Brunswick ups oversight of development at former air station

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 4, 2024

The Brunswick Town Council has approved new zoning rules that are meant to give residents and officials more oversight of development around Brunswick Landing, as new commercial and industrial projects have been proposed in an area that’s also seen lots of housing construction. Hundreds of new housing units have been constructed on Brunswick Landing since 2017. At the same time, there are a few larger scale projects happening in the area, which used to be Naval Air Station Brunswick. The projects include an expansion of STARC Systems, a local company that manufactures temporary walls, and the proposed conversion of an existing biodigester that aims to convert organic waste into natural gas — including taking in some materials that could be contaminated with PFAS chemicals.

A beginner’s guide to camping in a tent in Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 4, 2024

Camping in a tent is an activity that many people look forward to each summer. It’s an opportunity to embrace the outdoors, unwind, relax and live simply. But certain aspects of tenting can be challenging. These tips and tricks for camping in a tent will help beginners try it without fear.
• Your mode of transportation will dictate supplies
• Get to know your tent ahead of time
• Know the campsite rules
• Put thought into your spot
• Shield yourself from water
• A comfortable bed is key
• Plan to get up at night
• Keep food and fire away
• Keep your tent zipped up tight
• Air your tent out on hot days and starry nights
• Small touches can go a long way

USDA aims to aid small farmers by barring pay deductions from poultry companies

MAINE MORNING STAR • June 4, 2024

A rule proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture would eliminate pay deductions for chicken producers, Secretary Tom Vilsack said Monday. Under the current poultry payment system, companies contract with producers to supply broiler chicks, feed, and veterinary care and then it’s up to the farmers to raise healthy, substantial chickens at a mutually agreed price. But companies can also deduct pay from producers’ base pay based on that year’s market. The proposed rule would prohibit companies from deducting that pay. There are roughly 260 farms in Maine that sell broilers and other meat chickens, the vast majority of which are small producers.

Letter: Less mowing doesn’t mean more ticks

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 4, 2024

The CDC says it. Cooperative Extensions all over say it. The neighbor says it when you don’t mow. Long grass equals ticks. However, the research that has been done in recent years on the effect of decreased lawn mowing on tick prevalence is clear to me — there is no relationship between grass length and tick presence. So, can we call this myth done and stop crying “tick” every time people choose to let their lawns grow? It would be worthwhile to do so since there is plenty of evidence showing the benefits of less intensive mowing for biodiversity, air pollution, and more. ~ Rachel Smith, Orono

Column: A little hope on climate change

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 3, 2024

Interviewing 100 climate scientists is a crash course in coping strategies. Most of are suffering from quiet desperation, because they know what’s going to happen and they can’t seem to change it. Yet after all those interviews I have come away with some hope for the future. We’re still in the deepest trouble imaginable. But it has got a bit better: five years ago everybody was still pretending that we were going to fix all this just by cutting our greenhouse gas emissions. It was a complete fantasy. The lost time hasn’t been entirely wasted. Solar and wind power have grown faster than anybody dared hope 10 years ago. There are about a dozen feedbacks. The good news is that there are promising ideas for how to hold it down, because they will probably be needed. It will be a long, hard slog, but we are not yet doomed. ~ Gwynne Dyer

Hoax call sends Coast Guard on hours-long search of Casco Bay

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 3, 2024

The U.S. Coast Guard spent several hours searching Casco Bay on Friday afternoon after receiving a set of hoax distress calls. The agency received multiple calls around 4:30 p.m. about a vessel that was in distress in the vicinity of Long Island, off Portland.

Auburn may tinker with zoning again at Gracelawn Road parcel

SUN JOURNAL • June 3, 2024

The City Council has formally asked the Planning Board to weigh in on yet another zoning change at the Gracelawn Road parcel owned by John Gendron. This time, the proposal would shift 45 acres to the multifamily suburban zoning district, which officials said is more in line with the Comprehensive Plan, and retains the ability for housing to be developed while limiting certain commercial uses. The City Council previously rezoned 60 acres of Gendron’s land between Gracelawn Road and Lake Auburn to the general business zoning. At one time, Gendron eyed a 1,100-unit development on the 88-acre site, but the proposal set off a communitywide debate over water quality.

If you see a loon do this, leave it alone

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 3, 2024

Hearing the haunting call of a common loon echoing across the water can be exhilarating. However, it’s important to recognize some of the key signs that indicate an activity might be disturbing these majestic birds. Signs of agitation include a loon performing the “penguin dance,” in which the bird seemingly stands up in the water and approaches you in an aggressive way. It might make its “yodel” call, which males use to defend territory. Also, the “tremolo” call often is the result of an annoyed or alarmed bird. Watercraft must travel at or under headway speed and leave no wake within 200 feet of any shoreline. Maine law prohibits the use or sale of lead sinkers that weigh one ounce or less or are not more than 2 1/2 inches long and the state has banned the use of bare-headed jigs of those same measurements. A 25-year study determined that ingestion of lead fishing equipment was responsible for a third of all adult loon deaths in the state.

New England grid operator says it’s prepared for peak electricity demands this summer

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 3, 2024

New England’s grid operator said Monday that the region has enough electricity to meet demand this summer but warned that an extended heat wave with high humidity resulting in the extensive use of air conditioners could force it to ask customers to use less power or impose controlled outages, measures it would take only as a last resort. Hotter than average weather, such as an extended heat wave and high humidity, could push demand up to 26,383 MW, a nearly 7.5% increase that would reduce supply margins.

Guest column: A glimpse into the world of whales

MORNING SENTINEL • June 3, 2024

If the wind doesn’t take your breath away, the whales will. I learned this while on the catamaran that took our curious group on a half-day trip into Canadian waters, 60 miles into the Gulf of Maine. We’d have a chance to see something extraordinary — whales! Soon there was movement in the water around us. It got quiet — we waited. People gasped as a humpback whale made a huge splash off the bow. Humpback whales in the Northern Hemisphere reach an average length of 49 to 52 feet. The average weight of a mature adult is 50,000 to 80,000 pounds. ~ Rich Abrahamson

Woodfords Corner Farmers Market peddles community spirit along with produce

FORECASTER • June 3, 2024

Woodfords Corner Farmers Market opened for its second season last week and will be up and running from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Thursdays through Oct. 24. Launched last year by Friends of Woodfords Corner, the market has seven weekly and nine biweekly vendors, as well as entertainment and other activities. The market creates a local space for connection between farmers and neighbors.

Madison wood insulation manufacturer to expand distribution in U.S., Canada under new partnership

MORNING SENTINEL • June 3, 2024

The Madison-based manufacturer TimberHP is partnering with a subsidiary of a large French company to expand its distribution of sustainable wood insulation products in the United States and into Canada. CertainTeed Inc., a subsidiary of the French multinational corporation Saint-Gobain, is to distribute TimberHP’s products across North America. The company began operations last year at the former Madison Paper Industries mill in Madison. That facility closed in 2016, causing more than 200 workers to be laid off. The renovation of the mill cost about $150 million. TimberHP expects to employ 114 people in Madison.

Maine collaboration aims to protect birds from fatal window strikes

MAINE PUBLIC • June 3, 2024

Maine Audubon says as many as 988 million birds die each year in the U.S. after accidentally colliding with windows. Nick Lund, advocacy and outreach manager for Maine Audubon, says birds see sky and trees reflected in windows and fly into them. He says a recent study shows most birds don't survive a strike even if they fly away. Lund says any homeowner can apply decals or tape to their windows at a low cost, or use screens year-round to protect birds. And there are now bird-safe windows on the market that can be used in new construction. BirdSafe Maine, a collaboration between Maine Audubon, the University of Southern Maine and the Portland Society for Architecture, works to raise awareness of the bird strike problem and its solutions.

U.S. energy regulators order grid operators to plan for more electrification, extreme weather

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 3, 2024

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission earlier this month addressed long-term transmission planning for the first time as the grid faces what will be an “unprecedented surge in demand for affordable electricity” at the same time more storms threaten the reliability of electricity. Huge drivers of increased demand for electricity are happening—greater use of electric heat pumps and electric vehicles, manufacturers returning to the U.S. from overseas—while severe storms are coming faster and fiercer. New England has begun looking at how the regional grid can adapt to change; the region’s grid operator has filed a proposal with FERC. But the region has a “way to go” before it can expand transmission lines and rights of way. A transmission line to bring power generated by a wind farm in northern Maine was rejected by state regulators in December over cost differences.

Opinion: Right whales’ lives are an exercise in pain

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 3, 2024

In the modern era, not a single adult right whale death has been shown to stem from natural causes. Whether from a vessel strike or a fishing gear entanglement, every adult right whale found dead has been brought to its end by human causes. Since 2017 alone, NOAA Fisheries has reported 15 documented right whales killed by vessel strikes. Two more are unlikely to survive, and another four have been wounded. Those are just the ones we know about. As many as 2 in 3 right whale deaths go undocumented. A proposed expanded vessel speed rule would mandate slower speeds for more vessels crossing right whale habitats – lowering the risk of fatal vessel strikes. Advocates are also fighting for the adoption of innovative fishing gear technologies that could reduce the risk of whale entanglement. The Biden administration will decide whether the story of the North Atlantic right whale ends with no survivors, or redemption, protection and recovery. ~ Jane Davenport, Defenders of Wildlife

Letter: Oyster farming is ruining Maquoit Bay

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 3, 2024

Maquoit Bay is a shallow saltwater body enjoyed by boaters, fishermen and appreciators of nature. The bay has been taken over by a commercial oyster farm. The farm is depositing sludge, produced as effluent from the oysters, along the banks of this shallow, not-self-cleaning body of water. Our local government is reviewing the oyster company’s application for a 160-foot-long dock into the bay, disrupting the quietude of neighbors and others who enjoy the serenity still present. This water, which used to nourish shellfish and other spawning species, is now bereft of precious eel grass, which had been the critical component for the life of this bay. This loss is probably irreversible, damning the future of this precious resource to being a dead zone. Where have sensibility and forethought gone? As has been said often: Follow the money. ~ Prentiss Tubby, Brunswick

Old Town fisherman reels in a rare catch

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 3, 2024

Josh Webber, 35, and his family frequently fish the Penobscot River, just behind the airport in Old Town. Memorial Day was no different. What was different was the piebald bullhead, also known as hornpout and catfish, Webber pulled in.

It’s getting harder to find cheap parking in Bar Harbor this year

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 3, 2024

The town of Bar Harbor is banking on continued high demand for its paid downtown parking, after revenue from the program more than doubled in the five years since it started. This year, the summer tourism mecca has increased the number of public downtown parking spaces for which it’s charging the premium rate of $4 per hour. That’s twice as much as the cheaper spaces that are farther away from the intersection of Maine and Cottage streets, which cost $2 per hour in the two-tiered fee schedule. After the program took in $1.65 million during its first season in 2019, that number rose to $3.4 million by last year. This year, the town aims to bring in $3.6 million.

Column: Meet the beetles

TIMES RECORD • June 2, 2024

We peered into a cardboard box and welcomed 1,000 lady beetles to the Maine woodlands. It had been a long ride from Tree Savers, the Pennsylvania laboratory where these beetles were raised. Very soon the beetles would meet their new home tree, an eastern hemlock at Crystal Spring Farm in Brunswick, which bore the white, webby sign of an unwanted boarder, the hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA). Left unchecked, this aphid will sap a hemlock of nutrients, eventually killing it. As a recent invasive first found in our area in 2010, HWA has no native predators. The hope is that these beetles, who eat only hemlock woolly adelgids, will establish themselves and spread into the forest’s hemlocks. The most promising strategy may be the introduction of such natural controls as our beetle friends. ~ Sandy Stott, chairperson, Brunswick Conservation Commission