Why 200 geologists are exploring Aroostook’s mineral deposits

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 7, 2023

Nearly 200 geologists are convening at the University of Maine at Presque Isle this weekend. Those attending the 114th annual New England Intercollegiate Geological Conference will be out exploring geologic treasures in the rocks and mountains of northern Maine and western New Brunswick, Canada. Some of The County’s formations and features aren’t found in other places. Aroostook County has four of Maine’s 10 most significant mineral deposits, according to the Maine Geological Survey.

Letter: Maine beaches should not be hostile environments

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 7, 2023

On Labor Day weekend, a woman was recorded approaching a group of young children playing paddle ball on Moody Beach in Wells, angrily ordering them to leave, and threatening to call the police if they refused. We, the public, are packed onto 1 percent of Moody Beach while the rest lies virtually empty. Is this the legacy Maine wants to leave to its children? It’s time for both the town of Wells and the state of Maine to publicly take a stand and overturn what I believe was an erroneous and unconstitutional 1989 ruling, which turned Maine beaches into hostile environments. ~ Jeannie Connerney, Free Moody Beach, Wells

Letter: Vote yes on Question 2

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 7, 2023

As polarized as Americans seem to be at this time, there is an issue that we agree on: Approximately 80 percent of those polled, regardless of political affiliation, agree that we should prohibit spending by foreign governments and corporations controlled by foreign governments in our elections. If you are a Mainer who is convinced that big money has too much influence in our elections, I urge you to vote yes on ballot Question 2 in November. ~ Bonnie Sammons, Belgrade

Whales and dolphins in American waters are losing food and habitat to climate change, U.S. study says

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 6, 2023

A first-of-its-kind assessment says whales, dolphins and seals living in U.S. waters face major threats from the warming ocean temperatures, rising sea levels and decreasing sea ice associated with climate change. 72% of the stocks were highly or very highly vulnerable to climate change. The warming ocean primarily harms marine mammals by altering their ability to find food and reducing their amount of suitable habitat. However, changes in ocean temperature and chemistry also can change sound transmission. That can affect the sonar-like echolocation marine mammals such as dolphins use to communicate and hunt.

Gulf of Maine logged its 8th hottest summer on record

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 6, 2023

The average surface temperature of the Gulf of Maine this summer was 61.01 degrees, 1.91 degrees above the 30-year seasonal average, making it the eighth hottest summer since satellite data has been collected, according to a new report from the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. But conditions in the Gulf this summer were unusually cool when compared to recent years, the institute concluded. The three previous summers had been noteworthy for their extended marine heatwaves, part of a long-term trend of unseasonably warm summer and fall temperatures since 2012. A report by the institute found 2022 consistent with the long-term warming trend driven primarily by human-caused climate change, although the authors noted individual years could be influenced by large-scale patterns of natural variability.

Oxbow woman kills monster bear

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 6, 2023

The only other big game animal Mariah Carroll had ever shot was a zebra in Africa almost a year and a half ago. But on Friday, Carroll, 27, of Oxbow dropped a 510-pound black bear at approximately 9 a.m. Carroll said she likes to eat bear meat and would like to use the hide for a bear rug.

Meet the BDN’s new outdoors editor

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 5, 2023

Julie Harris is our newest outdoors editor, the latest steward of a beat that has been central to Maine culture and the Bangor Daily News. With her new role, Julie becomes the first female editor of a section that has exclusively been led by men. As hunting sees a dramatic, and much needed, surge of participation from women, she brings a valuable perspective to a pastime that is changing for the better. Julie will not only bring a deep background as a journalist, but also practical experience and connections forged by decades of exploring Maine’s natural wonders.

Baileyville mill workers intend to strike

KENNEBEC JOURNAL • October 6, 2023

About 90 workers at the Woodland pulp mill in Baileyville intend to strike at midnight Saturday saying management has not been bargaining in good faith. Unions representing machinists, millwrights and plant operators voted to strike following months of negotiations on a new contract, according to statement from the Maine AFL-CIO released Friday. Workers say management is trying to change job classifications that would endanger job security.

Company planning to purchase Jay paper mill hopes to close on the deal by Dec. 31

SUN JOURNAL • October 6, 2023

JGT2 Redevelopment LLC, which plans to buy the defunct Pixelle Specialty Solutions paper mill on Riley Road, its properties and the 1,000 acres it sits on, is hoping to close on the property by the end of the year. The pulp and paper mill formally ceased operations in March. The remaining industrial equipment is being decommissioned. The cogeneration facility is idled but remains operational. There are no current plans to continue manufacturing paper at the mill. JGT2 Redevelopment plans to redevelop the mill and cogeneration facility to other industrial uses. It proposes to restart the cogeneration plant to produce power to sell to the grid while redeveloping the properties associated with the former mill.

Contaminated farm in Unity to become PFAS research site

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 6, 2023

Maine Farmland Trust has purchased a highly contaminated organic vegetable farm in Unity with plans to turn the 45-acre property into an outdoor lab for researchers studying the impact of forever chemicals on agricultural production. The farming advocacy group bought Songbird Farm last month for an undisclosed sum from Adam Nordell and Johanna Davis, who had been farming the property for seven years when they discovered in 2021 that their soil, well water, and even their blood had high levels of PFAS chemicals.

Pittsfield council OKs use of grant money to improve snowmobile trails

MORNING SENTINEL • October 6, 2023

The Town Council this week gave its OK to using a $47,000 state grant to improve snowmobile trails covering some 40 miles around the Pittsfield area. Plans call for improving the alignment of some trails, installing trail signs and better grooming.

CMP and Versant outspend opponents by 30 times in takeover fight

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 6, 2023

The parents of Central Maine Power Co. and Versant Power have spent 30 times more than their opponents in the fight over Question 3, the item on Maine’s Nov. 7 ballot that would replace the companies with an elected board. Heavy spending by the utilities has been a trend throughout this campaign, but it is an acute problem for Our Power, the group proposing the utility takeover, which has raised only about $1 million. CMP and Versant have swamped them, tossing in almost $32 million for their combined political efforts as of Sept. 30.

Before hitting the 100-Mile Wilderness, Appalachian Trail hikers tell tales of hunger

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 6, 2023

The Appalachian Trail is some 2,200 drenched, sweaty, bug-bitten, frigid, achy – and euphoric – miles up and down and up and down and up and down from Spring Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin. If you think that AT thru-hikers get the formidable energy they need to hike as many as 22 miles a day, with loaded packs, in challenging terrain by eating nutritionally correct diets – heavy on the whole grains, fruit, vegetables and healthy proteins; low on the sugar and salt – you’d be mistaken. Sugar and salt might as well be basic food groups for AT hikers.

Forest managed by women has little-known trails near Brownville

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 6, 2023

A few things have changed in Williamsburg Forest since I last visited it in 2015. For one thing, it’s managed by a team of women foresters. The 180-acre forest is located in Williamsburg Township, just outside of Brownville, and it features 2.3 miles of interconnecting trails for hiking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. The first big difference I noted was the name. When I first visited the property, it was called Penobscot County Demonstration Forest. That was changed to the simpler Williamsburg Forest in 2022, when the Penobscot County Soil and Water Conservation District and a group of women foresters made numerous improvements to the property. Their goal was to make it a “forest for everyone, managed by women.”

Maine utilities continue to eclipse takeover group in campaign spending

MAINE PUBLIC • October 6, 2023

Maine's two largest electric utilities have spent nearly 44 times more money this year alone than the campaign hoping to convince voters to take over the companies' assets. The campaign committees representing Central Maine Power and Versant Power have spent a combined $17.4 million this year and have been funded exclusively by their parent companies, Avangrid and ENMAX, respectively. Both committees are sitting on $6 million in available cash, according to campaign finance reports filed Thursday. By contrast, Our Power, which aims to takeover the utilities and replace them with an nonprofit run by an elected board, has spent just shy of $400,000 and reported $56,000 in cash reserves.

Harpswell conservationists battle invasive honeysuckle that threaten fields and preserves

MAINE PUBLIC • October 6, 2023

On a sultry September day, Deane Van Dusen of Biome Care evaluates a small stand of apple, ash and birch trees at the Tarr-Eaton farmhouse in Harpswell Neck. “This is where the worst infestation is," he says as he circles the stand of trees to find Tatarian honeysuckle. This large stand has probably been growing here for 40 years, and he will use a treatment to kill the shrubs. He says the honeysuckle, left unchecked, will take over this grassy field and those beyond it that provide habitat for birds such as the bobolink and eastern meadowlark, food for wild animals like foxes and rabbits, and native milkweed for monarch butterflies. Van Dusen, a licensed master applicator, saws the woody shrubs down to stumps and then mixes a 50/50 solution of Triclopyr and water to paint on the stumps. Honeysuckle, introduced as ornamentals in the late 1800s, now threaten much of Maine's ecosystem. Conservationists say it's up to all landowners to be vigilant to stop their spread.

Letter: Scary Pine Tree Power proposal stands to harm business

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 6, 2023

As a longtime advocate for employers and a healthy Maine economy, the Pine Tree Power proposal frightens me. The idea of the government taking over any private company smacks of developing countries nationalizing their industries. What next? Imagine politicians taking over FedEx because a small group of people experienced late deliveries. If this hostile attempt to take over Central Maine Power and Versant Power succeeds, Maine’s reputation as a place to do business will be seriously harmed. Our Public Utilities Commission already can effectively regulate the companies that distribute the electricity. With Pine Tree Politicized Power, all we would get is an electric company at public expense operated by some outside vendor. ~ Tony Payne, Yarmouth [Senior Vice President, Maine Employers' Mutual Insurance Company]

Letter: Maine utilities should not put foreign shareholders first

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 6, 2023

Central Maine Power and Versant Power have no incentive to help Mainers reduce our energy consumption. To the contrary, they are legally required to maximize profits for their shareholders. It makes no sense to have private corporations running our electrical utilities. I want a utility that prioritizes my family, my community and my state, not a utility that prioritizes its foreign shareholders. That’s why I’m proudly voting “yes” to establish Pine Tree Power, a utility owned by the people of Maine, to work for all of us. ~ Nick Fuller, Biddeford

Letter: Oppose the Question 3 takeover of our power grid

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 6, 2023

On Nov. 7, Mainers have the opportunity to vote on Question 3 — in my opinion the most significant referendum proposal we’ve ever voted on. I urge my fellow Mainers to oppose this takeover of our power grid. Not only will this proposal cost Maine ratepayers an estimated $13.5 billion to complete the takeover, but it will likely be held up in court for years. How many improvements to the reliability of our electricity grid could be postponed because of this litigation? ~ Trisha White, Piscataquis County Treasurer, Guilford

West Gardiner voters back solar energy systems ordinances

KENNEBEC JOURNAL • October 5, 2023

Six months after four controversial ordinance proposals were sidelined in West Gardiner, voters approved them Thursday night at a special town meeting. With no zoning other than what state law requires, no planning board, no requirement for building permits and a comprehensive plan that dates back more than three decades, West Gardiner has been facing the same development pressures as its central Maine neighbors, but without the growth regulations adopted in other communities. Residents voted for a ban on new, large-scale solar energy systems, while allowing families and businesses to install small systems for their own use.