The most comprehensive online source of conservation news and events in Maine and beyond, edited by Jym St. Pierre
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 26, 2024
A scavenging bird that spends most of its time in warmer climates was rescued in Bar Harbor on Thursday and will likely spend the next few months recovering before getting released back into the wild. The black vulture was taken to Acadia Wildlife Center, a local rescue organization, where it’s being nursed back to health. Doug Hitchcox, staff naturalist for Maine Audubon, said Maine is seeing more and more black vultures as the climate warms.
NEWS CENTER MAINE • January 26, 2024
A new study by the National Institute of Standards and Technology found certain textiles used in the protective clothing, tend to release more of the compounds because of everyday wear and tear. Turnout gear is the protective clothing designed to save firefighters' lives but also contains cancer-causing chemicals. Fighting fires in the protective equipment is fueling a cancer epidemic among first responders.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 26, 2024
Maine’s PFAS in product’s law is being challenged by some companies, many of them from out-of-state, that use the forever chemicals in their products. I believe the Legislature should strengthen the law to clean up our environment and protect everything that makes Maine such a special place. I live in a community with PFAS contaminated farms, and I can see the impacts of the contamination everytime I drive to the store. We need to protect our clean environment for the sake of our health, our hunting and fishing traditions and for the sake of our state’s economy. Tell your legislators that you support Maine’s PFAS in products law. ~ Nancy Zane, Unity, sea kayak guide and instructor for SOLO School of Wilderness Medicine
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 26, 2024
Here are six species found right here in Maine that might not be cute but are certainly interesting.
• Monkfish (Lophius americanus)
• Sea squirt (Didemnum vexillum)
• Sunfish (Mola mola)
• Hagfish and lamprey (Myxine glutinosa and Petromyzon marinus)
• Moss animals (Bryozoans)
TIMES RECORD • January 26, 2024
Recent research shows that wind turbines do not affect the bird population but oil and gas drilling do (“The Economist,” Jan. 13. Birders take note! Christmas Bird Count data shows that bird counts did not decrease between 2000 and 2020 in areas with increased wind turbines. However, bird populations near new gas wells dropped 15% and in some sensitive areas up to 25%. ~ Nancy Hasenfus, Brunswick
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 25, 2024
Maine lawmakers from both parties want to set up an emergency relief fund for small businesses that were damaged by three historic storms that pummeled the state in a matter of weeks. A proposed bill, sponsored by Sen. Craig Hickman, D-Kennebec, would establish the $50 million Small Business Weather Emergency Relief Program. It was not immediately clear which or how many businesses might qualify for assistance.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 25, 2024
AR (ArmaLite Rifle) semi-automatic guns are gaining popularity among Maine hunters, and there are several practical reasons for it. For example, using a .223-caliber AR is very effective for hunting coyotes because it does little damage to the animal and the hunter may use its pelt. What’s the appeal of AR guns for hunters if there are other semi-automatic options available? One of the biggest attractions is that ARs are lightweight. Hunters like the gun’s accuracy.
MAINE MONITOR • January 25, 2024
State environmental regulators have proposed a $148,836 fine for Tower Solar Partners, a Delaware-based solar company, after concluding that the company failed to control erosion on a project along the Kennebec River in the Somerset County town of Embden. In documents released this week, Maine Department of Environmental Protection officials outlined a string of violations, including inadequately installed and maintained erosion controls that allowed sediment to flow into the nearby Kennebec River and Alder Brook. At one point, 30 acres of the 35-acre site were disturbed and unstable, three times the amount allowed under department rule.
ASSOCIATED PRESS • January 25, 2024
The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released final plans to protect endangered North American right whales, of which there are only about 360 left in the world. The agencies said they are trying to find ways to better protect the whales amid a surge of offshore wind farm projects. They plan to look for ways to mitigate any potential adverse impacts of offshore wind projects on the whales and their habitat. The news came about an hour before the companies Equinor and energy giant BP announced they were swapping leases for offshore wind projects on the U.S. East Coast.
MORNING SENTINEL • January 25, 2024
The Clinton Parks & Recreation Ice Skating Rink at Old Mill Park opened to the public on Sunday, after a crew of about 15 "rink warriors" put it together earlier this month.
SLATE • January 25, 2024
Last November, the American Ornithological Society, or AOS, announcedthat it would change the common names of all American birds named after people. There are 152 such “eponymic” names (that is, birds that are named after a specific person, like Bicknell’s Thrush) on the AOS’ official checklist. A growing number of ornithologists and nonscientist birders are questioning why we’re stuck with names decided on a whim hundreds of years ago, especially when the names aren’t very good. It’s going to be hard to come up with new names we can all agree on, and it’s not clear how the AOS will embark upon doing so. The group has said it will “conduct an open, inclusive, and scientifically rigorous pilot program in 2024 to develop its new approach to English bird names in the U.S. and Canada”—but there are few specifics yet, and no easy way to organize the public and whittle down suggestions in the lawless and nonsensical world of bird names. ~ Nicholas Lund
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 25, 2024
Climate change happens — it is the extremes that challenge ecosystems and infrastructures, such as beaches, homes, property insurance rates, commercial fishing gear, roads and bridges, and wild bird migration dates. All I know is that I have control over my choices: how to set the thermostat for my furnace (I wear a sweater so I can lower my thermostat); how much and how fast to drive; what kind of vehicle to purchase/lease; closing my blinds or curtains when cold outside. I combine my trips. I specifically think about making climate friendly choices. Please try to make climate friendly choices. Thank you. ~ Pam Person, Orland
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 25, 2024
I am a lifelong avid birder and have spent more than 50 years learning birds’ names the hard way, just like Reynolds. I welcome the coming changes. The names we have assigned to birds over the years were chosen selectively and with great prejudice. Bird names in the future will be more interesting, inclusively chosen, educational and inviting to new enthusiasts than our present roster.~ Craig Kesselheim, Southwest Harbor
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 24, 2024
An 80-pound doe smashed a 9-inch by 12-inch pane of glass in a ground-level cellar window basement in Westbrook and somehow squeezed its way through, dropping about 6 feet to the concrete floor. Scott Lindsay, a wildlife biologist with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and Warden Steve Milton used a dart to sedate the animal before he and Milton loaded it onto a tarp, carried it up the stairs and through Cadigan’s living room to his truck. Lindsay drove the deer to a nearby farm – he had asked the owner, whom he knows, for permission – and placed it on a blanket to keep it warm until it woke up. When Lindsay returned to the farm Wednesday morning to check on the deer, it was standing about 100 yards away. It stared at him for a few moments before turning and entering a wooded area off Stroudwater Street.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 24, 2024
Thanks for the BDN’s coverage of the partnerships involving lands Trust for Public Land (TPL) currently owns south of Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. The intent from the outset has been to transfer the trail easement to the state – an approach fully supported by the Penobscot Nation and local stakeholders – as an integral part of the broader strategy to restore ancestral homelands to the Penobscot people, address local recreation and economic needs, and provide much-needed access to the monument. ~ Betsy Cook, Trust for Public Land, and Chuck Loring, Penobscot Nation
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 24, 2024
Having a variety of fuel options is important to our way of life, especially with the cold climate that we have. Now a bill has been introduced that would limit any future expansion of natural gas into Maine. LD 2077, if passed, would prevent businesses and consumers from choosing natural gas moving forward. We Mainers cherish our freedom and limited government, and this bill would continue to allow government to yet again decrease our freedom of choice.I will be voting ought not to pass. ~ Rep. Gary Drinkwater (R), Milford
SUN JOURNAL • January 24, 2024
Hoping to help more people grow food, Maine officials are weighing a change in the state building code to allow flimsy, low-cost hoop houses that don’t meet current structural standards in place for most towns and cities. Changing the language in the state code “in a very small way, we will allow more of our citizens to grow their own foods, become more self-sufficient and to do so in a manner that will not break the bank,” said state Rep. Kathy Shaw, an Auburn Democrat and a farmer.
WGME-TV13 • January 24, 2024
FEMA personnel are surveying the damage caused by storms earlier this month. This is part of the process required by law to request a Major Disaster Declaration from President Joe Biden. Officials with FEMA and the Maine Emergency Management Agency met with state park officials in Georgetown on Wednesday morning. Reid State Park has been closed because of the destruction caused by waves pounding the shore and infrastructure. At the direction of Governor Janet Mills, MEMA asked FEMA to conduct damage assessments for both the Jan. 10 and 13 storms at the same time.
CENTRAL MAINE • January 24, 2024
In the Gulf of Maine, two species of jellyfish are seen most commonly. The moon jellies look round from the top and are generally a foot or so in diameter. Lined around the edge of their bells are short, fine tentacles they use to catch food. They sting, but normally it’s practically unnoticeable to humans. The lion’s mane jellyfish is generally larger — 5 and 6 feet in diameter. Dangling underneath are up to a thousand tentacles. The sting is reportedly extremely painful for humans. A well-known — if less often seen — jellyfish in the Gulf of Maine is the Portuguese man-of-war, which also can inflict dangerous stings. Dr. Nick Record, a senior research scientist with the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in East Boothbay, likened jellyfish to space aliens in a magazine article a few years ago. There is more in heaven and on Earth — and in the sea — than is dreamt of in our philosophy. ~ Dana Wilde
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 24, 2024
The 2024 Maine moose permit lottery has a new opening date that shortens the application period but allows hunters to know how many permits will be issued in each hunting zone before they apply. In 2023, the the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife received 72,446 applications and issued 4,106 permits, reflecting an increase of 26 from 2022. There were 1,460 antlerless permits issued. Resident applicants totaled 46,242 and were issued 3,712 permits. Non-resident applicants totaled 26,204 and were issued 394 permits.
