Column: How to improve your bird identification skills

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 22, 2024

When it comes to building bird identification skills, there are five levels of proficiency. Level one, identification by sight. Tip: Don’t rely on color. Rely on field marks. Level two is identification-by-sound. Tip: 20 percent of the birds make 80 percent of the noise. Learn to recognize the bird songs you hear most often. Level three, understand bird ranges. Tip: Wherever you’re going, get familiar with what birds to expect there. Level four understand habitats. Tip: Recognize habitats. Level five rewards recognition of bird behaviors. Tip: Observe behavior. Duh. The trick to better bird identification is to sort them into smaller and smaller piles by size, color, field marks, noise, ranges, habitats and behavior. Until there’s only one left. ~ Bob Duchesne

Wiggly Bridge proposes scaled-back expansion following whiskey fungus concerns

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 22, 2024

Wiggly Bridge Distillery in York is scaling back its expansion plans after its first design was rejected over concerns about a fungus spreading through the area. The distillery’s original proposal to build two new storage buildings faced significant pushbackfrom neighbors and ignited a debate about whether the presence of baudoinia compniacensis – known colloquially as “whiskey fungus” because it feeds on alcohol vapors – was connected to the distillery. Ultimately, those objections derailed the expansion.

Local residents protest Sears Island as site for offshore wind port

MAINE PUBLIC • February 22, 2024

Just one day after Gov. Janet Mills announced the selection of Sears Island in Searsport as the preferred location for an offshore wind port, dozens of local opponents gathered in Belfast to protest the decision. Business and labor groups have voiced support for the project, and conservation groups are split. Some groups argue for the preservation of wildlife on the island, while others cite the need for clean energy quickly.

Column: With offshore wind port, something big is finally happening

KENNEBEC JOURNAL • February 22, 2024

With Tuesday’s announcement that the state intends to locate a port on Sears Island to support offshore wind construction, the Mills administration provides hope that, at long last, Maine can build something big. The recent track record has not been encouraging. Voters in a 2021 referendum canceled a $1 billion power line to Canada for hydroelectricity that while later reinstated in court has yet to resume construction due largely to rising costs. A similarly ambitious line to connect the proposed King Pine wind project in Aroostook County also fell by the wayside when the developer pulled out, citing municipal and landowner opposition. The Searsport fabrication, maintenance and shipping terminal represents the next best chance to position Maine firmly toward putting substantial amounts of renewable energy into homes, businesses and industry — and powering larger fleets of electric vehicles. ~ Douglas Rooks

State proposes $250k fine for Worcester cabins

MAINE MONITOR • February 21, 2024

The state plans to fine the company behind the failed Flagpole of Freedom project $250,000 for building several dozen cabins, a restaurant, roads and parking areas in the woods north of Columbia Falls without obtaining necessary permits. Worcester Holdings LLC has to apply for after-the-fact permits by March 1 for the development, which the company is marketing as Flagpole View Cabins, or face fines of $100 per day for additional violations. Worcester “stripped, graded and did not revegetate at least seven acres of land” on the property starting in 2019. Over the next three years the company built a restaurant and 52 cabins, using them as worker housing and seasonal rentals, charging $169 to $229 per night. Worcester continued to advertise the cabins and takeout restaurant after being notified of violations by Maine DEP.

Woodland Stewardship & Forest Carbon, Feb 22

MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • February 21, 2024

Andy Whitman and Allyssa Gregory from the Maine Forest Service will present on ways to steward your woodland with forest carbon in mind. They will discuss forest carbon basics, forest resilience, forest carbon practices, and provide information on where to find additional resources, and who to contact for professional guidance. Andy Whitman is the Climate and Carbon Specialist at the Maine Forest Service. Allyssa Gregory is the Maine Forest Service’s District Forester for the MidCoast. On Zoom, February 22, 6:30 pm. Sponsored by Camden Public Library.

Waterville adopts new city rules for solar farms

MORNING SENTINEL • February 21, 2024

The Waterville City Council has voted to approve changes to the city’s zoning ordinance regarding solar farms. The council referred the matter to the Planning Board in September, asking the board to consider solar farm placement and standards. The council requested the board study the negative visual impacts of large-scale solar arrays and possible methods of mitigation; impacts to wildlife habitats, neighborhoods and outdoor recreational opportunities; and runoff and erosion issues.

Timber company reopens shuttered Aroostook County mill

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 20, 2024

A Wisconsin-based wood products company has opened its first facility in Maine at a former hardwood floor plant in Ashland, with plans to eventually bring more than 15 jobs there. WholeTrees Structures of Madison, Wisconsin, signed the lease this week for the vacant Moosewood Millworks building. The company makes structural round timber, a natural wood construction material it plans to market along the east coast. The venture in Ashland is expected to bring new life to a facility that’s been closed for six years. It will also expand the forest products industry with goods that are new to Maine.

Injured hiker from Bath rescued in New Hampshire’s White Mountains

TIMES RECORD • February 20, 2024

Cassandra Haskell, 37, of Bath, was hiking down Mount Avalon Saturday afternoon with a friend, using a small sled to descend some of the steeper sections of the trail. She could not control her speed and direction and hit a tree, suffering a lower-leg injury. Fish and Game officials rescued another hiker Saturday who they said didn’t have proper clothing while hiking Mount Washington. “New Hampshire Fish and Game would like to remind hikers to prepare themselves before venturing out into the wilderness, including packing the ten essential items: map, compass, warm clothing, extra food and water, headlamp, fire starter, first aid kit, whistle, rain/wind jackets and pants, and a knife.”

Sears Island selected as preferred site for offshore wind power port

MAINE PUBLIC • February 20, 2024

Gov. Janet Mills announced Tuesday that her administration has selected Sears Island in Searsport as the preferred site for development of a large, offshore wind port designed to jumpstart the clean energy economy in Maine and the transition away from fossil fuels. Steven Miller, executive director of the Islesboro Island Trust and the Alliance for Sears Island, says the state's decision to choose Sears Island is a violation of a pact made in 2007 to choose Mack Point as the preferred location for future marine transportation development. "The Alliance is profoundly disappointed," Miller said. "Mack Point consolidates industry in one location. It economizes existing infrastructure like rail and road access.

State selects Sears Island as preferred site for Maine’s new offshore wind port

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 20, 2024

The state has selected Sears Island in Penobscot Bay as its preferred site for the new hub for Maine’s floating offshore wind power industry, where turbines and other components will be assembled and shipped to the Gulf of Maine, Gov. Janet Mills announced Tuesday. Mills touted the need to generate wind power to fight climate change while boosting skilled manufacturing jobs in a region that a local official said has not recovered from the 2014 shutdown of the Bucksport paper mill. Friends of Sears Island, an organization that manages the conserved part of the island, supports wind energy but believes a port should be built on Mack Point, across Long Cove.

Sears Island picked as the site of Maine’s new offshore wind port

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 20, 2024

Sears Island in Searsport will serve as the staging ground for Maine’s new offshore wind port, Gov. Janet Mills announced Tuesday. The decision to use about 100 acres of the 941-acre island after years of planning and public feedback was not surprising. While it is only an initial part of Maine’s broader plan to unlock the potential of offshore wind, the preference for Sears Island has received criticism from some conservationists and an alliance of conservatives and progressives. They argue the port will damage the wildlife, hiking and birding opportunities that draw visitors to the largest undeveloped island in Penobscot Bay.

Letter: Electric school buses are basically powered by fossil fuels, too

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 20, 2024

Electric vehicles are essentially powered by fossil fuel. In the past 20 years solar and wind contributions to total energy use are quite modest, especially for more urban states. By and large over the last 20 years, solar and wind increases have not decreased fossil fuel use, but rather have decreased the increase in total fossil fuel use. We need to very rapidly decrease all fossil fuels with the goal to totally eliminate that use as soon as possible. The only solution that I see that can realistically decrease fossil fuel fast enough is nuclear power ~ Kevin McCartney, Retired geology professor, Caribou

Snowmobile partly goes through ice on Lake St. George

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 20, 2024

A man was riding a snowmobile on Lake St. George in Liberty late Monday afternoon when the vehicle partially broke through the ice. The man didn’t go into the water, and firefighters were eventually able to remove the snowmobile using ropes attached to a tree on a nearby island.

A new report says more investment in New England's grid is needed for a clean energy future

MAINE PUBLIC • February 20, 2024

A new report says that the region will need to make substantial investment in its electrical grid, as Maine and New England embrace wind, solar and technologies such as EV's and heat pumps. The study, from grid operator ISO New England, concludes that New England may need to invest close to $1 billion in in its electric transmission infrastructure each year, through 2050, in order to handle the increased electrical demands. Maine has set a goal to move to 100% renewable energy by 2050.

Warmer winters could push pine-tree killing beetles deeper into Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 20, 2024

January’s record high average temperature throughout Maine foreshadows a threat from a new pest that could attack the iconic trees spanning Maine’s southern coast to the mountaintops of Acadia National Park. Found in 2021 by a University of New Hampshire researcher in York County, southern pine beetles — each about half the size of a grain of rice — can marshall into swarms that attack and tunnel through pitch pines.

Game wardens seize rare silver fox after he was reunited with owner

LINCOLN COUNTY NEWS • February  19, 2024

On Wednesday, at approximately 4:30 p.m., Maine game wardens confiscated a silver fox from the Waldoboro residence of Danielle Katherina Brann. Brann was issued “a summons for unlawful possession of wildlife without a permit” at the time that the fox was seized.

Hiker rescued from mountain with 90-mph winds, bitter cold atop Mount Washington

ASSOCIATED PRESS • February 19, 2024

It took more than 10 hours to save a hiker in conditions that included sustained winds topping 90 mph on New Hampshire’s Mount Washington. Officials say the hiker from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, didn't have appropriate gear for the dangerous winter conditions.

Opinion: Already, 2024 is a terrible year for endangered right whales

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 19, 2024

2024 is off to a terrible start for critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. Last week, a 1-year-old female was found dead off the coast of Georgia after likely being struck and killed by a speeding boat. In January, a 3-year old female washed up on Martha’s Vineyard entangled in fishing rope, which likely led to her death. With barely 350 North Atlantic right whales, every death is a tragedy and brings this species one step closer to extinction. What’s worse is that scientists estimate that fewer than 70 reproductively viable females remain. There is reason for hope, however. New solutions like ropeless gear have the potential to reduce the risk of entanglement. Common-sense measures like speed limits in areas when and where right whales are known to transit, feed or congregate could make a huge difference. Federal officials must ensure that sufficient funding is available for ropeless fishing. ~ Erica Fuller,Conservation Law Foundation

KELT to host energy-efficiency lecture Feb. 22

TIMES RECORD • February 19, 2024

Kennebec Estuary Land Trust is hosting a free Zoom lecture at 6 p.m., Feb. 22, about resources that can help to save energy and save on the cost of heating and electric. Sam Saltonstall, a local volunteer who has led projects that have increased energy efficiency in many Maine homes, is the presenter for this program. The program will outline the range of new tax rebates and credits available now to help shrink energy bills while keeping homes warm and comfortable and increasing affordability of electric vehicles. FMI: kennebecestuary.org/upcoming-events or call 442-8400.