encounter caught on his body camera, Officer David Hilton approached the crepuscular creature at the Dunkin’ drive-through on Stillwater Avenue. While deftly avoiding getting in the path of the south-end of an anxious skunk, Hilton removed both cups from the animal’s head. And once freed, the skunk, in what may be interpreted as an expression of gratitude, scampered away without spraying Hilton.

Maine’s peach crop this year is a total loss

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 21, 2023

All is not peachy in Maine’s peach orchards this year. A spell of bitter cold weather last February, a day and a half of high winds and temperatures reaching 18 degrees below zero, resulted in total crop failure this summer.

Maine supporters of a right to a clean environment encouraged by Montana ruling

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 21, 2023

A recent court decision in Montana citing that state’s constitutional right to a clean and healthy environment is being cheered by climate activists around the country. But it has special significance for advocates in Maine who are fighting to establish a similar constitutional right to combat climate change and other environmental threats here. Last year, the Legislature voted against a proposed constitutional amendment that would have put climate change at the forefront of public policy decisions. Lawmakers will take up the proposal again next session with one key difference – this time, the campaign is being led youth organizers.

Letter: Pine Tree Power makes environmental sense to me

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 21, 2023

I support the Pine Tree Power proposal. I believe it can make our state’s electricity grid more sustainable by investing in renewable-energy sources like solar and wind power. As a lifelong resident of Maine, I have seen firsthand the impact of climate change. Our winters are getting shorterm and our summers are getting hotter. Our sea levels are rising. As a young person, I have to reckon with the effects that climate change will have on my future. This campaign will make me feel better about continuing my life in Maine. I urge everyone to join me in supporting Pine Tree Power. Together, we can protect our environment for future generations. ~ Samuel Grant, North Berwick

Quebec utility partnering on CMP corridor may revive nuclear plant

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 21, 2023

Hydro-Quebec, a partner on the controversial $1 billion hydropower line through western Maine, may restart a nuclear reactor as it eyes future power demands. News broke earlier this month that the Quebec utility is considering restarting a decommissioned nuclear plant, and that has renewed questions about whether it can meet existing power contracts for the New England Clean Energy Connect project in Maine. The contract that Hydro-Quebec has for the NECEC project with Maine and Massachusetts will deliver hydroelectricity most of the time, but it allows Hydro-Quebec to pull back supplies in critical hours when Quebec has its own shortages, said David Littell, an energy and environmental attorney in Portland and a former member of the Maine Public Utilities Commission.

Inside the feud that has stalled a coastal Maine park

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 21, 2023

Nearly five years ago, a group of residents in this tourist haven assembled to build an waterfront park. Both the supporters and the couple with a home next to the site say they have the town’s best interests in mind. They also seem to have the same goal: finishing a park the community of more than 2,000 people can enjoy. Yet this is a tale of revoked permits, amended plans and legal action.

Leaving dog poop on hiking trails is a health hazard

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 21, 2023

Strolling along a public trail, you breathe in the fresh air and feel your stress melt away. Birds sing. Tree branches sway in the breeze. Sunlight warms your skin. And then you step in a pile of dog poop. Yuck. Unfortunately, many people have endured this traumatic experience. Dog waste has long been a problem in public outdoor spaces, in trail networks and on beaches. And in addition to being disgusting, this problem is a public health concern, and can harm the environment and wildlife. In June 2018, Acadia National Park launched a new Bark Ranger Program to encourage dog owners to learn and practice good etiquette. BARK is an acronym for: Bag your poop, Always wear a leash, Respect wildlife, Know where you can go.