Mini farms, mini mills: Maine fiber processing is going smaller-scale

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 28, 2024

Maine’s only remaining large commercial mill isn’t ideal for many small farmers. Bartlettyarns in Harmony requires at least 100 pounds of fiber for spinning, more than twice what most Maine farmers produce. As a result, small processing mills are popping up around the state, and there’s still room for growth. “No mill in the state is looking for work,” Elizabeth Goundie said. The four that process all the way to yarn, including Bartlettyarns, have waitlists of at least six months.

Rapt tour group: Bird-watchers gather on Bradbury Mountain for a day of education on birds of prey

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 27, 2024

The Bradbury Mountain Hawkwatch was founded by Jeannette Lovitch and her husband, Derek, in 2007. From March through May, researchers observe and record the migratory patterns of all raptors. They do it at Bradbury Mountain, which Baker said is the most productive Hawkwatch site in the Northeast. That’s because Bradbury Mountain’s expansive south-facing views make for easier spotting and identification. Baker identifies and counts 13 species of birds of prey, known as raptors, that migrate during the day. That includes eagles and falcons, but the research mostly amounts to the different hawk families. At the height of the season, with the right wind patterns and weather, up to 1,800 hawks might pass over Bradbury Mountain.

6 easy ways to view wildlife in Maine this spring

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 27, 2024

If you’re new to wildlife watching, here are a few ideas for finding critters in the spring. Just remember to keep a good distance.
1. Visit a marsh
2. Take a leisurely paddle
3. Attend a birding festival or walk
4. Find a vernal pool
5. Stake out a nesting box
6. Visit a city park

Opinion: The place for wind facility is Mack Point, not Sears Island

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 26, 2024

To claim that the argument over where to locate the offshore wind facility in Penobscot Bay stacks up as coastal preservation versus climate change mitigation fails to pay attention to the real, ongoing Sears Island versus Mack Point argument. The economic impacts of offshore wind jobs in Maine appear to be the same regardless of whether the proposed facility is located on Mack Point or Sears Island. I agree that it is past time to stop the “zig-zagging” and “scuffle” that continue to delay a meaningful climate change response. It is also past time for us to come together and acknowledge the “hard reality” that Mack Point is not only a viable option for the proposed offshore wind facility but, from all available indications, a better choice, and get on with making thoughtful climate-change-informed choices. ~ Steve Miller, Islesboro Islands Trust.

Opinion: Fight against climate change requires a broader movement, a new direction

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 27, 2024

Adapting to climate change requires a much broader and more diverse movement than we now have, one that engages people across party lines and, most specifically, engages businesses of all sizes that want to be part of the solution. Collaborations and conversations are already underway in Maine. You can be part of it all on May 9, at the Augusta Civic Center, at the second annual Summit on Climate Change and Maine’s Economy. See climateworkmaine.org for more information. ~ Alan Caron, founder, ClimateWork Maine

Letter: More needed to fix harm from Belfast salmon farm proposal

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 27, 2024

The Belfast City Council voted April 16 to vacate a 2021 eminent domain action it had taken on behalf of the Nordic Aquafarms fish farm project. That was the right thing to do, but more is needed. The council should reverse the vote and save taxpayers $5,000 for a now-pointless exercise to revisit the location of the Northport town line. The 12.5 acres the city sold to Nordic was originally given to Belfast on the condition that nothing be built on it ever. The city vacated those restrictions. The City Council should reaffirm the covenants and save taxpayers yet more Nordic-related legal bills. Finally, public comment ran overwhelmingly against the 2018 zoning change that allowed Nordic to go forward. The City Council should reverse that and return the land to its original and rightful purpose. ~ Lawrence Reichard, Belfast

The annual state duck stamp features a harlequin

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 27, 2024

Michael Loring of Windham had the winning entry last weekend in Maine’s 2024 Migratory Waterfowl Stamp Art Contest. Loring’s artwork featured a harlequin duck painted in an airbrush style. Second place went to Tory Farris of Dover-Foxcroft. Third went to Olga Wing of Byron. Honorable mentions went to Richard Alley Jr. of Islesford and Rebekah Lowell of Biddeford. Duck stamps are collector’s items and raise funds to manage and conserve waterfowl in Maine to the tune of $13,000-$16,000 annually.

Weather-related power outages on the rise

MAINE MONITOR • April 26, 2024

A new analysis shows that more major power outages across Maine, the Northeast and the U.S. are happening as a result of bad weather. The data from the nonprofit Climate Central shows an aging power grid under pressure as climate change brings more extreme storms in all seasons. “Major outages are events that affect at least 50,000 customers (homes or businesses) or interrupt service of 300 megawatts or more,” Climate Central says in a release about the analysis, based on federal data from utilities’ required reports of these large outages. The analysis found that 80% of such events from 2000 to 2023 were weather-related, with a twofold increase from 2014 to 2023 compared to 2000 to 2009.

Mills vetoes bill requiring developers of clean energy projects to work with unions

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 26, 2024

Gov. Janet Mills vetoed a bill on Friday that would have required companies leasing state land for clean energy projects to work with unions hoping to represent their workers. The bill, L.D. 373, is aimed at the offshore wind power terminal and manufacturing facility the Mills administration aims to build in Searsport. Mills said she vetoed the bill because it contained ambiguous language and was too far-reaching in its scope.

Groups say Mills’ veto of energy-labor bill will weaken state efforts to tackle climate change

MAINE MORNING STAR • April 26, 2024

Gov. Janet Mills on Friday vetoed a bill that union and climate leaders argued would ensure clean energy projects on state land aren’t disrupted by labor disputes. The Democratic governor, however, said the legislation was overly ambiguous. Advocates of the bill castigated the action as yet another “anti-worker, anti-union veto” by the governor. 

Fewer people visited Maine in 2023, but they stayed longer and spent more money

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 25, 2024

According to a report from the state Office of Tourism released Thursday, Maine had 15.3 million visitors last year, a 0.6% decline from 2022, but the number of visitor days increased 3.9% with the average length of stay being 4.8 nights, a 6.7% jump over 2022. Travel to the state during the shoulder seasons accounted for 44% of the visitors, up 3.4 percentage points from 2022. Tourism spending in 2023 totaled $9.1 billion, a 4.9% increase fueled by a 5.3% increase in spending per visitor per trip. Those travelers generated a $16.4 billion impact to Maine’s economy.

Fingers crossed, Waterville and Augusta will avoid impact of browntail moth this year

MORNING SENTINEL • April 26, 2024

The cities of Waterville and Augusta are expected to dodge the brunt of browntail moth troubles this year as mitigation efforts the past few years have apparently worked to alleviate the problem. The city of Waterville has been aggressively tracking and treating trees on city property for browntail moth over the past few years by contracting with a company to clip nests from trees, insert treatment plugs or inserts into trees and spray them with an organic substance that is not harmful to humans. In Augusta, the city in recent years had workers out all winter long, clipping browntail moth nests from trees and inserting plugs into them. In the winter of 2021-22, the city put a huge effort into mitigating browntail, especially in areas where schools, parks, play areas and walking trails are located. No spray has been used on browntail.

Letter: Another Earth Day without much change

KENNEBEC JOURNAL • April 26, 2024

Another Earth Day is upon us. Of nations who have pledged to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, the United States gets a big fat F on its report card. Most Americans want to drive as inefficiently as they can, driving vehicles much larger than required 98% of the time. Also one of the most significant impacts on changing the climate is our processing of meat. Americans love animals! America can claim the number one spot again for the nation that produces the most fossil fuels per person. ~ Tom Turner, Augusta

Rockweed recovery study by UMaine graduate student and professors challenged by other researchers

MAINE PUBLIC • April 25, 2024

A study on rockweed recovery released last year by a UMaine graduate student and professors is being challenged by other marine researchers. The study found that rockweed biomass recovered from harvesting in just one year. Dr. Robin Hadlock Seeley, a retired marine ecologist and co-founder of the Maine Rockweed Coalition, said her team found flaws in how the study was designed and how the data were analyzed. Dr. Elliott Johnston, the UMaine study's author, said he believes the critics misunderstand the objective of his study, which was based on irregular, patchy cuts, and the outcomes of those varied harvests was the point of his research.

Amtrak planners identify 3 possible sites for new train station in Portland

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 25, 2024

The operator of the Amtrak Downeaster on Thursday outlined three sites being considered for a new Portland station along the main rail line between Boston and Brunswick. The rail authority says building a new Portland stationwill increase the passenger train’s efficiency and appeal to travelers.

Fish Migration Tales, May 1

MAINE AUDUBON • April 25, 2024

Each spring, millions of fish return to Maine’s coastal rivers to spawn. For thousands of years, these fish runs have helped humans build and sustain communities, economies, and cultures, connections to which we all share even as dams, pollution, and other threats have limited habitat and diminished historic numbers and species of fish. As scientists, conservationists, and anglers seek to protect these rivers and streams, it is their stories, both new and old, which carry the memories and connect new generations. Join Maine Audubon and The Nature Conservancy in Maine for an evening of storytelling with scientists, an activist, and a Wabanaki harvester, who will help us all relate to this phenomenon that still defines time and place. At Gilsland Farm, Falmouth, and on Zoom, May 1, 7 pm.

Brunswick educators receive funding for programs

TIMES RECORD • April 25, 2024

The Brunswick Community Education Foundation awarded 14 grants totaling $27,000 to educators this year. The grants, which will be used for classroom and school enrichment programs, were sent to five of Brunswick’s schools. Projects at Brunswick High School received six grants. Social studies teacher and department head Andrew Kosak received two of the three grants awarded to Brunswick Junior High for a project, which teaches kids how to use drones to study Brunswick geography.

Strict new EPA rules would force coal-fired power plants to capture emissions or shut down

ASSOCIATED PRESS • April 25, 2024

Coal-fired power plants would be forced to capture smokestack emissions or shut down under a rule issued Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency. New limits on greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-fired electric plants are the Biden administration’s most ambitious effort yet to roll back planet-warming pollution from the power sector, the nation’s second-largest contributor to climate change. The rules are a key part of President Joe Biden’s pledge to eliminate carbon pollution from the electricity sector by 2035 and economy-wide by 2050. The plan is likely to be challenged by industry groups and Republican-leaning states.

Tick expert offers advice for increasingly popular ‘No Mow May’

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 25, 2024

Growing numbers of people are leaving their yards unmowed for “No Mow May,” the same month when Maine’s tick season goes into full swing. No Mow May is a voluntary pledge that formally reached Maine in 2022 after beginning in Wisconsin several years before. Participants aim to provide habitat and pollen for early-season pollinators by mowing their lawns less or not at all for the month. The practice also provides habitat for ticks, which like to live in long grass. Letting your yard grow can provide them more habitat and may lead to more risk. If you’re concerned, try adding pollinator-benefitting plants to one area of your yard and continue to mow the places where you spend time.