Column: It took me most of my life to figure this out about birds

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 16, 2024

Every winter is different. Somehow, it took me most of my life to figure that out. I spent three days in the North Maine Woods last week, and I’m here to report that this winter is vastly different from last winter. The number of pine siskins was outrageous. They outnumbered an insane abundance of white-winged crossbills. It all depends on where they find the best food and weather. This year, Maine’s got what they want. I found more purple finches in the North Maine Woods than any of the last three years. On the other hand, common redpolls were scarce. The mix of finches in the Maine woods varies every year. But this is a good winter overall. Last winter was dull. The previous winter was incredible. ~ Bob Duchesne

Editorial: Expand the No-Cut Butters along the Allagash

MAINE SPORTSMAN • March, 2024

A recent biological study of waters in the Allagash Wilderness Waterway found that the Allagash River has become too hot for trout in summer. Trout must rely on finding cooler water in the tributaries. One member of the AWW Advisory Council asked whether a more extensive protection area around the tributaries would help. The response was unequivocal: “As buffer strips increase, temperatures decrease.” It’s time for the Bureau of Parks and Lands to expand the 400-800 foot “Protected Zone” over which the state has absolute jurisdiction, and to prohibit cutting and development within that zone.

Residents speak out against extending Juniper Ridge operator's contract

MAINE PUBLIC • February 16, 2024

As state officials consider a contract extension for the operation of Juniper Ridge landfill in Old Town, area residents say they aren't satisfied with management now, let alone for the years to come. But operator Casella Waste Management says Juniper Ridge is a key support for Maine's changing waste disposal landscape. Penobscot Nation Tribal Ambassador Maulian Bryant says the contract extension can't be discussed without noting the negative impact the landfill has had on the tribe and the nearby Indian Island reservation.

Gas industry, environmentalists, consumer advocates negotiate study on future of natural gas in Maine

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 16, 2024

Gas utilities, environmentalists, consumer advocates and others are negotiating the outlines of a study in proposed legislation on how Maine might restrict the build-out of natural gas systems to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The bill proposes to ban gas companies from charging ratepayers to build and expand service mains and lines beginning Feb. 1, 2025, and instead require business and residential customers that benefit from new infrastructure to pay the costs. Scaling back natural gas build-outs has strong support from environmentalists who are looking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Maine towns confront climate choice: Rebuild a road or save a marsh?

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 16, 2024

A decision by Scarborough and Cape Elizabeth to remove a low-lying road through the Spurwink Marsh is an example of managed retreat in the face of climate change and the difficult choices facing communities all along the coast.

Letter: Build wind port at Mack Point, not Sears Island

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 16, 2024

Sears Island is a historical and natural treasure for all Maine residents, and for our valued tourists. It is an economic benefit to Searsport and nearby towns. Every time a visitor comes to Sears Island, cash registers likely ring in Searsport stores, specialty shops, restaurants and the Maritime Museum. I believe locating an important industrial facility on the verdant Sears Island will kill this year-round Golden Goose. We need offshore wind energy and its union jobs. But already industrialized Mack Point is the most sensible staging area for wind farm construction. ~ Alan Cohen, Winterport

Letter: Help keep Smiling Hill Farm intact

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 16, 2024

We definitely need a turnpike connector to alleviate traffic congestion in the Gorham area. But we need even more the wonderful oasis of animals and farmland that is Smiling Hill Farm, which has operated for 304 years for 13 generations. There are so few working farms left in Maine. Please help save this one. Pick one of the other road proposals that does not go through Smiling Hill Farm. ~ Cheryl Hall, Cape Elizabeth

Dead ends in future for hazardous road that now crosses Spurwink Marsh

FORECASTER • February 15, 2024

Cape Elizabeth and Scarborough plan to remove the portion of Sawyer Road/Sawyer Street that routinely floods during storms and is damaging marsh habitat. Plans call for a 1,400-foot portion of the road that goes through the marsh to be removed. The road would dead-end on each side.

Maine lobstermen unlikely to face immediate legal peril over dead whale

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 15, 2024

Maine’s lobster industry is not expected to face any immediate legal consequences after a fishing rope suspected to originate in the state was found embedded in the tail of a dead right whale. That is because of a measure approved by Congress more than a year ago that prevents new restrictions aimed at protecting right whales from being imposed on lobstermen before 2028. The only previously known case of a whale getting tangled in Maine fishing line occurred in 2004, and that whale survived.

Talk on climate change and the ‘blue acceleration’ in Maine takes place in Lewiston

SUN JOURNAL • February 15, 2024

It’s a topic facing coastal communities all over the country, but it’s of extra significance here in Maine. It’s known as “blue acceleration,” and is described by the Stockholm Resilience Centre as a race among diverse and often competing interests for ocean food, material and space. Kanae Tokunaga, senior scientist in coastal and marine economics at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, told a Great Falls Forum audience Thursday that the blue acceleration is happening at the same time that climate change is impacting the Gulf of Maine, meaning big changes are converging all at once.

Maine lobstermen unlikely to face immediate legal peril over dead whale

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 15, 2024

Maine’s lobster industry is not expected to face any immediate legal or regulatory consequences after a fishing rope suspected to originate in the state was found embedded in the tail of a dead right whale. That is because of a measure approved by Congress more than a year ago that prevents new restrictions aimed at protecting right whales from being imposed on lobstermen before 2028, despite repeated concerns raised by whale advocates that lobster gear poses too great an entanglement risk.

Climate experts say it’s time for Maine to prep for more floods like those that hit this winter

ASSOCIATED PRESS • February 15, 2024

After back-to-back storms lashed the Northeast in January, rental properties Haim Levy owns in coastal Hampton, New Hampshire, were hammered by nearly 2 feet of water, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage and causing him to evacuate tenants. Many scientists who study the intersection of climate change, flooding, winter storms and sea level rise agree the kind of damage Levy experienced was more of a sign of things to come than an anomaly.

In South Portland, former fishing shacks serve as a flashpoint in climate rebuilding debate

MAINE PUBLIC • February 15, 2024

Many residents say they want the city of South Portland to recreate the historic and beloved Willard Beach fishing shacks that were wiped away in last month's storm. But city officials caution that a rebuild could get complicated. The former fishing shacks stood in a federal flood and shoreland zone, South Portland officials said earlier this week during a storm damage and coastal resiliency workshop. And the city said it could be suspended from the National Flood Insurance Program if the shacks are rebuilt in their former location and elevation. Suspension from the NFIP could also prevent the 105 South Portland homeowners who have federal flood insurance from renewing their policies and restrict new policies from being issued.

Right whale floating dead off Georgia is second fatality since January

ASSOCIATED PRESS • February 15, 2024

The carcass of a North Atlantic right whale found floating off the coast of Georgia marks the second known death in the past month for the critically endangered whale species. NOAA said the dead whale off Tybee Island had been identified as a female born last year. The discovery came after another young female right whale was reported dead Jan. 28 off Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. A necropsy found rope embedded in its tail. NOAA said it was consistent with a type of rope used in commercial fishing gear and was marked as having originated in Maine. Conservation groups have been calling for tighter laws on vessel speed and commercial fishing in an effort to save them from extinction.

Biddeford boatyard receives federal recognition for commitment to clean energy

MAINE PUBLIC • February 15, 2024

The USDA awarded a clean energy award to Rumery's Boatyard for its installation of a solar panel system. The 19-kilowatt solar array at the Biddeford facility will provide 93% of the boatyard's total power consumption. The Biddeford boatyard received a $28,000 grant to build the solar array from the USDA's Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). The boatyard also houses two electricity-focused startups: Maine Electric Boat develops electric commercial vessels, and Marine Solar Technologies offers solar-powered water monitoring buoys.

Maine Legislature backs bill to proactively regulate faux recycling process

MAINE MORNING STAR • February 15, 2024

Hoping to set up strong regulations around an emerging solid waste treatment process after health and safety concerns were raised in other states, both chambers of the Maine Legislature backed a bill to define and regulate so-called “advanced recycling” facilities. On Thursday, the House passed the measure on a party-line vote, 76-56. During debate in the Senate last week, where it passed 21-13, sponsor Sen. Anne Carney (D-Cumberland) explained that actual plastic-to-plastic recycling, where plastic waste is used to create new material that can be used in place of raw material, is still allowed. 

South Portland council denies power plant a waiver for two new oil tanks

FORECASTER • February 15, 2024

FPL Energy Cape in Knightville, which has two 12,000-gallon tanks, wants to increase its capacity by 40,000 gallons to provide power during grid blackouts, but a South Portland ordinance does not allow the addition. The vote was 4-3 against granting FPL Energy Cape a waiver from a city tank ordinance, and the council will be asked Tuesday to approve a formal statement on the reasons for its denial so the company can appeal the decision if they choose.

Opinion: Underfunding state government impairs Maine’s climate response

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 15, 2024

Mainers need a robust response to the climate crisis, which will continue to create weather events our state isn’t ready for. Our younger generations deserve this response. The young people of our state will bear the brunt of the effects of climate change, whether that may be through air and water quality, intensifying storms or severe infrastructural damage. To inadequately respond to these events because the state is not providing proper resources for agencies to do their job is an injustice. It is evident the issue of chronic understaffing and under-resourcing must be resolved given the stakes at hand. The solution is simple: increased compensation and more staff. As the Legislature considers what to do with yet another budget surplus, an effort to fully fund and staff our agencies must be on the table. ~ Jessica Wibby, University of Maine law student

Multiple endangered whales found dead on nation's coasts, alarming conservation groups

USA TODAY • February 15, 2024

At least seven endangered whales have been found dead or seriously injured, or gone missing since mid-December, including five North Atlantic right whales on the Atlantic Coast. An examination of the entangling rope found on a right whale on Martha's Vineyard triggered an announcement from the National Marine Fisheries Service on Wednesday, which said it had identified the rope as gear belonging to a crab pot or lobster pot in Maine state waters. The finding on the Maine gear was the second time in four months that evidence surfaced of the critically endangered whales off Maine's coast. Right whales are on the verge of extinction.

Developer hopes to buy and clean up former Wiscasset power plant

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 15, 2024

On a 33-acre peninsula on the Sheepscot River in Wiscasset sits a polluted old power plant that was active for decades, but that has sat empty since the late 1990s. Now, a team of Maine developers hope to succeed where others have failed over the last few decades: in finally cleaning up the contaminated Mason Station site and making it available for other purposes that could include a marina, manufacturing and renewable energy technology. Wiscasset has cleaned up most of what it can, according to Town Manager Dennis Simmons. Since 2018, it has received more than $1 million in brownfields funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to help clean the ash ponds and other pollutants on the peninsula. But efforts to clean up the former power plant have been slower going.