What scientists learn here could preserve Maine’s brook trout fishery

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 13, 2024

Maine’s brook trout fisheries face some serious threats, including climate change that warms their waters and invasive species that eat their food. A first-of-its-kind state study will teach biologists what they need to know to help Maine’s heritage species of game fish survive. Mooselookmeguntic is the state’s fifth largest lake. There is no ice fishing allowed and its fishery is native. It is one of hundreds of Maine State Heritage Fish waters, which means the state cannot stock it. That’s an increasingly rare treasure in Maine and one that several groups want to protect. Once the study’s data is[sic] in hand, a community advisory group will be convened to figure out how to use it and to build a management plan.

Beecoming the Change: Skowhegan Area High School students abuzz about recycling

MORNING SENTINEL • May 12, 2024

Members of a small group of Skowhegan Area High School students who are working to improve the community say they want to be just like bees. The tiny pollinators “spread things throughout the community,” Sydalia Savage, 16, a junior at Skowhegan Area High School, said. “We want to spread positivity,” added Layla Conway, 17, an SAHS senior. On Saturday, members of the group revealed their latest project, a mural at the Skowhegan Transfer Station & Recycling Center that promotes recycling.

Lawmakers gut bill aimed at protecting Maine lakes

MAINE MONITOR • May 12, 2024

Lawmakers failed to advance a bill addressing invasive aquatic plant infestations on Friday, weakening a slate of initiatives that environmentalists said would buttress Maine lakes and freshwater bodies in the face of climate change. The bill would have provided a one-time $2 million infusion to a fund managed by the Maine DEP to address aquatic plant infestations, which have become increasingly frequent and severe. Lawmakers stripped the funding at a meeting of the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee on Tuesday, leaving the bill with a mandate but no money. The Senate then approved this updated version Friday afternoon but was thwarted by the House when it chose not to take up any legislation sent through by the committee.

Column: Early morning birds belting out their spring songs, and much more

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • May 12, 2024

One of the surest signs of spring and the breeding season for birds is the return of the morning cacophony. Birds make all sorts of sounds for different purposes. We define a song as a noise used to proclaim territory or attract a mate. These are the longer and more complex vocalizations we think of as a “song,” but these can also be short and abrupt in some species. Almost all of the other noises birds make are considered “calls.” Increasing noise pollution, especially from combustion engines large (airplanes) and small (leaf blowers), has caused birds to need to sing louder to maintain their same levels of productivity. ~ Maine Audubon Staff Naturalist Doug Hitchcox

Letter: Understanding the nuances of methane emissions

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • May 12, 2024

Re: “Renewable natural gas will help Maine reach its climate goals,” I fully support the anaerobic (without oxygen) digestion of manure; the process can, indeed, allow methane to be captured through a biological process and then utilized as a fuel. That is a winning proposition for the environment. To say, however, that methane created in this fashion is “renewable” is a stretch, as is the notion that a “carbon negative” gas is created in the process. Anaerobic digestion, with the production of methane for fuel, reduces some methane emissions but the overall process of raising cattle is still extremely emissions intensive. Research with new types of feed (including seaweed), however, offer promising reductions in belched methane. ~ Joe Hardy, Wells

Why not consider ‘light rail’ for central Maine?

KENNEBEC JOURNAL • May 12, 2024

There seems to be a lot of foot dragging by Maine politicians when it comes to the possibility of restoring passenger rail service north of Brunswick. So why not consider passenger rail on a smaller scale? The existing rail line north of Brunswick, through Gardiner, Hallowell, and Augusta could be upgraded and used for light rail. If a line from Brunswick to Augusta is still too much, how about light rail between Augusta and Gardiner, with a stop in Hallowell as a first step? How many cars could be taken off the road by using light rail? ~ Mike Barron, Augusta

Court deals another setback to contentious midcoast park

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 11, 2024

The years-long effort to build a waterfront park in Boothbay Harbor will drag on even longer after a court recently ruled that the town’s planning board must reconsider two key approvals it originally gave to the project. As it’s currently planned, the contested Eastside Waterfront Park on Atlantic Avenue would feature a pavilion, a concrete splash pad for kids, grassy space and a working wharf for lobstermen, among other amenities. However, after backers of the park first began pursuing it in 2019, they’ve gotten mired in permitting and legal disputes with the owners of a neighboring property, marking yet another lengthy and contentious struggle over a development project on Maine’s coast.

Another threat to bees: Climate change-fueled rising temperatures

WASHINGTON POST • May 11, 2024

Warming temperatures could be responsible for a worldwide bumblebee decline, a new analysis finds – and the damage may rise as temperatures soar because of climate change. When things get too hot, bumblebees use their wings as fans. But the insects’ best attempts to cool off could fail as air and soil temperatures rise, the researchers write, warning that 'heat stress may be lethal even if slightly elevated above optimum.'

Mainers surprised, delighted by unusually strong northern lights show

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 11, 2024

An unusually strong solar storm lit up the skies Friday night into Saturday morning, creating a stunning display of color and movement that was visible across the Northern Hemisphere. The last time a geomagnetic – or solar – storm this strong was visible on Earth was in 2003, said Edward Herrick-Gleason, manager of the Southworth Planetarium at the University of Southern Maine.

How I found 100 spotted salamanders in one night

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 11, 2024

Each spring, after the ice melts and the ground thaws, Maine’s spotted salamanders emerge with a goal in mind: to reproduce. To do that successfully, they travel to woodland waters called vernal pools, which lack predatory fish because they dry up in late summer or fall. There they mingle and lay eggs, then depart, shuffling off through the leaf litter. This migration, called Maine’s Big Night, is predictable. Salamanders need rain to stay hydrated, and they wait until the temperature is above 40 degrees or so. Usually, it occurs at the beginning of April, and it lasts for a few nights. I was expecting to find a few salamanders. Conditions were just right for spring migration. But what I didn’t anticipate was finding more than 100 of them — all in one place.

How to use the sun for natural pest and weed control

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 11, 2024

Tarping is an ultra-simple gardening technique in which gardens or bare patches of earth are covered with plastic sheeting to raise soil temperatures and alter moisture and light levels. Surprisingly, clear plastic sheeting is better at capturing solar energy and raising soil temperatures, while dark tarps are ideal for blocking out light. Prepare your garden space by cutting down tall plants, water the area deeply until the top 6 inches of earth are damp, lay down your plastic sheeting, leave it in place for four to six weeks, then remove the plastic from your garden. If any dead weeds remain, rake them away and start planting.

Dresden Planning Board accused of violating town policy in approving quarry site

KENNEBEC JOURNAL • May 10, 2024

The Dresden Board of Appeals will continue deliberations next week over whether the town’s Planning Board wrongfully approved a quarry application in the rural living district in town. Two appeals over the matter were heard by the Board of Appeals Thursday night. “The major point we want to bring is the issue of compatibility for heavy industrial use in the rural living district.”

Go back in time by hiking along this old Bar Harbor railway

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 10, 2024

Originally built by Maine Central Railroad in the 1880s, the railway used to carry passengers to McNeil Point in Hancock, where they would board steamer ferries to cross Frenchman Bay to Bar Harbor. In 1931, the railway from Ellsworth to Hancock was discontinued. But you can still ride a train on a 13-mile section of the restored railroad, starting at the rail yard and boarding platform on Washington Junction Road in Hancock. Known as the Downeast Scenic Railroad, the experience is like stepping back in time. Or you can walk along a three-mile stretch of the former railway on the Old Pond Railway Trail.

Solar energy alone powered about 11,000 Fort Kent homes and businesses for a brief period last week

MAINE PUBLIC • May 10, 2024

For about 12 hours total last week, about 11,400 homes and businesses in the Fort Kent region were powered entirely by solar energy. This occurred over a four-hour period last Wednesday afternoon and twice more on the following days. Versant Power spokesperson Judy Long said this is a first for the utility, and it may be among the first instances in Maine where a region has operated for a period of time using only solar energy. Northern Maine has become a hotbed for solar development.

Crashed trailer carrying 15 million bees won’t endanger Maine’s blueberry crop, expert says

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 10, 2024

The crash of a tractor-trailer carrying 15 million bees in Clinton Thursday evening likely won’t hamper Maine’s blueberry harvest this year, according to a local bee expert. The single truck could inhibit a small grower that may only place one order of bees annually, said Peter Cowin, the founder and former president of the Penobscot County Beekeepers Association. But, for a large blueberry producer such as Wyman’s, one damaged truck likely won’t hurt the company’s harvest. “In terms of state crop pollination, this truck is likely a drop in the bucket,” Cowin said. While 15 million may seem like an unimaginable number of bees, Cowin said the truck is actually a fraction of the 3 billion out-of-state bees Maine receives each year to pollinate crops.

Letter: Oppose a wind port on Sears Island

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 10, 2024

I strongly oppose the decision by Gov. Janet Mills and the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) to locate a wind port on Sears Island in Waldo County. This is wrongly being touted as the least environmentally harmful location for a port. Placing a port on Sears Island could destroy upwards of 100 acres of woodland, a sand dune habitat, and be very harmful to the thousands of migrant birds that pass through the island. Mack Point is already highly industrialized and offers little benefit to birds and other wildlife. Claiming that Sears Island is the least environmentally harmful is simply inaccurate. I urge you to contact your state legislators and ask them to oppose a port on Sears Island. ~ John Wyatt, Winterport

U.S. pledges money and other aid to help track and contain bird flu on dairy farms

ASSOCIATED PRESS • May 10, 2024

U.S. health and agriculture officials pledged new spending and other efforts Friday to help track and contain an outbreak of bird flu in the nation’s dairy cows. The new funds include $101 million to continue work to prevent, test, track and treat animals and humans potentially affected by the virus known as Type A H5N1.

Diversity & density: How can we embrace climate migration?

MAINE MONITOR • May 10, 2024

At ClimateWork Maine’s 2024 summit in Augusta on Thursday, experts on everything from the grid to climate migration returned again and again to the same basic appeal: Change is inevitable. Embrace it, and shape it. A panelist urged Mainers who may worry about climate change but eschew affordable housing in their communities to link the two issues in their minds.