The most comprehensive online source of conservation news and events in Maine and beyond, edited by Jym St. Pierre
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 2, 2023
After nearly six years of undrinkable chemically contaminated water flowing through their pipes at the Houlton Mobile Home Park, residents will soon get relief, according to the park’s owner. Once the final piece of financing is approved that is. The imminent repairs of the water and sewage systems will finally bring the mobile home park in compliance with state and local regulations, and make the water safe for people to drink.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 2, 2023
For some of you, heading to Aroostook County might be a bit of a trek. But the journey is worth it, as you can escape the crowds and find yourself actually relaxing in nature, because that’s what it’s all about. Bonus: These hikes are all dog-friendly.
• Salmon Brook Lake trails in Perham
• Scopan Mountain near Presque Isle
• Aroostook National Wildlife Refuge in Limestone
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 2, 2023
A recent letter in the Bangor Daily News bemoaned Wolfden Resources’ efforts to establish a copper mine in Maine. Demand in the U.S. for copper is increasing due to the growing electrification of our economy. If we do not produce copper domestically, it must be imported. Large quantities of copper used in the U.S. are mined in poor countries, where water quality and environmental standards are far lower than here in Maine. I find it morally repugnant to take advantage of poor, defenseless people to sustain our metal demands when we have a domestic supply that can be extracted in a much more environmentally sound manner. Recycling is not the answer; the volumes needed are too great. Before someone else raises concerns about the threat of mining in Maine, let them answer the question: Where can we get copper in the volumes we use without despoiling someplace else? ~ Joseph T. Kelley, Orono
OUTSIDE • September 2, 2023
You’ll know your vacation here is beginning when, at the end of a 25-mile dirt road, you move your drybags and wanigans into a 22-foot wood-and-canvas canoe and greet the staffer waiting to paddle you the mile up Fourth Debsconeag Lake (pronounced DEBS-con-egg or DEBS-con-eeg) to the Debsconeag Lake Wilderness Camps. This comfortable off-grid scattering of five waterside cabins and two large yurts in the heart of the North Woods is a deeply, deeply quiet place to canoe, kayak, fish, swim, and hike.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 30, 2023
Hunter Law was feeling anxious. He was fresh out of high school and was trying to figure out what was next in his life. He had started drawing while attending Foxcroft Academy in Dover-Foxcroft, but decided to try painting. That experience opened up a whole new world of creative potential for Law, who has spent the last several years perfecting his craft. He specializes in painting iconic Maine animals such as moose, bears and deer.
MAINE PUBLIC • September 1, 2023
Members of the Penobscot Nation gathered at the northern tip of Indian Island today on the Penobscot River to celebrate the completion of a months-long canoe trip across the Northeast. The canoers left Maine in May, and went south to New York Harbor before going north to Quebec and then returning to Maine, in a trip that totaled more than 1800 miles. The inspiration for the trip was to connect with historic ways of travel.
MAINE PUBLIC • September 1, 2023
Voters in Albion approved a six-month moratorium on high-impact transmission lines earlier this week. The central Maine town is on a proposed path for a power corridor that would connect Aroostook County to the southern Maine electrical grid. Supporters of the moratorium say it will give the town more time to study the potential visual and environmental impacts of the project. Tom Bolen, who leads Albion's newly formed transmission line committee, said, "No doubt we need to connect Aroostook County in some form. But what we can't do is just tear up the landscape…when the reality is there's…alternatives."
MAINE PUBLIC • September 1, 2023
Maine's healthy beaches program is reporting that seven locations have elevated fecal bacteria levels going into the Labor Day weekend. The state website shows that several beaches in the Kennebunk and Kennebunkport area have levels that could be unsafe for swimmers, as well as beaches in Camden, South Portland, York and Lincolnville. The beaches that have elevated bacteria levels are:
• Colony Beach in Kennebunkport
• Goose Rocks Beach in Kennebunkport
• Goochs Beach in Kennebunk
• Mothers Beach in Kennebunk
• Laite Beach in Camden
• Willard Beach in Portland
• Cape Neddick Beach in York
For the latest updates check the Maine Healthy Beaches website.
MAINE PUBLIC • September 1, 2023
In his memoir Bald Eagles, Bear Cubs and Hermit Bill, wildlife biologist Ron Joseph recounts his youth in central Maine, the importance of his family's dairy farm, his adventures in the field, and the characters he met over the course of a career working with wildlife and conservation that spanned more than three decades. (rebroadcast)
SUN JOURNAL • September 1, 2023
Town officials are asking Maine’s congressional delegation to look into the delay by ISO New England in approving a request to interconnect four hydroelectric plants in Jay, Livermore and Livermore Falls in order to sell electricity to the New England power grid. “Currently, these four hydroelectric dams are not authorized to connect to sell energy to the grid but can only sell energy to the now shuttered mill,” wrote Jay assessing agent Paul Binette. “This issue definitely affects the valuation of the hydro dams if they cannot sell energy. As you can imagine, the town of Jay is currently not in a position to lose any more assessed valuation.”
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 1, 2023
The trend of getting out on foot, on wheels or, during the winter, on snowshoes and on skis contributes billions of dollars to Maine’s economy – in fact, we’re in the top five nationally for what the industry does for state GDP. More than that, it’s good for us and it’s good for our environment. Maine has a further chance to capitalize on this rush, now, by creating an off-road multi-use trail along the disused train line corridor, connecting Brunswick, Topsham, Bowdoinham, Richmond and Gardiner. Ultimately, rail transit – done right – makes abundant sense. The corridor can be restored for rail use. As it stands, however, the Department of Transportation has ruled out passenger rail along this particular corridor until 2040. A trail can be put to good use in those years.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 1, 2023
“My heart leaps up when I behold …” a cavalcade of bicycle-powered wheelchairs on a trek to Bug Light. The wheelchair passengers are enjoying sun on their faces, wind blowing their hair and a whooshing sensation as they roll along. The cyclists, the driving force, are skillful, powerful, dedicated, careful and smiling! ~ Charlene Hagen, South Portland
ASSOCIATED PRESS • August 31, 2023
A federal judge has found that a Trump-era rule change that allowed for the logging of old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest violates several laws. U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew Hallman on Thursday found that the U.S. Forest Service violated the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Forest Management Act and the Endangered Species Act when it amended a protection that had been in place since 1994. The area impacted by the rule is at least 7 million acres on six national forests.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 31, 2023
Environmental and labor groups sent a letter to Gov. Janet Mills this week urging her to do more to include the Wabanaki tribes of Maine in offshore wind talks, claiming tribal leaders have “not felt heard or particularly welcome” at state or federal permitting discussions. None of the four Wabanaki tribes signed the open letter, which was sent to Mills on Wednesday, but leaders of the 12 labor and environmental groups that did sign off said they got approval to do it from Wabanaki Alliance staff, a coalition of the four local federally recognized tribes.
FORECASTER • August 31, 2023
Cape Elizabeth’s capped landfill may soon become the source of enough electricity to power over 70% of the town’s municipal and school buildings. Encore, a Vermont-based solar company, could begin construction as soon as October on a solar field at the old landfill adjacent to the transfer station off Spurwink Avenue, near Gull Crest Fields. “It’s an ideal location for a solar installation because you’re not ever going to be able to build on top of it,” Town Manager Matt Sturgis said.
MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • August 31, 2023
Trails End Festival held in Millinocket is a celebration of the end of the Appalachian Trail, Katahdin region, the outdoor recreation community, and spending time with friends and family during three days of music, food, and fun!
BLOOMBERG • August 31, 2023
Six months after becoming the chief executive at Shell, Wael Sawan quietly ended the world’s biggest corporate plan to develop carbon offsets, the environmental projects designed to counteract the warming effects of CO2 emissions. Sawan laid out an updated strategy for the oil major that included cutting costs and doubling down on profit drivers like oil and gas. He omitted any mention of the company’s prior commitment to spend up to $100 million a year to build a pipeline of carbon credits, part of the firm’s promise to zero out its emissions by 2050. Those goals for the offsets program have been retired, the company confirmed.
KENNEBEC JOURNAL • August 31, 2023
As federal transportation investigators continue their work to identify the cause of the fatal plane crash Aug. 22 in Litchfield, state environmental officials are evaluating the impact of spilled aviation fuel at the site. On Wednesday, a member of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s Technical Services staff was at the scene of the crash on Oak Hill Road, conducting soil sampling.
SUN JOURNAL • August 31, 2023
Conservationists are aiming to remove or construct fish ladders over the five remaining dams on the Sabattus River in the next several years, opening access to 75 miles of river and stream habitat for migrating fish, especially alewives.
ASSOCIATED PRESS • August 31, 2023
The Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry is holding public hearings Sept. 6 about the plan to expand the quarantine zones for the emerald ash borer, the hemlock woolly adelgid and European larch canker. The quarantine areas place restrictions on the movement of items such as firewood, logs, branches and plants in an attempt to stop the pests from spreading. The spread of the three invasive forest pests poses a threat to the state’s timber industry.
