The most comprehensive online source of conservation news and events in Maine and beyond, edited by Jym St. Pierre
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 29, 2023
Recently my memory is filled with thoughts of my wonderful friend, the ubiquitous black-capped chickadee, easily my favorite bird and many times a loyal hiking companion. Occasionally, other species like kinglets, tufted titmouses and white-breasted and red-breasted nuthatches will join them attracted by their calls and activity. ~ Dave Small
THE COUNTY • August 29, 2023
This president is so thoughtful to us average Americans that he wants us all to have electric vehicles by 2035. In fact, he’s trying to ram these down our throats, all in the name of green energy. To buy one you’ll need to shell out over $60,000. To charge one will take an average of an hour, but first, you’ll have to find an empty charging station. According to Google we have all of two stations in the Star City. According to recent reports on Fox News, it’ll actually cost more to charge up your electric vehicle than to pump in a proportionate amount of gasoline. Here’s something most people aren’t aware of because the green climate people don’t want potential customers to know: the electric vehicle batteries are not made to last the natural life of the electric vehicle. ~ Clare Kierstead, Presque Isle
FORECASTER • August 29, 2023
From planting gardens to installing solar panels and buying electric vehicles, sustainability practices are in full swing at the OceanView at Falmouth retirement community. The Whipple Farm solar project was completed in June, resulting in more than half of OceanView’s cottages becoming fully solar powered. More solar panel installations are planned. OceanView is also planning to go electric with its entire fleet of company vehicles.
NEWS CENTER MAINE • August 30, 2023
If Mainers vote yes on Question 3 in November, a public nonprofit would take over CMP and Versant, two private companies that currently hold most of the electrical grid in Maine. That public nonprofit, known as Pine Tree Power, argues it would be a cheaper alternative to CMP and Versant, as the money would stay in Maine. One ad funded by Enmax (parent to Versant) argues that voters would be voting yes on Pine Tree Power without the nonprofit having a plan on how it would operate once taking over utility control. A spokesperson for Our Power said a plan is set in stone, and any fine details would be decided by the board of advisors.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 29, 2023
A ballot measure that calls for the creation of a consumer-owned utility in Maine has received an endorsement from the Sierra Club. Ben Jealous, executive director of the national environmental advocacy group, said in an announcement Tuesday that voters should seize the opportunity to pass Question 3 in the November referendum and create a more responsive utility.
MAINE PUBLIC • August 29, 2023
The small Down East town that had been eyed as the potential site of the world's tallest flagpole will extend a large-scale development moratorium by another six months. Columbia Falls residents initially approved a six-month pause on major commercial or high-density development back in March. Aga Dixon, the town's attorney, said that the work of drafting new ordinances and regulations to better react to big developments is about halfway complete. Town and planning board officials have been meeting almost weekly, and Dixon said she expects they will present a draft code of ordinances to voters for their consideration sometime this fall or winter. As of Tuesday afternoon, a website for the proposed "Flagpole of Freedom" park appeared to be offline.
MAINE PUBLIC • August 29, 2023
In this Borealis story, budding scientists and explorers arrive at the Schoodic Peninsula, the mainland part of Acadia National Park, to embark on an exciting adventure called the Schoodic Education Adventure, or SEA Program for short. Outdoor classroom learning through the SEA Program extends the park's mission of conservation and engagement by turning Maine students into citizen scientists. It's one of the longest running programs of its kind, and the students' research on invasive green crabs in tidepools will go on to support research done by the Gulf of Maine Research Institute.
ASSOCIATED PRESS • August 29, 2023
The Biden administration weakened regulations protecting millions of acres of wetlands Tuesday, saying it had no choice after the Supreme Court sharply limited the federal government’s jurisdiction over them. The rule would require that wetlands be more clearly connected to other waters like oceans and rivers, a policy shift that departs from a half-century of federal rules governing the nation’s waterways.
ASSOCIATED PRESS • August 29, 2023
Plans to build the world’s tallest flagpole are being delayed — again. The tiny town of Columbia Falls in Maine is extending its moratorium on big developments for another six months following a proposal for a flagpole taller than the Empire State Building, with an observation deck and a flag larger than a football field. The planned tourist attraction would also have an auditorium, living history museums and a monument. Town officials said they lacked rules and regulations for such a large project. The town of 485 residents began grappling with zoning regulations after Morrill Worcester proposed a structure stretching skyward.
MAINE PUBLIC • August 29, 2023
As the University of Maine’s Climate Change Institute celebrates its 50th anniversary, we talk with CCI director and professor Paul Mayewski about the institute’s role as a global leader in studying the causes and impacts of our changing climate. We’ll also learn about Mayewski’s latest research and what he has learned over the years about glaciers, melting ice, and human-induced climate change. Panelist: Paul Mayewski, glaciologist, climate scientist and polar explorer; director and professor, Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine.
ASSOCIATED PRESS • August 29, 2023
On remote islands off the Maine coast, a unique bird held its own this year in the face of climate change. Atlantic puffins – clownish seabirds with colorful bills and waddling gaits – had their second consecutive rebound year for fledging chicks after suffering a catastrophic 2021, said scientists who monitor the birds. The encouraging news comes as the Audubon Society is celebrating its 50th anniversary of tending to Maine’s puffin colonies, which it restored from just a few dozen pairs. There are now as many as 3,000 birds, and the population is stable,
WASHINGTON POST • August x, 2023
Maine, while 90 percent forest, is also one of our most logged states. If you’re wondering where a lot of America’s 2-by-4s and toilet paper come from, it’s here. Of Maine’s original species, sea minks, cougars, caribou and gray wolves are either extinct or extirpated from the state. Without this knowledge, it was easy to think I stood on the edge of primeval wilderness. Changes here unfolded over centuries. Each generation came to see the woods and rivers around them as normal even as the ecosystem degraded. There’s a name for this: shifting baselines. Today, a new normal is being rewritten in our own lifetimes amid climate-related disasters, from smoke-filled skies to lethal heat waves. Yet accepting these conditions as normal threatens to unravel what made the world capable of withstanding these shocks in the first place. To restore the rich relationships of species, and our place among them, we need to remember our “baselines,” whether that’s in Maine or your own backyard. One of the best ways to do this is telling stories. ~ Michael J. Coren
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 29, 2023
We moved to Portland 20 years ago to a quiet, charming and very manageable small city, happy to do so. We felt safe to live in Portland through the pandemic. However, as we’ve all noticed, nothing is the same since then. My husband and I have lived in much larger cities and enjoy urban life. However, the noise here in Portland now far exceeds that. The sources are varied: motorcycles, souped-up cars, trucks “jake braking” (banned in some cities), street people in the wee hours, etc. This goes on 24/7. Portland has noise ordinances, but I’ve not seen any enforcement. ~ Sharon Reilly, Portland
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 29, 2023
Versant and Central Maine Power have the bucks to hire high-priced lawyers and pump thousands into slick ads, trying to confuse us into voting against our own best interests. CMP has had the worst customer satisfaction of any similar utility in the country four years out of fiveand the most frequent power outages of any state in the nation. Nebraska has public power and some of the most reliable electric service in the country. How obviously bad does it have to get before we stop letting ourselves be hustled? ~ Chris Wright
Belfast
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 28, 2023
Bud Simpson got riled up when he saw an ad for the rubber-soled, leather Barker hunting shoe in a 1904 edition of In the Maine Woods magazine. The 88-year-old former shoemaker, who was born in Brewer, remembered claims that L.L. Bean has made over the years that its founder, Leon Leonwood Bean, created a boot “built of ingenuity.” That boot is now one of the world’s most storied brands and the legend of its discovery has lived on. But Bean boots were first marketed in 1912, after similar boots appeared in magazines and catalogs, Simpson found. He became irritated at what he saw as exaggerated advertising by the Maine company, and recently self-published his own book about it, “Mr. Bean’s Boot.”
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 28, 2023
University of Maine researchers are working with Wabanaki and rural low-income communities to co-develop a new resource for helping them implement renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. The Environmental Protection Agency awarded $1.13 million to Sharon Klein and Caroline Noblet, both associate professors of economics, so they can investigate the effectiveness of Local Energy Action Networks while creating one for Maine.
MAINE PUBLIC • August 28, 2023
Several wastewater treatment plants in Maine are being awarded millions of dollars to make infrastructure improvements. The City of Saco will receive $9 million dollars from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for upgrades to its wastewater treatment plant. The city is elevating structures at the plant three feet above the 100-year flood elevation, partly to mitigate the effects of sea level rise. Under a separate U.S. Department of Agriculture program to strengthen rural infrastructure, the Town of Bethel is being awarded $3 million dollars in loans and grants to upgrade its wastewater treatment plant. The Town of Milo will also receive $95,000 to improve its sewer system.
MAINE PUBLIC • August 28, 2023
New aerial images and data show that a shoreline property and sandbar on the tip of Chebeague Island in Casco Bay has changed dramatically in recent years. The images of what's known as the "Hook" were taken by the Greater Portland Council of Governments, which has studied sea level rise and erosion on coastal communities in the region. Peter Slovinsky, a marine geologist for the Maine Geological Survey, said they reveal how the property has experienced intense erosion due to severe storms in 2018 and last year in late December. Resident Phyllis Brunner said there are few viable long term options as intense storms become more frequent. Still, she said there are positive signs that the beach is rebuilding itself with less traffic on the access road. And this summer, near-threatened piping plovers nested on the island, which Brunner said is a first for Casco Bay in the last 40 years.
DAILY BULLDOG • August 28, 2023
In May 2023, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service held public scoping sessions in Rangeley and Farmington to introduce the concept of a High Peaks National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). So far, the High Peaks NWR is just an idea. It is an idea I support wholeheartedly, which is why I’ve joined the USFWS stakeholder representative team to help shape the concept in a way that reflects community values. As a 50-year resident of Phillips and a Madrid landowner, I believe the High Peaks NWR would be a force multiplier for this region. The USFWS would bring invaluable conservation and outdoor recreation-focused funding to the High Peaks, helping us build and maintain outdoor access, crucial infrastructure, and threatened habitat. We would permanently protect outdoor recreation access and wildlife habitat in the region while gaining access to a $900-million pot of federal funding. Why wouldn’t we want a seat at that planning table? ~ Arthur Lage, Phillips
TIMES RECORD • August 27, 2023
For decades, a rail corridor connecting Brunswick and Gardiner has remained dormant, but residents are asking the Maine Department of Transportation to transform it into a recreation trail. Last week, the 14 members of the Rail Corridor Use Advisory Council voted to send an official recommendation to the MaineDOT, urging them to turn the 34-mile abandoned corridor into a trail for bikers and hikers. “Since the state has found passenger rail unfeasible on this corridor at least through 2040, the council concluded that an interim trail makes the most sense,” said council member Jeremy Cluchey.
