Opinion: If you care about the ethical treatment of wildlife, say so

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 11, 2024

Recent tragic events in the U.S. have exposed the worst impulses of humans in their violence against animals. Our federal government wants to exterminate hundreds of thousands of barred owls, while Wyoming allows people to run down wolves using snowmobiles. Here in Maine, we witnessed the grotesque sight of three dead coyotes hanging from a buoy. How do we institute change for the good of wildlife and humanity today, before it gets even darker for us all? The line between egregious cruelty to animals and violent harm to women and children, especially, is paper-thin. Tell legislators you support legislation to protect all wildlife and that you care about the ethical treatment of wildlife, and that wanton killing for sport and prizes, especially, is unacceptable. ~ Gina Garey, Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy.

Catch and kill bass derby at Moosehead sets off social media firestorm

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 11, 2024

Briar Lyons Boetsch and her husband Aaron bought Northeast Carry General Store last year. Alarmed at the seemingly large number of bass, they decided to hold their first Catch and Kill Bass Derby to help protect the native trout and salmon fisheries in Moosehead Lake. What they didn’t count on was the heated debate that would rain down on them. By Monday there was a full-fledged argument between bass fishermen and people who want that species out of Moosehead.

Learn these Maine beetles and protect your garden

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 11, 2024

There are thousands of species of beetles in Maine, but just a few of them could cause big problems in your garden this year. Simple methods like the soapy water trap, protecting young plants with row cover, rotating your planting sites and disposing of eggs before they hatch can help you protect your plants at a low cost. Some farmers also plant other crops the beetles like next to the ones they want to protect, a method called perimeter trap cropping. Whatever you choose to do, knowing how to identify these common Maine beetles emerging right now is a good first step. The free online New England Vegetable Management Guide is one simple, updated resource for information on any of these insects.

The Northeast Has Unexpected Old-Growth Forests That Survived Colonial Axes

SIERRA CLUB • June 10, 2024

By the 18th century, Europe had few trees left that were tall enough to be fashioned into single-stick ship masts—a construction superior to fastening two shorter logs together—so colonists coveted the long, straight trunks of eastern white pines. White pines were one of the first species that settlers targeted, reducing stand after stand of them to stumps and slash. In the 1980s, Bob Leverett and others began documenting remnants of forest in Massachusetts and beyond that had somehow escaped colonists’ axes. Enthusiasts and scientists have identified tens of thousands of acres of old-growth forest in the Northeast. “The best thing we can do for climate change with much of our forested land is to actually do nothing,” said David Foster, an ecologist who spearheads an initiative known as Wildlands, Woodlands, Farmlands & Communities, which aims to protect a network of designated wildlands spanning New England.

Coastal steamers were gateway to Maine woods

WORKING WATERFRONT • June 10, 2024

Before the development of automobiles, highway systems, and commercial airlines, coastal steamers were the primary mode of travel for visitors from major Northeast cities coming to Maine. For those seeking to enjoy the pristine woods and waters of inland Maine, disembarking steamer passengers were reliant on a network of transportation methods. The prevalence of the automobile later in the 20th century radically changed the travel landscape and provided greater amounts of control and freedom for tourists. It was not long before steamer and rail travel were a thing of the past. Maine Maritime Museum’s newest exhibit, Upta Camp, explores Maine camp culture. It is on view through October 2025.

Tower gives a 360-degree view of Katahdin region

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 10, 2024

Trout Mountain is sandwiched between Baxter State Park and Debsconeag Lakes Wilderness Area. It’s a protected parcel of 3,598 acres that The Nature Conservancy has classified as a preserve. Due to this designation, the forestland is managed as an ecological reserve, where natural processes such as ice, drought and wind shape the forest. Follow a blue-blazed trail maintained by TNC to reach an 80-foot fire tower in the preserve.

Wells to hold public hearing on access to Moody Beach

MAINE PUBLIC • June 10, 2024

The town of Wells is holding a public hearing on public access of Moody Beach on Monday. In May, the select board announced it would file an amicus brief in support of plaintiffs who are suing private beachfront homeowners over public access. James Connerney of the group Free Moody Beach, says he appreciates the town's support, but wants them to take more direct action. He wants them to pursue a Beach Use Agreement, where all interested parties reach an agreement on allowed use.

World weighs in on fate of 4 Maine dams blocking passage of endangered salmon

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 10, 2024

The fate of four dams in Maine that are hindering the migration of wild Atlantic salmon and other sea-run fish has drawn international attention after federal regulators gave preliminary approval in March to relicense one dam and require all four to improve fish passages, moves that will allow the dams to operate for several more decades. The stakes couldn’t be higher, pitting the potential survival of a species against business interests. Maine is the only U.S. state where wild Atlantic salmon have survived in a few rivers, including the Kennebec and Penobscot. That is forcing parties involved to weigh whether the dams are producing enough electricity to justify ongoing operations now that alternative energies including solar and wind are coming online.

Column: How to identify woodpeckers by the sounds they make

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 9, 2024

Today we learn how to speak woodpecker. At least five different species are cavorting somewhere near your house right this minute. There are three other woodpecker species in Maine. Woodpeckers have can pound out a message. The downy woodpecker has a nice, short, even drum. The hairy woodpecker is a rapid-fire. Yellow-bellied sapsucker drumming starts strongly and then peters out unevenly. Pileated woodpeckers have a deep, booming drum that gets faster and quieter toward the end. Northern flickers have deep booming drums. Red-bellied woodpeckers have moved into the state. In northern Maine, we have always had black-backed woodpeckers and American three-toed woodpeckers. They all sound different.. ~ Bob Duchesne

Tips for traveling solo at national parks across the United States

WASHINGTON POST • June 9, 2024

Over the next few months, millions of visitors will flock to U.S. national parks to hike, climb, boat and explore. With a maximum cost of $35 per vehicle for entry, visiting a national park can be one of the cheapest, most rewarding vacations you can plan this summer. Solo hikers should be flexible enough to enter at off-hours and win last-minute lotteries. Hiking and spending time in nature alone has demonstrably proved to improve mental health.

40th Trek Across Maine will bring about 1,000 bicyclists through Lewiston

SUN JOURNAL • June 9, 2024

On the third weekend every June for the past 39 years, Scott Cowger of Hallowell has pulled on his bike shorts, shoved his feet in his cycling shoes, buckled on his helmet and started pedaling in his quest to raise money for the American Lung Association. On Friday, kickstands will go up and Cowger and hundreds more cyclists will set out on the 180-mile 40th annual Trek Across Maine. The goal is to raise $750,000, with more than $500,000 of that already raised as trekkers head into this year’s Father’s Day weekend trek. The ride has raised $31 million collectively since its inception.

Maine’s slice of the kelp industry continues to grow

CENTRAL MAINE • June 9, 2024

Since Akua’s kelp burgers launched in 2021, the company has sold more than 1 million of the plant-based patties. Made with kelp harvested by the farmers of the Maine Family Seafarm Cooperative, the burgers are sold in roughly 1,000 grocery stores and 200 restaurants nationwide. Akua processes 40,000 pounds of Maine kelp each year and plans to move its burger production to Freeport from Atlanta this summer. “The hamburger is the symbol of everything that’s wrong with the American food system. A kelp burger is the opposite,” said Akua CEO Courtney Boyd Meyers. Like Akua, Atlantic Sea Farms processes its own seaweed and sells its kelp burgers to grocery stores. Atlantic Sea Farms operates 40 kelp farms stretching from Casco Bay to Eastport.

Column: Snakes in Maine?

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • June 9, 2024

We currently have nine species, some with multiple subspecies occurring here, and there was historically a 10th, which has been extirpated. The “lost” species is the timber rattlesnake, which used to occur in southern Maine, but due to extreme persecution from humans hasn’t been documented here since 1860. This was the only venomous snake in Maine; all the remaining nine species are safe to be around, although some can be more aggressive when agitated. Venomous is toxic when they bite you, poisonous is toxic when you bite it. Now you know. More than 13,000 records have been submitted by hundreds of volunteers around the state for the Maine Amphibian and Reptile Atlas Project. One outcome has been the beloved “Maine Amphibians and Reptiles” book. ~ Maine Audubon Staff Naturalist Doug Hitchcox

Some gardeners like to garden. Some just like the results

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • June 9, 2024

Some gardeners don’t enjoy gardening. They like plants and the way those plants look in their gardens. They may even take pride in the results of the work that they do. But they dread the drudgery, the insects, the labor and dirtiness of actually tending the plants. I absolutely enjoy the time I spend in the garden. For me, the best times are harvesting vegetables and cutting flowers to bring inside, but planting – whether seedlings or seeds – is also a pleasure. I even enjoy weeding, mostly because it is mindless, so I can let my mind wander to future columns. ~ Tom Atwell

Editorial: Mitigation of climate change must not be lost to its management

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • June 9, 2024

For years, sensible, proven policies have languished on desks and in legislative chambers at the state and federal level. It is as if we were not in a clear state of emergency, as if addressing climate change were not the burning imperative of our time. It is the federal picture that requires the most correction. America needs national policies to arrest the descent into what the head of the U.N. calls “climate hell.” We seem eerily good at bracing for and braving the tumult that a changing climate throws our way – and less good at working to arrest the change. If we settle for political candidates who do not prioritize climate change – or for candidates who act too slowly or not at all, or who belittle or deny the climate crisis out of ignorance, convenience or a toxic mix of the two – it becomes an accurate preview of a very disturbing future.

Letter: Maine making progress on climate change

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • June 9, 2024

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by climate change or think individual actions are too small to matter, but that’s not true. Every bit helps, and taking action can help with climate anxiety. Even better, these personal actions don’t only help the health of the planet – they can make things better for you, your family and your neighbors. ~ Erica Bartlett, Portland

5 summer hikes within an hour of Bangor

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 9, 2024

Don’t miss out on the lush, green woods of Maine. Hit the trails and see all the splendor nature has to offer. Not everyone has the time (or energy) to take a road trip to some of Maine’s hiking destinations. That’s OK. All of these hikes are within an hour of Bangor and offer treks for all levels.
• Northeast Penjajawoc Preserve in Bangor
• Hothole Pond Trail in Orland
• Furth and Talalay sanctuaries in Surry
• Mead Mountain in Orland
• Kenduskeag Stream Trail in Bangor

Mainers are finding ways to homestead without their own land

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 9, 2024

Facing steep real estate  prices, Maine’s beginning farmers and homesteaders increasingly rely on people they know to find land and resources they can use. Many lease, often for just a year or two at a time; many don’t know if they’ll ever own. Accessing land is the primary hurdle for people who want to start farming, according to Bo Dennis, the beginning farmer program specialist at the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. Each year, more of the beginning farmers he works with operate on land leased year-to-year, without a path to buy.

A 21-foot sculpture honors the tribes that hunted swordfish in the gulf of Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 9, 2024

A 21-foot sculpture of a swordfish now stands on the shore of North Haven island, its long, sharp bill pointing toward the sky as Penobscot Bay glitters behind it. Designed by Camden artist duo Billy Sims and Ann McClellan and woven together out of willow by volunteers and local students, the new piece of artwork is a striking tribute to the Wabanaki people who hunted swordfish off the island some 5,000 years ago.

Portland’s working waterfront showcased at annual open house

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 8, 2024

The past, present and future of Portland’s working waterfront were on display Saturday in a variety of events and exhibits that gave unusual public access to the city’s increasingly precious harbor resources. Locals and visitors from across the country turned out for the ninth annual Walk the Working Waterfront, an interactive open house showcasing the fishermen, seafood producers and wholesalers, restaurants, nonprofits and other Commercial Street purveyors who call Portland Harbor home. A display outside the Gulf of Maine Research Institute showed that sea level along Commercial Street is expected to rise about 1.5 to 3 feet by 2050, which would put most of the area underwater.