The most comprehensive online source of conservation news and events in Maine and beyond, edited by Jym St. Pierre
TIMES RECORD • February 29, 2024
A second public forum for Brunswick residents to learn more and provide their input on the town’s Climate Action Plan will be held at the Coffin School Gym on March 7 from 6 to 8 p.m. Details are on the project webpage (brunswickclimateaction.org) under the “Get Involved” tab. However, if you are unable to attend, the workshop materials will be available online a few days following the workshop under the “Community Workshop” tab of the same website.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 29, 2024
Sears Island, or Wassumkeag, is a treasure and has been revered for over 3,000 years. The choice is clear: to re-develop Mack Point, an active port and industrial site for more than 100 years, into the hub for manufacturing renewable energy from floating offshore wind turbines, or to destroy the ecological, recreational and economic value of Sears Island, which is the largest undeveloped island on the Maine coast connected by a causeway. Please protect this natural treasure. ~ Nicholas Jarvis, Searsport
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 29, 2024
Harpswell officials are working to raise a historic 83-foot fishing boat that’s been leaking oil in the New Meadows River after it was sunk by one of the twin storms that hit Maine’s coast in January. But it’s unclear who would pay for that work or how quickly it could happen. It’s also questionable whether a new owner would be able to save the boat once it’s recovered, although a relative of its original owner is making a longshot effort to do so. Derelict boats appear to be a growing problem along sections of Maine’s coast. There’s been an uptick in old vessels being abandoned in Portland Harbor.
SUN JOURNAL • February 29, 2024
Maine has adopted the Advanced Clean Car II rules, which encourage dealers to sell 43% electric and/or plug-in hybrid new vehicles by 2027, increasing to 82% by 2032. This change has elicited a firestorm of protest about EVs, but it is based on misinformation. The rule does not force people to buy an EV. The world must make the transition away from fossil fuels. In Maine we are already paying for decades of delay with hotter summers, rainier winters, bigger rainstorms and floods, and erosion of beaches and waterfront property. Eventually switching to all-electric vehicles makes sense. ~ Ben Lounsbury, Auburn
SUN JOURNAL • February 28, 2024
Sap left boiling on an outside grill Tuesday heavily damaged a nearby building and its contents, including a motorcycle. No one was injured. The property at 113 North Main St. is owned by Vincent Barden. About 25 firefighters from Strong, Farmington and Phillips responded to call about 3:30 p.m.
MAINE PUBLIC • February 28, 2024
The company that had planned to construct the world's tallest flagpole in Down East Maine must pay a $250,000 fine for failing to get permits to build cabins in Columbia Falls. The Board of Environmental Protection voted Wednesday to approve the consent agreement between Worcester Holdings and the Department of Environmental Protection. Under the agreement the company will pay the fine and submit an after-the-fact permit application by Friday. Over three years, Worcester Holdings build 52 cabins, parking areas and a restaurant — violating site and erosion control laws, and failing to get proper permits. Although the board approved the agreement, some members expressed frustration about how long it has taken to resolve the issue, calling the violations egregious.
LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS • February 28, 2024
On Wednesday, the League of Conservation Voters released the 2023 National Environmental Scorecard. Maine’s congressional delegation had mixed pro-environment voting scores:
Sen. Collins 13%
Sen. Angus King’s 81%
Rep. Chellie Pingree 97%
Rep. Golden 53%
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 28, 2024
After placing a moratorium on “glampgrounds” to stop the construction of more than 100 fancy geodesic camping domes, the town of Lamoine is poised to vote on whether to ban such projects permanently. The vote will be held at the town’s annual meeting, 6 p.m., March 31, at the Lamoine Consolidated School gym. CPEX LLC, which operates Clear Sky Resorts in Arizona, submitted a proposal in January 2023 to erect 103 domed luxury cabins on 12 acres of a 230-acre parcel. Sweeping reactive bans on ambitious development plans are not uncommon in Maine. Most recently, the town of Bradford temporarily banned campgrounds and several other types of shelter to stop a nonprofit from building a rural commune for homeless people.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 28, 2024
The Maine House of Representatives narrowly approved a bill Wednesday that would keep commercial food waste out of the trash by requiring some large producers to donate their edible leftovers and recycle the scraps. The House voted 76-64 to adopt LD 1009, a bill introduced by Rep. Stanley Zeigler Jr., D-Montville. The bill, which was endorsed in January by the Environment and Natural Resources Committee, now heads to the Senate for consideration. “The bill has the ability to help reach the state goal of reducing solid waste below 1/2 ton per capita,” said Ziegler.
SUN JOURNAL • February 28, 2024
Roughly 1,500 gallons of largely recycled vegetable oil spilled Wednesday morning during a delivery at Bates College. Firefighters responded to the scene where supervisors called in the Department of Environmental Protection and other agencies. The biofuel product is part of Bates’ effort to use green energy sources.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 28, 2024
For my family’s sake, I know that we need to do everything we can to fight back against climate change, and one of the best ways we can do that is to develop offshore wind energy. I also know that the offshore wind industry would bring good-paying union jobs when we develop a new port to service the industry. Now, with a new port we have a chance to create new, local jobs for Mainers. ~ Matt Pender, Searsport
MAINE PUBLIC • February 28, 2024
The annual Fisherman's Forum in Rockport (starting Feb. 29th) highlights the vital role that the seafood industry plays in Maine's economy. Learn about innovative approaches to strengthening the industry during changing times. These include companies that utilize marine waste to create commercial products, as well as forward-thinking research and new aquaculture techniques. Panelists: Curt Brown, SEA Maine; Gayle Zydlewski, Maine Sea Grant College Program. VIP Callers: Patrick Breeding, Marin Skincare; Cem Giray, Salmonics; Sara Rademaker, American Unagi; Nikki Strout, Rugged Seas.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 28, 2024
A state environmental board on Wednesday morning imposed a quarter-million dollar fine on the Worcester family for building more than 50 unpermitted cabins in Washington County. The Worcesters, who recently scrapped their plans to build an enormous $1 billion-plus veterans history park in Columbia Falls, did not get state approval to develop more than three acres and did not take any measures to control erosion or sedimentation at the cabin site. It requires the Worcesters to file an after-the-fact application by March 1 for a permit for the already completed work. Susan Lessard, chair of the board, said that the Worcesters have had five years to apply for the required state permits. She characterized the violation as “egregious,” and said she worries the enforcement and compliance process will drag out even further if the state does not set a hard deadline.
MORNING SENTINEL • February 28, 2024
With climate change, the evidence is everywhere to be seen, even in your own backyard. It was visible 10 years ago — 40 years ago if you were paying attention. Recently, it looked like the corner had turned on the notion that global warming is “disproven.” But early this year, Maine’s Republican legislators stridently opposed a resolution to support the Paris Agreement on climate change. One representative stated the climate crisis is “a hoax.” This shocked me. Where does the confidence come from to assert a falsehood so obvious? January 2024 was the warmest ever recorded for Earth. The first two weeks of February were the warmest on record in Maine. The climate scientists have been right all along, this much is proven. There’s basically no time left to be patient with people who don’t know what they’re talking about. ~ Dana Wilde
PENOBSCOT BAY PILOT • February 28, 2024
The ski season in the United States has shortened by more than a month between 1982 and 2016. Projections show that we can expect a 50% shortened ski season by 2050. If that doesn’t show climate change, I don’t know what does. Machine-made snow is just a Band-Aid. We’re stuck in a cycle — make snow because of climate change, which leads to more emissions, which makes climate change worse. We shouldn’t have to wait for another devastating storm for climate change to make the headlines in Maine — it’s something we live with every day. Limited access to skiing is only one example of how it manifests in our lives. Machine-made snow is not a climate solution, but talking about doing it sustainably can get us a step closer to more ski days. ~ Agnes Macy, lifelong Nordic skier, Bowdoin College senior majoring in environmental studies and anthropology
SUN JOURNAL • February 28, 2024
Under the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code, structures used to grow crops are subject to significant wind and snow load requirements, while structures used to store harvested crops and house livestock are exempt from those same requirements. The Legislature is considering a bill, L.D. 2053, which would create a similar exemption for structures used to grow crops. If it is passed, Mainers could leave structures like hoop houses up year-round, giving them the ability to grow more food without high startup costs. I call on the Legislature to enact this bill, which would support more urban agriculture and continue Maine’s rich agricultural tradition, with palpable health and lifestyle benefits that would echo throughout our communities. ~ Rep. Kathy Shaw, Auburn
FORECASTER • February 27, 2024
The raccoon, hit by a car, is recovering thanks to the efforts of the fire department, Maine Wildlife Transport and Wilderness Miracles in Bowdoin.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 27, 2024
Lawmakers responding to complaints about Central Maine Power and Versant Power are looking at ways to authorize regulators to consider the companies’ performance when setting rates. Legislators reviewed a bill Tuesday that would give the Maine Public Utilities Commission the ability to set electricity rates using the utilities’ performance as a guide. The move comes in the wake of the resounding defeat in November of a referendum to create a publicly owned utility.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 27, 2024
Heavy equipment was at Portage Lake Tuesday attempting to remove a logging vehicle that broke through the ice while trying to cross a section of the lake last week. The grapple skidder fell through on Thursday right after driving onto the frozen lake from a snowmobile trail next to the floating islands in the northeastern region of Portage Lake, according to Sean Bernard, environmental specialist for Maine Department of Environmental Protection.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 27, 2024
House Republicans have proposed slashing funding in the FY24 budget for essential climate change and extreme weather research. The current House proposal forbids NOAA from studying the climate’s effects on fisheries and would effectively zero out Coastal Zone Management grants, funding that helps states sustainably manage healthy and productive coasts and benefit the working waterfronts and surrounding communities. Maine’s fisheries industry will suffer for it. As our oceans get warmer and more storms like the two recent January storms loom on the horizon, it’s essential that NOAA gets more funding, not less, to best support coastal communities, fisheries and hospitality businesses that depend on our oceans. We are living with climate change, and its impacts will continue to get more severe. ~ Bill Mook, Newcastle, Mook Sea Farm
