Opinion: With Sears Island decision, state goes back on its word

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 24, 2024

The state of Maine this week announced plans to build an offshore wind manufacturing facility on Sears Island – breaking its promise to Maine residents. In 2007, the state promised to choose Mack Point as the preferred location for future marine transportation development. Sadly, Islesboro Islands Trust has no choice now but to intervene using every legal means available. The Trust supports offshore wind but affirms that the offshore wind manufacturing facility should be built at Mack Point. ~ Steve Miller, Islesboro Islands Trust Executive Director

Letter: Maine should adopt Clean Car standards

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 24, 2024

As an electric vehicle driver since 2017, I am writing to express my strong support for the proposal to adopt Advanced Clean Car II, a stronger emissions standard for Maine. Maine has always had strong emissions standards, and this is an opportunity to stay true to our history while transitioning to technologies that will provide a cleaner, quieter, more sustainable future. I ask of the Board of Environmental Protection to adopt the proposed ACCII standards which will save Mainers money, reduce air pollution, and speed along Maine’s efforts to tackle climate change. ~ Lillian Harris, Falmouth

A day on the ocean with Maine’s tough winter scallopers

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 24, 2024

Though often romanticized for tourists and marketing, there’s little glamor in the work of a Maine fisherman — especially in the dead of winter, when the state’s scalloping season takes place. Worth about $9 million to Maine’s economy every year, it can be an important financial bridge for fishermen waiting out the slowest part of the lobstering season. Their fresh catch, known as “day boat scallops,” are prized and often sold directly to hungry locals. Those buyers are smart, knowing that scallops purchased at other times of the year have likely been soaked in preserving chemicals, which dilute the taste. Direct-to-consumer day boat scallops are a good deal for both the public and the fishermen.

This forestry practice makes ugly scenery on Maine hiking trails

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 24, 2024

A new forestry practice is confounding hikers deep in the woods of Orland. It’s ugly. But it’s working. I stumbled upon it while hiking Great Pond Mountain and Oak Hill in Orland, in a swathe of conserved land known as the Wildlands. Throughout the forest, trees were sawed off a few feet above the ground, leaving thousands of hip-high stumps. High-stumping is a forestry method used to get rid of diseased, canker-filled beech trees. “By cutting up high, the root system thinks there’s still a tree up there and doesn’t root sprout,” said Landon Fake, the land trust’s executive director. “It continues to send nutrients up the trunk.” The tree then dies without sending out dozens of sprouts like it normally would if it were cut near the ground. And this allows other tree species to grow.

Blind seal founded stranded in Maine gives birth and nurtures pup at an Illinois zoo

ASSOCIATED PRESS • February 23, 2024

A grey seal found stranded and blind more than a decade ago on an island in Maine has given birth at a Chicago-area zoo and is now “a very attentive mother” to her newborn, zoo officials said Friday. Because of her impaired vision, authorities with the National Marine Fisheries Service decided she could not be released back into the wild. The 11-year-old seal named “Georgie” gave birth on Feb. 17 to a nearly 35-pound male pup at the Brookfield Zoo. He’s gained 15 pounds in his first week on his mother’s extremely rich milk, and has been practicing his swimming skills in a pool, zoo officials said.

Bill looks to safeguard Maine shoreland, giving more 'teeth' to municipal zoning violation fines

NEWS CENTER MAINE • February 23, 2024

Major support is being shown for a bill that aims to safeguard state shoreland, by giving municipalities more authority to enforce zoning laws. Presented by Sen. Tim Nangle, "An Act to Strengthen Shoreland Zoning Enforcement" would give more strength to local governments to defend zoning laws when ordinances are violated. It would also grant more authority to the Maine Land Use Planning Commission.

Air pollution tied to signs of Alzheimer’s in brain tissue, study finds

WASHINGTON POST • February 23, 2024

People who inhale higher concentrations of tiny airborne particulates, like from diesel exhaust or other traffic-related air pollutants, are more likely to have signs of Alzheimer’s disease in their brains, according to a new study, the latest in a growing body of research that shows a link between air pollution and cognitive decline.

Bangor recycling plant illegally obtained 190 catalytic converters, according to civil suit

MAINE PUBLIC • February 23, 2024

State officials filed a civil complaint on Tuesday against AIM Recycling in Bangor for the illegal possession of almost 200 catalytic converters. Court documents filed Tuesday say investigators from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles discovered the devices at the plant last August. Authorities alleged the recycling plant did not have the required license to obtain the converters. Catalytic converters in car exhaust systems are targeted by thieves for their precious metals and relatively easy access.

Mills makes formal requests for federal disaster relief from January storms

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 23, 2024

Gov. Janet Mills formally asked President Biden on Friday to issue a major disaster declaration to provide relief following a set of storms that battered Maine’s coast in January. The funds would be used to repair roads, bridges, public buildings and utilities and other public infrastructure in Washington, Hancock, Waldo, Knox, Lincoln, Sagadahoc, Cumberland and York counties, which together suffered about $70.3 million in damage to public infrastructure. The Jan. 10 and Jan. 13 storms pummeled Maine’s coastline with heavy rain, flooding, ocean swells, record high tides and wind gusts of up to 60 mph.

Coastal Enterprises launches Weatherization Business Lab

PENOBSCOT BAY PILOT • February 23, 2024

Coastal Enterprises Inc. (CEI) is launching a new Weatherization Business Lab.  This free, seven-week program will provide trade professionals with basic business management tools and industry insights to help weatherization contractors open or expand their businesses. Equipping more Maine entrepreneurs with the skills and business acumen to improve the efficiency of buildings is an important step to help Maine reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while growing small businesses and good jobs across the state. Maine-based independent construction, installation and repair professionals are encouraged to apply.

Letter: Offshore wind can help us preserve the things we love in Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 23, 2024

Even as a staunch environmental advocate, the sight of wind turbines has not always inspired joy for me. Now, with the new proposed port on Sears Island, I find myself facing the reality of another new facility in the state. When I consider the things this state needs most, like more affordable and reliable energy, better-paying and more jobs, clean energy solutions that prioritize community resilience, and protection from climate disasters, offshore wind is one solution that addresses each and every one. ~ Riley Stevenson, Waldoboro

Column: New information may prompt rethinking of lobster rules, development of Sears Island

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 26, 2024

A dead right whale was found with fishing gear “consistent” with that used in Maine wrapped around its tail. Should we revisit the regulations previously pushed by the feds? Or are tradeoffs restricting the lobster industry really worth it to help save whales? Similarly, there has been talk of development in Searsport since before I was born. Nothing has been built thus far. Now, Gov. Janet Mills has announced Sears Island is the chosen location for an offshore energy depot. Conservative GOP state legislators have made common cause with environmental advocacy groups and are speaking out against it. How much negative impact should people alive today shoulder for the sake of tomorrow? These are incredibly complex challenges. ~ Michael Cianchette

Organizers cancel Dover-Foxcroft charity snowmobile races

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 23, 2024

Organizers of the Piscataquis Radar Runs have canceled the snowmobile races scheduled for March 2 in Dover-Foxcroft because of a lack of snow and warm weather in the forecast. Snowmobilers were slated to compete at the airport in Dover-Foxcroft, but organizers decided that wasn’t possible with the lack of snow. They also considered racing on the frozen Piscataquis River.

Aroostook lawmakers back study that could further slow massive wind project

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 23, 2024

The top Aroostook County lawmakers who have championed a stalled transmission line linking a massive wind farm to the regional grid are backing a study that could further slow the project. The early stages of connecting the King Pine Wind Project in Aroostook County to the grid hit several snags last year, culminating in the Maine Public Utilities Commission killing the transmission line plans in December, citing cost uncertainties. The project was also hampered by opposition in the central Maine communities that the line would cross. Their allies in the Legislature are pushing for a pause in the project so the state can study its options before putting it back out to bid. Some of the transmission line’s most ardent supporters are also behind it, although the company seeking to build the wind farm is against it.

Maine fishing businesses struggling to recover a month after January storms

MAINE PUBLIC • February 23, 2024

Unlike the fishing industries in other states, Maine's is primarily small, family businesses — many that have existed for generations. And now they are faced with trying to restore the historic infrastructure. Ben Martens of the Maine Coast Fishermen's Association estimates that more than half of Maine's working waterfront was damaged in devastating January storms. As for Maine's working waterfront as a whole, Martens says he expects repairs to cost at least tens of millions. Although state and federal legislators have voiced support, the timeline for getting funding to businesses isn't clear, and could take months.

Overly broad rules, and prohibitions on rules, aren’t helping whales or lobstermen

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 23, 2024

With nearly 3 million lobster traps and miles of rope in the waters off the coast of Maine, it felt inevitable that a whale would die after getting entangled in this gear. It has. Without clear data on where the whales are, NOAA has proposed new gear requirements and some seasonal closures on all lobstermen. This is too broad and too simplistic an approach. Maine’s congressional delegation successfully added a provision to a spending bill that prohibits new federal restrictions on lobster fishing until 2029. Like NOAA’s sweeping rules, this prohibition is too broad, especially in light of new examples of the risks lobster rope can pose to right whales. Surely smart people can figure out how lobsters can be caught without entangling right whales. ~ Susan Young

Conservation purchase protects 400 acres in Casco

MAINE PUBLIC • February 23, 2024

Four hundred acres of undeveloped forestland in Casco have been permanently protected from development. Loon Echo Trust purchased the property, known as Rolfe Hill, after a multiyear fundraising effort. The land is home to more than 60 acres of wetlands, vernal pools and a trout stream in an area that is under increasing development pressure. The Trust says the property plays an important role in safeguarding the water quality of Sebago Lake, which is the drinking water source for more than 200,000 Maine residents. Public access for hunting, fishing, hiking and other recreational activities is now also permanently secured.

Opinion: Rushing climate legislation isn’t the answer

CENTRAL MAINE • February 23, 2024

Maine needs a cohesive energy strategy. Instead, what we have feels like whiplash as individuals try to advance narrow concepts supporting single issues, or dream up the next big idea. We are faced with big challenges. and we must stay focused on working collaboratively. We have that opportunity with L.D. 1959 (the Governor’s Utility Accountability Bill), and rather than passing L.D. 2172 (Performance-Base Rate Design), a law that is duplicative, the legislature should allow PUC the time it needs to do its job. ~ Kimberly N. Lindlof, Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce and Central Maine Growth Council

Bucksport officials dismayed after state softens stance on landfill closure

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 23, 2024

After state officials ordered last year that a dormant Bucksport landfill be permanently closed, they have now backed off that order and are giving the owners more time to look into other options. That’s frustrated some local residents and officials, who opposed a recent effort to reopen the landfill and would like to see it closed down for good, in part because it no longer serves the town’s former paper mill, which had owned it, and also because of contamination from the buried waste.

Opinion: Today’s EVs are way better than people realize

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 22, 2024

After you’ve driven a modern electric vehicle, consider whether it makes sense for Maine to adopt the “Advanced Clean Cars II”rule, which would require auto manufacturers to send more electric vehicles to Maine dealers.This rule will not “mandate” Mainers to buy an EV. The goal of the rule is to ensure Mainers have plenty of EV models to choose from. Once people realize how good today’s EVs have become, and as the public charging infrastructure continues to rapidly expand, electric vehicles will soon become a no-brainer for all Mainers. ~ Phil Coupe, co-founder, ReVision Energy