Storms muddy future for Maine’s ATV enthusiasts

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • September 10, 2023

After a summer of frequent downpours and intense flooding, Maine officials and some of the state’s hardest-hit ATV clubs are wondering how they will restore their rain-battered trails for next year and the years to come. Their concerns arise from the hefty price of trail maintenance projects and the waning ATV club volunteerism that groups rely on to keep their trail systems safe and functional. Maine’s patchwork of roughly 6,000 miles of ATV and multiuse trails rests on the back of dozens of these ATV clubs, who finance their trail systems’ maintenance with donations and state grants.

Mitchell Center to host talk on building climate resilience in polarized places Sept. 18

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 9, 2023

The Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions at the University of Maine will host a talk, “Herding Ostriches: Building Climate Resilience in Polarized Places” with Sunrise County Economic Council’s Tanya Rucosky at 3 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 18. Rucosky’s talk will explore how Maine Won’t Waits’ climate goals are being met in both traditionally liberal and more conservative parts of the state. free and are offered both remotely via Zoom and in person at 107 Norman Smith Hall, UMaine, Orono. Preregister if Zooming.

The world is still falling short on limiting climate change, according to U.N. report

NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO • September 9, 2023

The world needs to "rapidly accelerate action" on cutting heat-trapping emissions, warns a new report from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Countries have an ever-shrinking window of time to stave off temperatures that would bring more dangerous heat waves, droughts and storms. The warning comes ahead of major climate change negotiations among world leaders in early December at COP28, to be held in the United Arab Emirates. Countries use the annual summit to discuss their pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions, but so far, they're still falling short.

Eastport preparing to host a record 15 cruise ships this fall

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 9, 2023

A 324-foot cruise ship docking in Eastport Monday is expected to kick off a busy autumn that will produce a record number of annual cruise ship visits for Maine’s easternmost city. The ship visits are expected to help boost local businesses as visitors — both passengers on the ships and people who will come to the city to see them — come and go from Eastport’s waterfront. The city expects to host passengers and crew from a total of 16 cruise ship visits this year — one by the Zaandam this past spring and the rest this fall — which will be Eastport’s highest annual tally ever.

Many Maine hunters say shooting a bear with her cubs is unethical

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 8, 2023

While some states have banned the practice, it is legal in Maine to shoot a sow accompanied by cubs or to harvest a cub. Although some folks are comfortable harvesting the adult bear, many hunters won’t take the shot if it will orphan the cubs.

Developer asks Trenton for tax break on proposed 70-megawatt solar farm

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 8, 2023

The developer behind a proposed 70-megawatt solar farm in Trenton is asking the town to cut its tax bill in half. At a presentation to the town select board on Tuesday, an attorney for Maryland-based SynerGen Solar explained the proposal, which would involve the town placing the solar farm in a tax increment financing, or TIF, zone. A TIF allows a municipality to shelter property tax revenue from the state’s education funding and revenue sharing formulas. Towns can use the money for a limited range of approved municipal projects or share some of the revenue with the property owner in what is called a credit enhancement TIF. This arrangement, which amounts to a tax break, is often used as an incentive to bring in new businesses.

UN secretary-general has urged the Group of 20 leaders to send a strong message on climate change

ASSOCIATED PRESS • August 8, 2023

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Friday urged the Group of 20 top economic powers, which are responsible for more than 80% of the emissions that cause global warming, to use their weekend summit to send a strong message on climate change. Guterres said all licensing or funding for new fossil fuel projects should be stopped and that the G20 must keep the “1.5-degree goal alive,” referring to the 2015 Paris climate agreement that set 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit as a global guardrail in atmospheric warming, with countries pledging to try to prevent that much long-term warming if possible.

State Drinking Water Program supports redrawn boundary line for Lake Auburn watershed

MAINE PUBLIC • September 8, 2023

The state's Drinking Water Program agrees with the findings of a previous study that the Lake Auburn Watershed boundary can be redrawn smaller. Mike Broadbent, superintendent of the Lake Auburn Water District, says if the Board of Trustees approves the new boundary, it would remove about 80 acres from the 9,700 acre watershed, which could then be rezoned. The city of Auburn wants to shrink the watershed boundary even further to allow a housing development. That sparked a lawsuit by the city of Lewiston over concerns about degraded water quality. Lake Auburn provides drinking water for the two cities, and is one of the few water systems in the U.S. that doesn't require filtration because of its quality. In its review, Maine's Drinking Water Program concluded more research is needed to determine whether the watershed boundary can be redrawn even closer to the lake.

CMP accused of overspending on storm recovery by $53.6 million

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 8, 2023

Maine’s advocate for utility customers wants state regulators to claw back more than $50 million that it says Central Maine Power Co. overspent because it exceeded staffing guidelines when restoring electricity to ratepayers during a dozen storms in 2022. But the utility says that money was spent on out-of-state crews necessary to restore power to customers more quickly.

Casting out: A new group is trying to diversify fly fishing in Maine

MAINE PUBLIC • September 8, 2023

This gathering is anything but typical. The participants have signed up for a special weekend called Outcast Campout, put on by a new organization, the Confluence Collective. Although Maine is known for its diverse fly fishing opportunities, anglers themselves are not so diverse. And the collective aims to change that. Zsakee Lewis says the organization is helping to diversify the sport of fly fishing – for women, people who are LGBTQ, and people of color like her.

Maine Voices: South Portland should take care to protect its character, history

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 8, 2023

Bug Light Park is considered South Portland’s premier park. But its security and value have been threatened by the proposed development of Yard South right next door. Bug Light’s proximity to a proposed 30-acre urban cityscape, including four 18-story buildings, retail and office space, restaurants and other California- or Florida-inspired development, renders the park significantly endangered. The danger intensifies because the South Portland City Council has declined to protect Bug Light against development by granting a conservation easement. Bug Light needs to be protected; the Yard South development is a treacherous and thoughtless concept. ~ Barbara Dee, South Portland

Column: If you understand the basics, you can take good bird photos without an expensive camera

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 7, 2023

Anyone can take better photos with a modern camera, if they understand the three basics —  aperture, shutter speed and ISO. By adjusting these three parameters, you have all the tools you need to get great photos. Alas, I have not fully mastered the art. My last tidbit: dumb luck beats skill. Don’t shoot one photo; shoot a hundred. Many cameras can take multiple shots while the shutter remains depressed. You’re bound to get lucky on one of them. Delete the rest. I don’t know if I’ll ever become a better bird photographer. I shutter to think about it. ~ Bob Duchesne

South Portland poised to approve rules to reduce the number of trees lost to development

FORECASTER • September 7, 2023

The South Portland City Council is poised to pass regulations aimed at reducing and offsetting the number of trees cut down for development in the city. The regulations would also apply to homeowners who want to take down large swaths of trees on their property, but exempt those who want to remove one or just a few for small improvement projects or because the trees are hazardous or unhealthy. Any project that calls for the removal of 10 or more “significant” trees, three or more “heritage” trees and any “historic” trees would require city approval under the new regulations.

Mitchell Center to host talk ‘Vacationland or Climate Migrationland?’ on Sept. 11

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 6, 2023

The Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions at the University of Maine will host a talk, “Vacationland or Climate Migrationland?”, with speaker Vanessa Levesque, assistant professor at the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of Southern Maine at 3 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 11. Free and are offered both remotely via Zoom and in person at 107 Norman Smith Hall, UMaine, Orono. Preregister if Zooming.

Column: More climate fiction

SUN JOURNAL • September 5, 2023

It’s been a good summer for climate activists who are pushing the false narrative of “climate change.” We had the Canadian wildfires with smoke drifting into other parts of North America. Then there were hotter than usual rees. The same goes for Maui, along with better management of the fire when it first broke out. The organization Climate Intelligence has published a letter signed by 1,609 scientists who say there is no climate emergency. ~ Cal Thomas

Shark filmed swimming off Hermit Island in Phippsburg

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 5, 2023

A large shark that was filmed swimming close to the shore of Hermit Island in Phippsburg last week is most likely a blue shark. Blue sharks do not pose much of a threat to humans, but marine scientists who viewed the video caution that it is best not to get too close to any shark.

Wildfire smoke from western Canada is reaching parts of Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 5, 2023

For the third or fourth time this year, air quality in Maine is being affected by wildfires in Canada, according to the National Weather Service in Caribou. This time, the smoke affecting northern and eastern Maine is coming from British Columbia and western Alberta. “The smoke is being channeled northward somewhat over Hudson Bay and then it’s being looped through northern and central Quebec and down through northern Maine that way,” said Victor J. Nouhan, lead forecaster at Climate Focal Points for the National Weather Service in Caribou.

Maine utility ballot question likely to be tied up in court for years

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 5, 2023

The state’s public advocate said there are too many unknowns to give a clear interpretation of the November referendum seeking to create a public-owned utility. But one thing is nearly certain: there will be court challenges. Many of the biggest questions remain unanswered, some of which could take years to settle in court. On Nov. 7, voters will be asked: “Do you want to create a new power company governed by an elected board to acquire and operate existing for-profit electricity transmission and distribution facilities in Maine?”

A mysterious Maine deer is turning purple but nobody knows why

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 5, 2023

Tony Gedaro of South Portland recently encountered a bizarre looking white-tailed deer while driving through Cape Elizabeth. The deer, a crotch horn buck, not only is sporting large, bulbous masses on its chest and on the underside of its lower jaw, but it appears to be turning purple. It’s unclear what caused the unusual appearance. Some commenters on Facebook provided a link to a condition called “Bullwinkle Deer,” which results in a swollen face for affected animals.