The most comprehensive online source of conservation news and events in Maine and beyond, edited by Jym St. Pierre
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 18, 2024
The University of Maine Orono is among 75 colleges and universities that are launching balloons 90,000 feet into the atmosphere to livestream the April 8 solar eclipse. Ten undergraduate and graduate students have been “designing and testing cameras, data collection, control and tracking systems for the April 8 launch by the UMaine High Altitude Ballooning program,” according to a university news release.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 19, 2024
The vernal equinox arrives on Tuesday, marking the start of the spring season, officially, at least, for the Northern Hemisphere. But what does that actually mean? During the equinox, the Earth’s axis and its orbit line up so that both hemispheres get an equal amount of sunlight.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 18, 2024
A proposal before the Maine Legislature would exempt agricultural pesticides from reporting requirements and a ban on products containing forever chemicals by 2030. Supporters of the proposal acknowledged during a public hearing Monday that forever chemicals, the per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances known as PFAS, are a problem but said the farming industry needs more time to figure out solutions. Opponents raised concerns about pesticides containing PFAS contributing to food contamination and said the current law is reasonable.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 18, 2024
The Legislature got its first close look Monday at Gov. Janet Mills’ selection of Sears Island as the hub for Maine’s floating offshore wind power industry while supporters and opponents weighed in on a plan to allow a terminal to be built in a coastal sand dune system. Backers who spoke before the Environment and Natural Resources Committee emphasized the need to ramp up wind power in Maine. Opponents criticized what they say would be the industrialization of the island in Searsport .
SUN JOURNAL • March 18, 2024
Hillandale Farms Conn has requested that the town rezone its poultry farm after it listed about half of its property for sale. Hillandale is hoping to have the property rezoned under Rural 1, which allows for farming and residential lots. The farm’s production is substantially smaller than it was almost a decade ago.
MAINE PUBLIC • March 18, 2024
A new bill seeks to roll back sand dune protections as a way to allow construction of a proposed wind port project on Sears Island. The bill is emerging as the first source of debate over Gov. Janet Mills' selection of Sears Island as the preferred site of a wind terminal on the Midcoast, which faces an extensive permitting environmental assessment process. The legislative proposal from the Mills administration would grant an exception to the state's sand dune protections. Specifically, the bill would allow the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to evaluate an application for the offshore wind terminal, which would be located on a coastal sand dune on Sears Island.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 18, 2024
Locally sourced monkfish stew is now cleared to be included in school lunches thanks to the Maine Local Foods Fund. The stew — produced by local company Maine Coast Monkfish Stew — is one of two food products to receive the first qualifications from Maine Local Foods Fund, overseen by the Maine Department of Education. The program offers fund-matching incentives for schools to purchase food that is grown, caught, harvested or produced in Maine.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 18, 2024
The Tappens claim they own the rights to beachfront land, having bought a deed to it in 2021. The Hills say the deed is worthless because the land was intended for all neighbors to access, and are asking the judge to declare the parcel a “common area.” Superior Court Justice Thomas McKeon said he expects to make a decision “sooner rather than later.” If he rules against the motion, the case is headed for trial.
TIMES RECORD • March 18, 2024
There are 119 species of butterflies that have been documented in Maine. Dr. Ron Butler, professor emeritus at UMaine Farmington and a leading expert on Maine’s butterflies, will discuss the beautiful and unique butterflies that make Maine their home. Zoom, March 28, 6 pm. Sponsored by Kennebec Estuary Land Trust. FMI: kennebecestuary.org/upcoming-events
MAINE PUBLIC • March 18, 2024
Maine farmers affected by the presence of so-called "forever chemicals" on their land can now apply for financial assistance. The state is taking applications for its $60 million PFAS fund, which will provide farmers with financial aid to offset up to two years of lost income because of PFAS contamination. Farmers can also receive support for equipment and infrastructure to convert their operations to new products and methods. The fund will also support PFAS research, and be used to purchase contaminated farmland from landowners seeking to sell. The state says it plans to launch more support programs.
ASSOCIATED PRESS • March 18, 2024
The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday announced a comprehensive ban on asbestos, a carcinogen that kills tens of thousands of Americans every year but is still used in some chlorine bleach, brake pads and other products. The final rule marks a major expansion of EPA regulation under a landmark 2016 law that overhauled regulations governing tens of thousands of toxic chemicals in everyday products, from household cleaners to clothing and furniture and water purification.
MAINE MONITOR • March 17, 2024
In partnership with the Wells Reserve, The Monitor is brining a panel of experts together for a discussion moderated by editor Kate Cough. The March 27 in-person and online event will explore how Maine's tidal wetlands are some of the most at risk, threatened by rising seas and surrounded by development, with little space to migrate.
SUN JOURNAL • March 17, 2024
More than 100 sugarhouses, farms and maple producers across Maine are preparing for the 41st Maine Maple Sunday Weekend March 23 and 24. The event falls toward the end of the sap running season and is a boon to sugarhouses across the state as an opportunity to promote maple products and to showcase the process itself. While the syrup process continues to evolve with extraction and boiling technologies, it has become more erratic due to climate change. Maine Maple Sunday Weekend has almost always fallen on the midseason of sap running, with the frigid nights and warm days of spring being ideal, but producers cannot count on it as a rule anymore.
MAINE MONITOR • March 17, 2024
How can agricultural lands support both crops and solar panels without hurting the other’s bottom line? Solar developers and agriculture researchers from the University of Maine have been studying the issue for two years at this 12-acre, four-megawatt project in Rockport. The so-called dual-use array, built by Boston-based BlueWave Solar, is operated by Navisun, a Massachusetts solar power producer that distributes the electricity to Central Maine Power’s energy grid. Sweetland manages the blueberry fields on behalf of the landowner, who leases the land to Navisun and receives a share of the blueberry profits. The ongoing development of such projects comes as Maine is chasing both ambitious renewable energy goals and seeking to preserve agricultural lands for local food production. The state hopes to rely on in-state producers for 30 percent of food consumption by 2030, up from 10 percent in 2020.
MAINE MONITOR • March 17, 2024
The Trust for Public Land is working with the Penobscot Nation to return 30,000 acres near Mount Katahdin to the tribe. The parcel would create a contiguous stretch of conserved land from existing Penobscot Nation holdings near the East Branch of the Penobscot River all the way to Jackman and Moosehead Lake, combining to form 1.2 million acres. This move in northern Maine fits into a nationwide effort to return ancestral lands to Native tribes. The federal Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations, a decade-long initiative that concluded in December, restored nearly 3 million acres to tribal ownership and paid over $1.69 billion to individuals. Within the nonprofit realm, The Nature Conservancy, The Conservation Fund and the Trust for Public Land have worked to return hundreds of thousands of acres to Indigenous groups.
MAINE MONITOR • March 17, 2024
The Maine Climate Council’s scientists say they’re adding many more “human dimensions” to their forthcoming report. Crucial among those is hope, said the Island Institute’s Susie Arnold. “It turns out that hope is more than a feeling. Just as we can measure changes in climate variables, scientists also measure hope,” she said. “Hope can be taught, it can be learned and, importantly, it can be restored…. Hope is more than optimism — it’s about taking action.
NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO • March 17, 2024
Big crowds are expected in the Adirondacks, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the Green Mountains of Vermont and in remote parts of Maine for the total solar eclipse on April 8. Backcountry experts say caution is warranted. Stay off of remote mountain trails on the day of the eclipse. Across the Northeast, outdoor groups and state officials are urging people to watch from places that don't put you at risk.
MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • March 17, 2024
There are about 20 wildlife rehabilitators across the state, mostly in southern and central Maine. There are none in northern Maine. Some treat a small number of patients, while others have larger facilities equipped to handle more animals and more complex cases. All of them play an important role because the state does not have the resources to handle that type of work. Last year, the Saco River Wildlife Center treated more than 900 patients – more than it ever had before – and briefly closed intake because it could not handle any more animals. The center has since raised $25,000 of the $250,000 needed to renovate the property into a facility that can accommodate more animals and has a dedicated space for a volunteer veterinarian to treat patients.
MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • March 17, 2024
What Maine Coast Heritage Trust initially called a “small event” raised over $78,000 for coastal land conservation. The March 7 fundraiser called Tides of Change drew 300 people to Maine Beer Co. for an evening in support of land conservation. Guests enjoyed craft beer and cocktails, charcuterie, pizza and local oysters, as well as live music downstairs and nature-focused visual arts upstairs. Since 1970, Maine Coast Heritage Trust has worked with a variety of partners to protect 337 islands and 180,000 acres of Maine’s coast.
MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • March 17, 2024
One of the coolest events of the year for any herper (a fan of herpetology; aka the amphibian and reptile people) is the Big Night. The big night typically happens on the first warm and rainy night of the spring (45 degrees or warmer) when the majority of amphibians – frogs and salamanders – emerge from the burrows where they overwintered and journey back to the vernal pools they were born in, to breed. Conditions for a Big Night may not occur until April, but it is a good idea to be prepared because you often don’t know if the weather conditions will be just right until just before it happens. Maine Audubon is hosting a webinar on March 28 called “Herp” Tales: Lessons from Maine’s Reptiles and Amphibians. ~ Maine Audubon Staff Naturalist Doug Hitchcox
