The most comprehensive online source of conservation news and events in Maine and beyond, edited by Jym St. Pierre
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 9, 2024
The April 3 article in the Press Herald describing the drastic reduction in the number of dairy farms in Maine was alarming and disheartening. Perhaps one of the first steps the state can take to help ameliorate this trend is to not put a road through Smiling Hill Farm. ~ Andrew Grant, Scarborough
FORECASTER • April 8, 2024
Sea Meadow Marine in Yarmouth will receive $790,000 in federal funding to improve infrastructure and support operations at its working waterfront. The boatyard on the Cousins River, owned by the Sea Meadow Marine Foundation, supports a variety of small marine industries, including clamming, boat building and aquaculture. The grant, which will be used to improve the landing area as well as for water and sewer line repairs, is important to keep the working waterfront active.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 8, 2024
In an unexpected move by Mother Nature, Maine had baby blue, nearly cloudless skies Monday – among the best weather in the country to watch the total solar eclipse. The moon covered the sun for several minutes starting at about 3:30 p.m. Its traverse across the sun began at about 2:20 and ended at about 4:20 p.m. The chances of pristine weather during the rainy April season were slim. And experts predicted Maine would receive fewer visitors chasing the eclipse than other states where the weather is typically sunnier. But locals, tourists and chasers of celestial events who took a risk on Maine enjoyed the payoff.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 8, 2024
More than many other Maine communities, Houlton has been readying for this event for nearly three years, and while crowds did not reach the predicted 40,000, eclipse planners estimated that about 20,000 made their way to the last U.S. stop along the 115-mile wide path of totality. It wasn’t alone: several other rural Maine communities in that path also saw throngs of visitors on Monday — many of whom were also moved by the cosmic event.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 8, 2024
Thank you to the Bangor Daily News for the column, “Climate action causes more harm than good for Mainers” by Jacob Posik on Thursday, March 14. I thought all common sense was lost forever. I don’t know what the percentage of mankind is that wants to ride herd over everyone else. But my guess is it hasn’t changed much in the history of mankind. The only difference now is the internet and social media gives them the last tool they need in their toolbox to get it done. May God help us. ~ Kevin Davis, Plymouth
MAINE PUBLIC • April 17, 2024
The tidy, weedless expanse of Kentucky bluegrass that defines a traditional American lawn provides little benefit to the environment. Learn how to introduce biodiversity to your yard--not only to promote habitat for wildlife and support a healthy environment, but for the beauty of it as well. Some tips include: less mowing, more native plants and trees--and letting those dandelions grow.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 8, 2024
Maine has issued warnings not to eat fish in some waterways because of contamination from 'forever chemicals,' but most lakes, ponds and streams remain untested.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 8, 2024
A carbon fee will result in by far the most significant decrease in CO2 emissions. It is the only plan that allows the U.S. to meet the current goal of 50% decrease in CO2 by 2030. Those who avoid thinking about climate change because it seems unsolvable should think again. Western Europe and Canada have proved carbon fees work. Call our legislators and ask them to pass a carbon fee now. ~ Nancy Hasenfus, Brunswick
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 8, 2024
Unless another court ruling overturns Bar Harbor’s new cruise ship limits, 2025 is expected to be the last year that large passenger ships drop anchor in Frenchman Bay. But it could be sooner than that — or may have already passed — if a judge decides that the town must enforce the new limits this year.
MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • April 7, 2024
We know what the problem is: Fish are not reproducing. The solution is more challenging to find. Stricter limits on commercial fishing would be a step in the right direction. Being able to keep 45 fish over 35 inches in three days is ridiculous – a recreational angler would need about a month and a half to do the same amount of damage. Reducing the commercial quota would benefit striped bass, keeping more potential reproducers in the water. ~ Dan Stoicov is a junior at Falmouth High School
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 6, 2024
Former Maine Gov. Joseph Brennan, a Portland native who served as the state’s 70th governor from 1979 to 1987 as part of a lengthy career in politics, died at his home Saturday. He was 89. Sen. Angus King, who defeated Brennan in a race for governor in 1994, cited his role in laying the groundwork for the Land for Maine’s Future Program, which has conserved more than 600,000 of conservation and recreation lands since 1987.
MAINE MONITOR • April 6, 2024
The town of Raymond has spent three years trying to hold a developer and his contractors accountable for violating shoreland zoning provisions. Local officials and lawmakers say this shows the shortcomings of the state’s shoreland zoning ordinance: Municipalities are expected to enforce the rules but don’t have the tools to do so. State environmental agencies also have limited enforcement power. Two new bills aim to change this. One would give municipalities more immediate power in enforcing the state’s shoreland zoning ordinance, and the other would empower state agencies to issue stop-work orders when violations are identified.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 3, 2024
Lawmakers have advanced a bill declaring that the Legislature, not a board of citizens appointed by the governor, is in charge of crafting Maine’s electric vehicle standards. The Maine Senate approved the measure on Wednesday, and it now heads to Gov. Janet Mills’ desk.
SUN JOURNAL • April 3, 2024
Maine Game Warden Cpl. Cody Lounder spoke with the Town Council on Tuesday about allowing hunting on town properties where it is prohibited, such as Beaver Park and the Pinewoods landfill property. Lounder said he believes deer have been proliferating in certain areas as evidenced by R Belanger and Sons Farm struggling to keep the deer from destroying its crops. The farm takes 25-30 deer each year under a special permit issued by the state to protect its crops. “Now, if we could open up those areas to local hunters that might quell that down,” Lounder said.
ASSOCIATED PRESS • April 3, 2024
New research suggests that brown rats crawled off ships arriving in North America earlier than previously thought and out-competed rival black rats that had likely arrived with Columbus and thrived in colonial cities. After first appearing on the continent before 1740, brown rats took over the East Coast from black rats “in only a matter of decades,” said Michael Buckley, one of the authors of a study published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances. Brown rats are larger and more aggressive than black rats.
MAINE PUBLIC • April 3, 2024
Maine is home to more than 6,000 lakes and ponds. Learn about the role lakes play in the state's economy, from serving as the centerpiece for some communities, boosting tourism and outdoor recreation, and providing clean water, as well as the health of our state's lakes and ecosystems. Panelists: Susan Gallo, Maine Lakes; Melissa Genoter, Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, University of Maine. VIP Callers: Michael Donihue, Colby College; Jeremy Deeds, Maine Department of Environmental Protection.
SUN JOURNAL • April 3, 2024
L.D. 2101 gives enforcement authority on new permits, restoration of shoreland and allows municipalities and the Land Use Planning Commission the right to place a lien on property with unresolved violations. Gov. Janet Mills is expected to sign the bill into law. The administration testified in favor of the bill earlier this year.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 2, 2024
LD 2077, An Act Regarding Customer Costs and the Environmental and Health Effects of Natural Gas would entail a serious inquiry into the future energy system of Maine that is already underway. Doing so would create institutional initiative for all the people trying to make a change. Me and my peers [sic] appreciate the momentum this bill offers to seek the possibility of a better future for Mainers and investing in the value of our state: to lead. ~ Megan Sauberlich, Falmouth
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 3, 2024
With less than a week until the total solar eclipse, Pennsylvania and Maine are predicted to have the best viewing conditions. Long range forecasts call for clouds, thunder and rain for Western states like Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Houlton, the last U.S. stop along the 115-mile wide path of totality, is slated for sun and clear skies on Monday. Eclipse crowds rivaling the size of a rock concert were already predicted for the small Aroostook County town. Now, with a sunny forecast, the number of visitors may grow beyond expectations.
MAINE MORNING STAR • April 3, 2024
Passenger rail expansion in Maine will remain at a crossroads now that a bill that sought to study a potential train line from Portland to Bangor died after the Maine Legislature could not agree. LD 860, sponsored by Sen. Joe Baldacci (D-Penobscot), would have directed the Northern New England Rail Authority to apply for $500,000 in federal grants to study and identify a rail corridor from Portland to Bangor, going through Lewiston and Waterville.
