State applies for federal grant to build wind port on Sears Island

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 17, 2024

The Mills administration said Friday it’s seeking $456 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation to build an offshore wind port at Sears Island, angering local opponents who say the state is bypassing an alternative at nearby Mack Point before a study analyzing both sites has even been started. A study is set to be done assessing Sears Island and Mack Point, which is favored by many local residents because it already has an industrial area. Sears Island has been spared previous development attempts. The project has divided environmentalists who support Maine’s foray into wind power to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but disagree on where to build a port to support the project.

Maine seeks $456M from feds for controversial offshore wind port

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 17, 2024

The Maine Department of Transportation announced Friday that it has applied for a massive federal grant that would cover most of the cost to build an offshore wind port on Sears Island in Searsport. It is a major step for Gov. Janet Mills in her quest to make Maine a hub for the emerging industry. The Democrat has faced criticism from fishing interests, Republicans who are generally skeptical of offshore wind development and environmentalists and tribes opposed to the location on the island that is state-owned and partially preserved. It will cost $760 million to develop the port, according to the state.

Opinion: Maine must be better prepared for damaging storms

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 17, 2024

In this past legislative session, I proposed, and the Legislature enacted, a bill authorizing $60 million for rebuilding and recovery from the January and December storms. This represents the single largest investment in storm recovery by any administration in Maine history. But it’s clear, after signing my eighth request for a disaster declaration, that there is more work to do. I am establishing a new commission to review and evaluate Maine’s response to the recent storms, to identify crucial areas for near-term investment and policy needs, and to develop the state’s first long-term infrastructure plan to ensure that we are ready for the harsh storms that we know are ahead. ~ Janet Mills, governor of Maine

The developers of a Millinocket salmon farm say they expect to start construction next year

MAINE PUBLIC • May 17, 2024

The developers of a large land-based salmon farm in Millinocket said they've secured nearly all of the necessary permits and expect to start on-site work later this year. The project was announced two years ago as a partnership between the company Katahdin Salmon and the nonprofit Our Katahdin. It would produce up to 10 million metric tons of salmon each year on the site of the former Great Northern Paper Mill.

Maine is playing ‘catch-up’ to prepare for health impacts of climate change

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 17, 2024

Maine is not as prepared to manage the health impacts of a changing climate as other parts of the country that face far hotter and stormier futures because it lacks the experience and the infrastructure needed to deal with extreme heat and weather. That was one of the major takeaways about the changing climate’s impact on the people who live, work and play in Maine from the first of three scientific briefings about the latest update to the state’s climate action plan. The Maine Climate Council must update the plan by the end of the year.

Opinion: It’s officially hotter than anytime since the birth of Jesus

BLOOMBERG • May 17, 2024

In a new paper in the journal Nature this week, scientists used tree rings to plot summer temperatures for the last two millennia. 2023 was the hottest of them all and our current temperatures are even more of an outlier than we realized. The next hottest 25 have all occurred since 1996. The next runner-up was way back in 246 CE. The world’s understanding of global warming changed dramatically when scientists started to document long-term temperature trends using tree rings, ice cores, sediment layers and other natural temperature monitors. climatologists say it’s not too late to keep global warming within a manageable range. If we listen to what nature is telling us, we can keep 536 CE as the worst year to be alive. ~ F.D. Flam, host of “Follow the Science” podcast

Column: What it means to be an ‘experienced rookie’ in birding

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 17, 2024

I can confidently say that I birded Arizona without much confidence over the last two weeks. I’m proficient in Maine. I have the home court advantage. But drop me into a faraway place, and I’m just a rookie. After a week of mayhem, I started making fewer mistakes. I followed my own birding advice, using the same principles I’ve preached for years in this column. What an amusing relief to learn that my advice actually works. Here are some of those pearls of wisdom. The most common birds are the most common. I learned new species by mentally associating them with familiar ones. Focus on field marks. Get to know the common birds around home. Use what you already know. Focus on field marks. And above all, make mistakes. ~ Bob Duchesne

Letter: Casco Bay Trail deserves support from Lewiston, Auburn

SUN JOURNAL • May 17, 2024

The Casco Bay Trail is a proposed multi-use trail loop through Auburn, Brunswick, Cumberland, Durham, Falmouth, Freeport, Lewiston, Lisbon, New Gloucester, North Yarmouth, Portland, Pownal and Yarmouth. The envisioned trail would be 72 miles in length. It would connect existing trails and link the multiple communities involved. The trail would function as a carbon-free, environmentally friendly transportation option for commuters between the communities involved. It would spur and support economic development along the trail. I urge mayors Carl Sheline and Jeff Harmon and the city councilors of Lewiston and Auburn to actively and enthusiastically support the Casco Bay Trail. ~ Michael Rifkin, Greene, board member of Bicycle Coalition of Maine and Maine Cycling Club

Executive Director Bob Perschel Announces Retirement after 12 Years at NEFF

NEW ENGLAND FORESTRY FOUNDATION • May 16, 2024

Executive Director Bob Perschel plans to retire as Executive Director of New England Forestry (NEFF) by the end of this year. He said, “The NEFF community has truly built something special together—each and every one of us, working together, since I joined this remarkable organization 12 years ago. I’ve spent 45 years as an environmental professional, and I’m glad that in this final stretch, I have been able to help NEFF step fully into a regional leadership role on forest-based climate solutions.”

More than 2,700 acres of critical wildlife habitat conserved in Maine’s High Peaks Region in northern Franklin County

SUN JOURNAL • May 16, 2024

A total of 2,706 acres have been added to the Mount Abraham Maine Public Reserved Land in northern Franklin County, conserving areas between Saddleback Mountain in Sandy River Plantation and Mount Abraham in Mount Abram Township. The 21 parcels included seven owners and were acquired as part of the Keystones project, a collaboration between the state and conservation partners to protect over 2,700 acres of critical wildlife habitat in the High Peaks region. The High Peaks includes 10 mountain peaks over 4,000 feet, the Appalachian Trail, and the largest expanse of high-elevation forest in the state. 

You can watch this ancient fish from shore in Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 16, 2024

The season is here for watching sturgeon and the group Upstream Cobbossee has dug out chairs and spiffed them up for people to sit and watch the more than 200-million-year-old species of fish.Maine has two sturgeons: Atlantic, which can get up to 800 pounds and 16 feet long, and the shortnosed, which reach 4 ½ feet long and 60 pounds, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries. The short-nosed sturgeon is basically unchanged from fossils dated to 65 million years ago. Gardiner is one of several places in Maine where you can watch the sturgeon jump.

More than 72,000 applied for a Maine moose permit by Wednesday’s deadline

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 16, 2024

Approximately 72,294 people applied for a moose permit according to preliminary numbers released by the state Thursday. That’s about 150 fewer than last year. The deadline to file an electronic application for one of the 4,105 permits to kill a Maine moose was 11:59 p.m. Wednesday.

Over 2,700 Acres of Critical Wildlife Habitat Protected in Maine’s High Peaks Region

THE NATURE CONSERVANCY • May 16, 2024

The Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust, The Nature Conservancy in Maine and the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands announced today that 2,706 acres have been added to the Mount Abraham Public Reserve Land managed by the State of Maine. Created through the acquisition of multiple properties, the “Keystones project” holds the larger landscape together, playing a critical role in preventing development and fragmentation while ensuring public access.

Blaze at Athens wood pellet manufacturer leads to firefighter injury, building damages

MORNING SENTINEL • May 16, 2024

A Cornville firefighter is recovering from injuries he suffered while fighting a fire that damaged a building at Maine Woods Pellet Co. in Athens Wednesday evening. The fire was reported around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday and firefighters worked for more than three hours. The fire was on the second floor of the building, where wood pellets are manufactured, and flames spread into the rafters. Maine Woods Pellet was the scene of a fire in March 2021 that was reported to have occurred in a dryer.

U.S. to end coal leasing in nation’s largest coal-producing region

WASHINGTON POST • May 16, 2024

The Biden administration announced Thursday it will end coal leasing on federal lands in the Powder River Basin, which produces nearly half the coal in the United States. The decision by the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management affects a vast coal-producing region that covers more than 13 million acres across Montana and Wyoming, and it handed a long-sought victory to climate advocates. But it angered Republican lawmakers in Montana and Wyoming, some of whom accused President Biden of waging a “war on coal,” even as the nation moves away from the fossil fuel because of market forces. It also infuriated mining interests.

Regulators approve mining law changes

MAINE PUBLIC • May 16, 2024

State regulators unanimously approved final changes to Maine’s mining law on Thursday morning that will pave the way for a small-scale spodumene mining operation in the western Maine town of Newry. Spodumene is a mineral that contains lithium, a highly sought-after metal used in everything from batteries to touch screens. The new rule will exempt the extraction of certain metallic minerals from the state’s stringent mining regulations as long as a mining operation can prove that getting them out won’t pollute the nearby land or water.

A Maine tourism hotspot hopes new housing project will revive its middle class

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 16, 2024

Greenville’s town leaders and businesses hope a proposed housing development will bring a much-needed economic boost to an area that has struggled to attract and retain workers because of its limited housing stock. The Northern Forest Center last week announced it bought a 5-acre parcel off Spruce Street where it will build a 29-unit housing development, including a mix of multi-family buildings, duplexes and single-family homes, over the next three years. It is designed to provide the “missing-middle housing” that will enable families to invest in the town and “build the sustainability of the Moosehead Lake region’s year-round economy,” Director Mike Wilson said.

These invasive flowers are bad for Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 16, 2024

Yellow iris, ornamental jewelweed and black swallow-wort may be pretty, but they can smother the state’s native flora and provide less-nutritious food for native fauna. The three plants were singled out by the Maine Natural Areas Program as priority species in 2018, with the hope that more awareness of them by Mainers will lead to early detection and eradication.

A remote forest thrives, thanks to woodswomen

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 16, 2024

Williamsburg Forest is a remote community-owned woodland revitalized and run completely by women. The initial group that decided to rescue a down-on-its-luck demonstration forest did not plan it this way. They were just foresters and conservationists who happened to be women. And when they asked for help from their professional networks, other women in this traditionally male field answered. Now women pick which trees to cut, which rules to enforce and signs to post, and which classes to hold.

Opinion: Our local economy needs to better incorporate global trade

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 16, 2024

From imports to exports, the Maine economy is deeply connected to the rest of the world. Every year, Maine exporters send billions of dollars worth of “Made in the USA” products to the rest of the world, supporting about 18,000 jobs. Our state still imports about twice as much as we export, meaning that there is significant room for growth. Our state is a bottom-10 exporter in the country. Why can’t Maine rise up the ranks? Our state is gaining new innovators by the month. From industries like specimen collection to fishing and lumber, there are still domestic and foreign markets that have yet to benefit from Maine ingenuity. Let’s achieve new strength with trade partners. Our economy depends on it. ~ Virginia Templet, Puritan Medical Products in Guilford