The most comprehensive online source of conservation news and events in Maine and beyond, edited by Jym St. Pierre
WMUR • December 11, 2023
It seems like the "Grinch" came out of his cave to hike New Hampshire's tallest mountain! "Cindy Lou Who" even joined the "Grinch" on his hike up Mount Washington. They took some photos and posed next to the summit sign. "Maybe these mountains, the Grinch thought, aren’t just about lists and a chore. Maybe these mountains, perhaps…mean a little bit more," David Perez wrote in a Facebook post of the photos.
TIMES RECORD • December 11, 2023
Amtrak’s Downeaster has been awarded a federal $500,000 grant to explore extending the passenger rail line from Brunswick to Rockland. U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the money will create “faster, more reliable, expanded train service across the country.”
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 11, 2023
Wolfden Resources Corporation is asking Maine’s Land Use Planning Commission to allow them to open a proposed mine to extract minerals such as zinc, lead and copper, which they can’t currently do on the parcel they are seeking to rezone. The LUPC has certain guidelines they must follow when considering this request, including an assessment of both potential positive and negative impacts, but ultimately the onus is on Wolfden as the applicant to convince the LUPC that their proposal merits this rezoning. We aren’t convinced that this proposal meets a critical part of the LUPC’s decision-making criteria for such a zone change.
TIMES RECORD • December 11, 2023
Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, a nonprofit focused on rebuilding the fisheries of the Gulf of Maine and sustaining Maine’s fishing communities for future generations, is hosting a holiday pop-up shop from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16, at its office at 93 Pleasant St. in Brunswick, featuring a number of products made in in partnership with local businesses and artists.
ASSOCIATED PRESS • December 11, 2023
Atlantic salmon isn’t yet threatened with extinction, but its population dropped by nearly a quarter from 2006 to 2020, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which tracks biodiversity around the globe, said on Monday. It’s now considered near threatened. They live in fewer places and face human-created hazards like dams and water pollution. Climate change is making it harder for the fish to find food and easier for alien species to compete, according to the group. Although there are some signs of hope: their numbers ticked up in Maine this past year. The news was announced at the United Nations climate conference in the United Arab Emirates on Monday. Leaders of the IUCN updated their Red List of Threatened Species, a tracker of biodiversity around the globe. It was mainly bad news. The list includes information on 157,000 species, about 7,000 more than last year’s update.
ASSOCIATED PRESS • December 11, 2023
A skier suffered a life-threatening leg injury after triggering an avalanche while skiing down Mount Washington. Dominic Torro, 30, of Bow, New Hampshire, was coming down Airplane Gully in a wilderness area with a friend Saturday morning. Torro’s friend and another skier went to Torro and called 911. While waiting for the helicopter, the skiers shoveled out an area on the slope so that a paramedic and litter basket could be lowered down from the helicopter and have enough room to load Torro and hoist him back up.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 11, 2023
Seeing Canadian potatoes cross the border bound for U.S. markets makes Aroostook County farmers edgy. Canada is sending more fresh potatoes to U.S. markets, according to Canadian officials. Between 2020 and 2022, Canadian potato exports to the U.S. increased by 20.8 percent due to a decline in U.S. potato production. Canada’s weaker dollar helps exporters. Potatoes are Maine’s No. 1 food crop. In 2022, the state produced 1.8 billion pounds of potatoes, valued at $247 million.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 11, 2023
Our once-thriving industries have consistently shrunk or closed over the last 50 years, taking thousands of good jobs with them. We need new opportunities to steer our working families and communities toward prosperity. The offshore wind industry promises to do just that. By investing locally in a state-of-the-art port to support the assembly and maintenance of offshore wind turbines, we could reinvigorate local economies and provide our residents with stable, high-quality employment opportunities leading to lifelong careers. ~ Chad Ward, Thorndike
MAINE PUBLIC • December 11, 2023
State legislators continue to debate a bill that would limit the length of contracts between local water districts and water extractors like Poland Spring. Although there are only a few water extraction contracts in Maine, those agreements are often negotiated for periods of more than 20 years. And some residents argue the practice is a threat to Maine's aquifers, prompting state legislators to consider limiting the length of contracts. Members of the committee on energy, utilities and technology debated LD 1111 again last week. Several lawmakers emphasized the impact that climate change could have on Maine water supplies, and said water districts shouldn't be locked into long contracts. But others, like committee chair senator Mark Lawrence, say the proposal restricts water districts, and isn't the best way to preserve aquifers.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 11, 2023
A plan to build a 734-space parking lot at the Portland International Jetport is facing mounting criticism from residents who say it contradicts the city’s ongoing efforts to promote sustainable development, reduce surface parking and encourage tree growth. The controversy comes as newly elected Mayor Mark Dion has identified fighting climate change and expanding Portland’s tree canopy as priorities of his administration. The nearly 6-acre parking area would be built near the airport’s existing garage and would include about 3 acres of wooded wetlands that currently shield part of the Stroudwater neighborhood from noise, light and air pollution generated by the jetport.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 11, 2023
The Maine Board of Environmental Protection is set to vote on a controversial rule aimed at phasing out new sales of gas-powered cars and boosting electric vehicle adoption. The Dec. 21 vote will come after months of passionate debate and feedback on the plan the Natural Resources Council of Maine and several allies proposed through a provision in state law allowing citizens to ask agencies to adopt or change rules if at least 150 registered voters sign a petition. The “Advanced Clean Cars II” plan would require battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles to make up 43 percent of new car sales for 2027 models and 82 percent of new sales by model year 2032. It would not require anyone to give up current vehicles, nor would it apply to used car sales.
KENNEBEC JOURNAL • December 10, 2023
Two of the four electric school buses Winthrop received this year through the Maine Clean School Bus Program never hit the road because of malfunctions that made them unsafe to drive. Winthrop is one of three school districts that reported “leaky windshields” on new electric buses from the Canadian-based Lion Electric Co. The Maine Department of Education said it is aware of the issue and that the Yarmouth School Department and the Vinalhaven School have also reported problems with the windshields of some of their electric buses.
TIMES RECORD • December 10, 2023
Giri Hotels’ plan to build a 5.4-acre solar array on a section of their property that abuts West Point Road has caused concern and dismay amongst Phippsburg’s small community. Giri, which bought Phippsburg’s Sebasco Harbor resort last May, is partnering with Bold Coast Energy for the project, which will necessitate a nearly 10-acre clear cut. After many residents spoke out against the proposed solar array at a Town meeting on Nov. 14, the Select Board proposed a 180-day moratorium on all new solar and wind energy projects. Although this will not affect the Giri-Sebasco project, it would give the town ample time to develop an ordinance about new solar and wind developments with input from its residents.
MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • December 10, 2023
Maine is experiencing an unexpected pandemic-fueled population boom, with new arrivals filling the growing gap between deaths and births, and then some. In the past decade, Maine’s population has increased by 56,148, according to U.S. census estimates, even as the number of deaths has outnumbered births by 27,820. That means the state actually has attracted about 84,000 new residents since 2013 – significantly more than the population of its biggest city – with three-quarters of them coming in the last four years. Maine’s population growth since 2019 has been twice the national rate. As the pandemic effect continues, another factor – displacement from climate change – also could be influencing Maine’s surge and could supplant the pandemic as a driver of in-migration in years to come.
MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • December 10, 2023
The 2023 Evening for the Environment, hosted by Maine Conservation Voters and Maine Conservation Alliance, featured spoken-word artist-activist Signature MiMi, Penobscot Nation Tribal Ambassador Maulian Bryant and marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, co-editor of the bestselling climate solutions anthology “All We Can Save.” Four hundred people – including college students, philanthropists, activists, scientists, teachers and elected officials – turned out to hear these climate feminists Nov. 29 at the University of New England’s Portland campus.
MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • December 10, 2023
The Maine Mountain Guide, published by the Appalachian Mountain Club, is the only comprehensive hiking guide to the mountain trails of Maine. It’s considered by countless hikers and backpackers to be an indispensable planning resource and an essential trail companion. The latest edition, the 12th since the book first appeared in print in 1961, is now available. Nearly 100 new trails on 30 “new” mountains plus six new in-text maps have been added to the 12th edition. The six full-color topographic pull-out maps have also been revised and expanded. All told, the guide features a veritable bonanza of hiking opportunities from Aroostook to Acadia and Lovell to Lubec that includes 330 mountains and some 700 trails totaling over 1,600 trail miles. ~ Carey Kish
MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • December 10, 2023
The sun set Saturday night, ending another Maine deer season. It was successful for some; not so much for others. Maybe you didn’t get your target buck, fill all your tags or fill any. Whatever the case, if things didn’t go quite as you’d hoped, there’s no better time to look back on what went wrong, and forward toward doing better next year. ~ Bob Humphrey
MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • December 10, 2023
“Where are the birds!?” This fall has been exceptional for mast, which we’ll generalize as the “fruit of the forest.” There is an abundance of acorns and pine cones this year. Mast years can occur for a variety of reasons; this year it was likely due to the very wet summer we had. With so much natural food on the landscape, birds, and even squirrels don’t need to come to feeders for the food we put out for them because nature has provided lots of better quality (higher nutritional value) food. We’ve also had a number of very warm days this fall, allowing insects to stay active later. Insects are the best protein source that most birds are going to have until spring. With so much natural food on the landscape, birds, and even squirrels don’t need to come to feeders for the food. ~ Maine Audubon Staff Naturalist Doug Hitchcox
MAINE MONITOR • December 10, 2023
Stakeholder groups, focused on reducing planet-warming emissions from top sources like buildings and transportation while ensuring equity, resilience and more, are already working to update Maine’s landmark plan to combat climate change. Last week, we got the final update before the update: An annual progress report on the original 2020 plan, which sheds light on areas the state might target for getting more aggressive or sharpening its goals in the updated plan next year. This new progress report for 2023 notes a striking backdrop for the state’s climate action efforts: “Maine experienced four extreme weather events in the past year that merited Presidential Disaster Declarations.”
SUN JOURNAL • December 9, 2023
Historical revisionism in the name of political correctness in this country is taking our confused culture into unchartered territory that is as absurd as it is dishonest to history itself. The American Ornithological Society is going to do away with the naming of songbirds after people and, apparently, is going to rename birds named after past individuals, whose beliefs or behavior do not measure up to AOS’s moral standards. As for me, a casual bird watcher and an old school traditionalist, I think that this whole undertaking is for the birds. ~ V. Paul Reynolds.
