The most comprehensive online source of conservation news and events in Maine and beyond, edited by Jym St. Pierre
MORNING SENTINEL • May 31, 2024
Another solar storm is forecasted to wash across much of Canada and the northern U.S. Friday night, potentially bringing a brightly colored night sky with it. The best time to catch a glimpse of the aurora will be after sunset and before moonrise between 9 p.m. Friday and 1 a.m. Saturday.
MAINE PUBLIC • May 31, 2024
The state of Maine wants to build a $760 million port that can specifically accommodate the assembly and deployment of floating wind turbines. The plans also call for the construction of a heavy-lift, semi-submersible barge that can launch the foundations needed to support floating wind turbines. Maine, as it competes for federal grant funding, is trying to position itself as an ideal location for such a port. There's a lot on the line.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 31, 2024
Half of American adults report feeling lonely. Fortunately, communities of all sizes have a key tool already in place that can help: public parks. Unfortunately, the federal government currently applies a high population threshold when funding parks. Cities must be larger than 30,000 residents, which means only Portland, Lewiston and Bangor are eligible in Maine. The Outdoors for All Act would lower the threshold to 25,000 residents for cities seeking park funding through the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership. ~ Betsy Cook, Maine state director, Trust for Public Land
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 31, 2024
Sparrow songs defy categorization. Some species sing beautiful melodies, while others emit mere buzzes and trills. Some sing nothing more than a hiccup. It’s no wonder sparrows perplex birders. Fortunately, sparrows sort themselves out. Each species is very particular about its preferred habitat. Except in migration, each is found only in very specific places. There are 17 birds with “sparrow” in the name that regularly occur in Maine. Three only wander into Maine during migration. One, the American tree sparrow, is only here in winter. Of our 13 nesting sparrows, several are easy. ~ Bob Duchesne
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 31, 2024
The city of Belfast has launched a new effort to make it easier for people to get around town by bicycle, wheelchair or foot. It’s now working with the state Department of Transportation and a consulting firm to seek input and develop the active transportation plan. The city’s pedestrian, transportation and accessibility committee is leading the effort.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 31, 2024
If you see a military helicopter, the bomb squad or people in hazmat suits next week, it might just be a test. More than 30 federal, state and local agencies, including police, emergency responders, the National Guard and the Coast Guard will converge at several locations around Maine from June 3 to 6 to practice responding to a variety of natural and man-made disasters. The exercises will take place across the state with significant activity in and around Casco Bay in Portland and South Portland, Fort Williams in Cape Elizabeth, the Kennebec County town of Winthrop and the Aroostook County town of Houlton.
MAINE MORNING STAR • May 30, 2024
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland will deliver the keynote address at the Maine Democratic Party convention on June 1, the party announced Thursday. Haaland, a former U.S. representative from New Mexico, was one of the first Native American women elected to Congress. She was then nominated by President Joe Biden in 2021 to head the U.S. Department of the Interior, which stewards public lands, becoming the first Native American Cabinet secretary in U.S. history. Haaland will focus her speech around the stakes of the upcoming 2024 election.
USC • May 30, 2024
An analysis released today by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) found that the risk of electricity blackouts over the winter—when energy demand is high during periods of extreme cold from December through February—decreases with the amount of offshore wind power deployed. UCS submitted the study to the Maine Governor’s Energy Office to inform a request for proposals that the Maine Public Utilities Commission will issue for developing and constructing offshore wind projects. The findings, however, should influence all New England states that are considering how to beef up winter electricity reliability and lower consumer costs.
NEWS CENTER MAINE • May 30, 2024
Leaders with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency gathered in Portland Wednesday to discuss Brownfield Grants and industrial clean-up in the state. This follows an announcement earlier this month that communities across Maine would receive $33 million in these EPA Brownfield Grant funds, which are used to clean up and assess land that has been contaminated by pollutants and other hazardous materials. Backers of the effort at the EPA see the grants as a vehicle to both eliminate environmental damage in an area and free up space to launch economic development projects. The latest batch of funding will go towards nine grants in eight Maine communities as well as four existing grants (to expedite work at the sites).
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 30, 2024
An injured hiker was rescued Wednesday afternoon from Chick Hill in Clifton. The hiker suffered leg injuries about 100 yards up a steep section of trail about 3 p.m. Chick Hill, known as Peaked Mountain on the map, is about 1,160 feet tall and located off Route 9.
MAINE MORNING STAR • May 30, 2024
Maine is among 21 states joining a push by the Biden administration to modernize America’s aging electric grid, which is under pressure from growing demand, a changing power generation mix that includes lots of wind and solar and severe weather. The administration, which has set a goal of a carbon-free power sector by 2035, announced Tuesday that the states had joined what it called the “Federal-State Modern Grid Deployment Initiative,” which is intended to “help drive grid adaptation quickly and cost-effectively to meet the challenges and opportunities that the power sector faces.”
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 30, 2024
In Maine, native anadromous fish species are able to effectively access less than 10% of their former range. On the Penobscot, the first two dams were removed over 10 years ago, yet salmon passage remains inadequate with fish unable to transit Milford Dam. On the Androscoggin, there has been dysfunctional fish passage at head of tide in Brunswick for the entire term of the current FERC license. On the Saco River, despite agreements that go back over 30 years, effective fish passage has yet to be demonstrated at the head of tide. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s record of supporting restoration of sea-run fisheries is abysmal, and a new impact statement proposes the same approaches for a critical part of the last Atlantic salmon population in the country. FERC must change its thinking. ~ Steve Heinz, Maine Council of Trout Unlimited
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 30, 2024
PFAS compounds found in wells around the state are causing concerns among home sellers and buyers in the state, but the presence of the “forever chemicals” has not slowed Maine’s hot real estate market, real estate experts said. While some potential buyers have expressed concern about PFAS, that has not stopped sales and rising prices in the Maine market, where inventory continues to be in short supply and demand remains high, real estate professionals selling property in known PFAS locations said.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 30, 2024
I turned right, following white painted trail markers up the west ridge of Barren Mountain. Rising 2,670 feet above sea level, it’s one of the many peaks traversed by the AT, and an open ledge below its summit offers a breathtaking view of the region. Barren Mountain is the first major peak of Maine’s famous 100-Mile Wilderness, if you’re trekking from the south. The 100-Mile Wilderness is considered the most remote section of the Appalachian Trail.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 29, 2024
Maine farmers will most likely benefit from the warmer weather and longer growing seasons caused by climate change, but they also will face greater risks as our milder winters make conditions ripe for more harmful plant diseases and pests. Extreme weather brought on by climate change will pose additional risks, forcing farmers to prepare for the increased likelihood of drought and heavy rains within the same growing season, according to scientists who advise the Maine Climate Council.
MAINE PUBLIC • May 29, 2024
Portland is hosting a New England Brownfields Summit this week, where hundreds of stakeholders are learning about programs to transform the blighted properties into economic engines. Brownfield grants and low interest loans can help communities clean up land and water contaminated by mills and military chemical storage. Thompson's Point in Portland was once a port for the railroad and shipping industries but by the 1940s was relegated to industrial manufacturing and storage. Mayor Mark Dion said a brownfields grant served as a catalyst to create the bustling event and business venue it is today.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 29, 2024
In 2021, the Belfast City Council seized a parcel of mudflats in part to guarantee Nordic had access to Penobscot Bay amid disputes about whether the company owned the land in question. But in May, the council unanimously voted to withdraw its land seizure decision – a response to multiple lawsuits. Nordic Aquafarms has filed a lawsuit asking the Maine Superior Court to determine whether the City Council can reverse its decision to seize land the company needs to build its controversial $500 million fish farm in Belfast.
SCARBOROUGH LEADER • May 29, 2024
Repairs to Black Point Road on Prouts Neck, heavily damaged by storms in January, are “quite a ways out at this point,” likely starting in fall or early winter, according to Scarborough Town Manager Tom Hall. The necessary work, estimated at $4 million to be reimbursed by FEMA, is much broader than recent work at Higgins Beach to repair storm damage there, Hall said. The town is also working with state agencies to “restore as many natural systems as possible.”
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 29, 2024
Sen. Angus King formally announced his intention to seek a third term as U.S. senator. King’s campaign announced Wednesday that the two-term senator submitted more than 5,000 signatures and qualified for the fall elections. The former two-term, Independent governor is facing three challengers in a race that will be decided by ranked-choice voting. In addition to serving on the intelligence and veterans affairs committees, King also serves on the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where he leads the Subcommittee on National Parks.
MAINE PUBLIC • May 29, 2024
Maine energy regulators have rejected a proposed settlement that would have provided refunds to thousands of customers of Electricity Maine. The company offers an alternative to the state's "standard offer" for electricity supply. Two years ago, it allegedly switched customers from a fixed rate to a variable rate, without their knowledge, and significantly increased prices, resulting in some bills increasing by hundreds of dollars per month. The company and staff at the Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) had reached an agreement in which eligible customers would have been provided refunds and given an opportunity to change service. But the commission rejected the stipulation on Wednesday, with commissioners saying that it didn't adequately consider the fact that the company has repeatedly violated state law.
