A look back at some of this year’s environmental stories

MAINE MONITOR • November 26, 2023

The Maine Monitor looks back at a few of the stories covered in recent months, including:
• An effort to create a new National Wildlife Refuge in the High Peaks Region of western Maine ran into serious trouble among local residents.
• More acquisitions are expected in the coming months for the Cobscook Shores Park System, which was created by the Butler Conservation Fund.
• Lawmakers settled on legislation that may open the door to extracting the lithium by allowing larger open pit metal mines.

Column: Muzzleloader season brings new set of challenges for deer hunters

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • November 26, 2023

Another muzzleloader season in Maine begins Monday with mixed feelings for deer hunters. If you care, it means you either didn’t tag your buck during firearms season (frustration) or you still have an antlerless tag to fill (hope). It’s going to be colder, and what deer remain have been chased and educated for a month (despair), but the season is still open (cautious optimism). Here are a few things to consider if your mood is on the negative side. ~ Bob Humphrey

Maine apple growers hurt by 50% loss, insurance inequities

SUN JOURNAL • November 26, 2023

Maine’s apple growers are suffering from their worst harvest in over a decade. Between severe crop losses and wet weather that kept customers home during the peak fall apple picking season, some local growers are struggling to make ends meet through the winter. Many are counting on federal crop insurance claims to help recoup some of this year’s losses. Maine orchards produce over a million bushels of apples a year, according to the Maine Pomological Society. Many of the state’s 84 apple producers are family-run farms that make a sizable portion of their income through agritourism, such as pick-your-own apples. “This is one of the worst (apple) years for the state of Maine,” said Jeremy Forrett, vice president of Crop Growers LLP, a licensed crop insurance agency

Letter: Are heat pumps really the answer?

SUN JOURNAL • November 26, 2023

So…getting heat pumps is the answer. Right? Do we have infrastructure to do this and all the proposed electric cars envisioned? Now we have government wanting to shut down our oil furnaces in favor of heat pumps. Where is this electricity going to come from? ~ Marc Gosselin, Greene

There’s federal money to shield communities from disasters. Why isn’t Maine getting more of it?

MAINE MONITOR • November 25, 2023

Small cities and towns face many challenges when it comes to applying for grants, including being unaware of the programs in the first place. The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant, which started in 2020, is by far the largest of FEMA’s non-disaster grants, with $2.1 billion in competitive funding available nationwide during the 2022 grant cycle. Maine, however, got less than 0.5% of the 2022 BRIC funding. Other states have been far more successful applying for funds. Some have submitted hundreds of project applications per grant cycle, often with the aid of outside consultants – help that’s financially out of reach for many smaller states. “There’s more funding than there’s ever been before, but it’s not enough for all the adaptation and resilience work that must occur for us to be ready for the next 60 or 80 years,” Victoria Salinas, FEMA associate administrator for resilience.

Borealis: Women Train to become Registered Maine Guides

MAINE PUBLIC • November 24, 2023

A week of hands-on training at camp, a 100 question test, an interview, and a variety of outdoors demonstrations. These are a few of the elements of training required to become a registered Maine guide. Reporter Patty Wight gets to know many of the women who are stepping out of their comfort zones to get certified. Some have loads of experience in the outdoors, while others are making huge pivots to prioritize an outdoorsy life for their own well-being. No matter their motivation, these women all work hard to overcome the training challenges through the values of grit and community.

I saw 4 moose during a snowy hike in the Moosehead region

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 24, 2023

Deep in the woods of the Moosehead Lake region, Eagle Rock, built in 2014, is a dramatic outcropping that seems to rise up out of nowhere, reaching above an evergreen forest to provide a 360-degree view of the region. The the 3.7-mile trail is open to the public and protected in perpetuity by an easement. On the way back to the trailhead, I watched a large moose run along the banks of a brook, followed by a smaller moose. Then, on the drive out of the property, I came across another cow-calf pair. ~ Aislinn Sarnacki

Woodland Pulp strike ends as union accepts amended contract

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 24, 2023

After more than a month on the picket line, union workers at the Woodland Pulp mill in Baileyville voted Friday to accept the latest offer from the company, ending a strike that started Oct. 14. In an announcement, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers highlighted gains in the new tentative contract, including general wage increases of 3-4 percent. Workers will also get a contract ratification bonus of $750 each.

Environmental association gives Maine teachers funding boost for outdoor education

SUN JOURNAL • November 24, 2023

For the past three years the Maine Environmental Education Association has awarded numerous mini-grants to teachers, with $483,651 raised from private, nongovernmental philanthropic organizations going toward the program that serves teachers in schools all over Maine. The grants, up to $1,500 each, help educators who want to take their students outside to do environmental education but need extra support.

Deer "breaks in" to local Rockland business, tries to get head start on Black Friday shopping

WGME-TV13 • November 24, 2023

Rockland Police say they were met with a surprise on Thanksgiving Day. When officers arrived around 1 p.m. at a local retailer they found a large front glass window smashed out and items knocked over inside the store. Police secured the entry and exit points, then began their search of the building for what they thought were burglars still inside the store. While clearing the building, they were met with a "fawn-tastic surprise": a white-tail deer that was "possibly trying to get a head start on Black Friday shopping!" The deer left the store on its own without any merchandise. It was not seriously injured.

Seeking Light: Plants from Shoreline to Canopy in the Arts & Sciences

MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • November 24, 2023

This two-part exhibition, taking place at both the Portland and Biddeford UNE Art Galleries, highlights the role of plants in the environment and in the creative imagination. Plants are a primary source of subject matter for many artists, providing a rich and varied visual stimulus paired with a narrative of growth, ascension, and decay. Scientists hone their understanding of ecosystems and environmental interdependence through close study of plants and trees. Meet artists Rebecca Goodale, Gretchen Halpert, and Raquel P. Miller, and student-cartographer Matthew Pittsley November 27, 12:30-1:30 pm in the Ketchum Library UNE Art Gallery, Biddeford. The exhibit is on view at the UNE Art Gallery, Biddeford, through January 7, 2024.  

Opinion: Fishing and wind can share the water

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 24, 2023

The process for designating areas suitable for offshore wind generation in the Gulf of Maine is advancing with the goal of awarding the first lease contracts in late 2024. Some see this as a golden opportunity. Others see it as a tragic loss. Whatever your point of view, in the near future massive industrial activity will be introduced into what has always been a wild, unfettered ecology. Lobster Management Area 1 is arguably the most prolific and valuable fishing ground in the U.S, perhaps the world. In October, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management released its latest draft of a potential “Wind Energy Area” where leasing would occur. Most of Lobster Management Area 1 is now excluded from the lease process, not just for its value to fisheries, but because of its unique ecological character and diversity. As offshore wind development unfolds, it will occupy thousands of square nautical miles of ocean. In the future, the fishing industry and the wind industry will be sharing space on the water and on the waterfront. Both of these industries could benefit from working together. ~ John Williamson

Developers of Maine wind transmission line stymied by pace of negotiations with regulators

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 24, 2023

New York-based LS Power wants to build up to 160 miles of transmission line across northern and central Maine, but differences over terms of the service and power purchase agreement have emerged, as has some community opposition.

Darling’s sues Versant after power company disconnected solar facility

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 24, 2023

Darling’s car dealerships built a 987 kilowatt solar facility in Brewer that came online Aug. 22, 2022. Darling’s spent more than $400,000 for studies, line protection work, metering and engineering, according to a lawsuit filed by the company Nov. 21 in Penobscot County Superior Court. It accuses Versant of violating an interconnection agreement between the companies when Versant took the solar facility offline for three months. Darling’s wants a judge to find Versant breached the contract and order Versant to pay damages and attorney fees.

U.S. electric vehicle sales to hit record this year, but still lag China and Germany

ASSOCIATED PRESS • November 23, 2023

This year will be the first time more than 1 million EVs are sold in the U.S. in one calendar year, probably reaching between 1.3 million and 1.4 million cars. Although the numbers show significant progress in electrification, the nation is lagging behind countries like China, Germany, and Norway. EVs reached 33% of sales in China, 35% in Germany, and 90% in Norway for the first six months of 2023.

The pandemic could have eased the impacts of flying. Here’s why it didn’t.

WASHINGTON POST • November 23, 2023

In the spring of 2020, as the coronavirus swept over the globe, air travel disappeared. But now, 3 1/2 years on, Americans’ love of flying has fully returned. Flying is responsible for approximately 2.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions but about 3.5% of human-caused warming every year – because of the way planes affect the chemical composition of the sky. That might seem like a small amount, but by 2050, aviation emissions could triple. Some people passionate about climate change and the environment – including some climate scientists – have signed pledges to cut back. But in the United States, there are few easy alternatives. If the country invested in high-speed rail, 54% of domestic flights could be replaced by train travel.

Column: Crows have a surprisingly complex family life

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 23, 2023

Crow society is built around strong family bonds. Crows mate for life, and their offspring hang around for several years to help take care of successive broods. You often see groups of crows foraging together. There are brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles in the mix. Crows guard each other, often posting a sentry while the group forages. Crows groom each other and tend to sick relatives. Crows defend family territories year-round, though they will sometimes allow “outsiders” into their family circles. Crows have always gathered in big winter roosts, but it’s only recently that they began moving into cities. After federal protections were extended to crows in the early 1980s, they started to become more comfortable around humans. ~ Bob Duchesne

Albany man has lived off the grid for 50 years

BETHEL CITIZEN • November 22, 2023

With ingenuity and determination, Paul Hausman has worked hard to make his own way on a rural hillside in Albany Township. He has never relied on public utilities in his 50 years off the grid.

Maine ski areas get boost from storm

MAINE PUBLIC • November 22, 2023

Wednesday's storm disrupted travel and cloaked southern Maine in rain, but it brought a welcome blanket of snow to Maine's ski areas. Sugarloaf's Charli Sayward said the mountain opened last weekend, thanks to a lot of early season snowmaking. And she said at least 5 inches of fresh snow had fallen by Wednesday morning.

Bangor residents continue to clash over proposed housing development

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 22, 2023

The Bangor Planning Board held a public comment on a proposed development that would build 30 two-story duplexes with a total of 60 housing units, but the neighbors who surround the potential development remain fierce in their opposition of the housing. While the project would bring new housing to a city that has repeatedly listed increasing its housing stock as a priority, the idea has faced months of opposition from neighbors who fear it would increase traffic, dilute water pressure and erase habitats for wildlife, among other concerns.