20-year-old man drowns off Bar Harbor

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 27, 2024

A 20-year-old New Hampshire man drowned on Thursday in waters off Bar Harbor on Mount Desert Island. Multiple government agencies went to Clark Cove after an eyewitness report at 3:30 p.m. of a man swimming and in distress, the Maine Department of Marine Resources said in a news release. At 6 p.m. the Maine Marine Patrol / State Police Underwater Recovery team recovered the body of Gregory Taylor.

Greater Lovell Land Trust names conservation director

SUN JOURNAL • June 27, 2024

Rhyan Paquereau has been named conservation director at the Greater Lovell Land Trust. He will oversee the management of the more than 7,500 acres under conservation: developing plans for the management and improvement of Trust properties for public access, stewarding conservation easements. Paquereau served as interim executive director of the land trust for the past year. With the return of Erika Rowland as executive director, Paquereau will shift focus to his areas of conservation expertise.

Pingree, other lawmakers draw attention to fast fashion’s toll on the environment

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 27, 2024

U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, wearing a pastel green thrift store sweater and floral scarf, stood outside the U.S. Capitol on Thursday to introduce the Slow Fashion Caucus, a congressional effort to draw attention to how mass-produced garments contribute to climate change. “Often, people don’t understand the role that fashion is playing today in our climate crisis. We’ve developed these dual habits in our country – keeping up with every single fashion trend and purchasing cheap, poorly made clothing,” the Maine Democrat said in a speech, flanked by other members of Congress and supporters. “And they have become drivers of yet one more issue in our climate change crisis. In fact, the fashion industry is responsible for more carbon emissions than all international flights and maritime shipping combined.”

Shipping, boating industries ask for delay in ship speed limits aimed at protecting right whales

MAINE PUBLIC • June 27, 2024

Conservation groups said they're waiting on the federal government to finalize long-delayed ship speed limits, which are aimed at preventing collisions with critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. But industry groups are now asking Congress for a five-year delay. The new speed rules were proposed by NOAA nearly two years ago. Since then, the outdoor recreation and maritime shipping industries have argued that new speed restrictions would harm their businesses. The industries are advocating to delay the implementation until at least 2030 and instead establish a grant program to deploy technologies aimed at reducing right whale vessel strikes. Congress has already approved a pause on new rules aimed at reducing the risks of fishing gear entanglement on right whales through 2028.

‘We can have both’: Development, nature at center of debate over Brunswick logging effort

TIMES RECORD • June 27, 2024

Early this year, Joel Fitzpatrick of Wyley Enterprises purchased 24 acres in Brunswick, adjacent to Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust’s Crystal Springs Farm trails, Thornton Oaks retirement community and Arrowhead Drive. In early June, he hired a company to start logging parts of the land to make way for a potential development project slated for 2025. While the project is being done legally and up to code, according to town officials, it has raised concerns among neighbors about habitat fragmentation and increased potential for flooding. Residents are focused on monitoring development regulations to ensure wildlife buffers and water management plans are in place. They are also planning to call for possible “environmental reparations,” such as rewilding, stressing the responsibility of both the developer and the community. 

This may be why Somes Sound looks green right now

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 27, 2024

The recently greenish waters of Somes Sound have inspired many questions and an occasional joke amongst visitors and residents on Mount Desert Island. Kevin Lachapelle, a Maine Department of Marine Resources specialist, says microbiologist Brianna King has “taken a look under the microscope for phytoplankton and she thinks we may have seen evidence of a bloom of coccolithophores along with unsurprising amounts of some of our usual suspects (pseudonitzschia, scripsiella, dinophysis).”

Simultaneous leg injuries tie up rescue workers on MDI

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 27, 2024

Two hikers fell and suffered leg injuries in Acadia National Park at about the same time on Tuesday, requiring separate groups of rescuers to carry each person out of the woods. At around 12:30 p.m., a 71-year-old woman fell and broke her leg on the summit of South Bubble Mountain. Fifteen minutes later, a 60-year-old man fell and injured his knee on Gorham Mountain Trail.

Acadia swimming area closed because of high bacteria levels

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 27, 2024

Swimmers have been advised to avoid Sand Beach Lagoon in Acadia National Park because of unsafe bacteria levels. The water there was tested Tuesday, and the results revealed 404 bacteria colonies per 100 milliliters of water, which exceeds the threshold of 61 colonies per 100 milliliters set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Scientists find another way we’re exposed to ‘forever chemicals’: Through our skin

WASHINGTON POST • June 27, 2024

A first-of-its-kind study has found that “forever chemicals” – toxic compounds found in everyday beauty and personal care items like sunscreen, waterproof mascara and lipstick – can seep through human skin and enter the bloodstream. In early April, the Environmental Protection Agency set its first-ever limit on these “forever chemicals” in drinking water, following mounting evidence that chemicals in contaminated water can pose a health risk to people at even the smallest detectable levels of exposure. Known as “forever chemicals,” PFAS can persist in the environment for centuries.

Maine State Aquarium draws a crowd when it reopens after a 4-year hiatus

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 27, 2024

As sunny skies and blue ocean waters made for a picturesque Maine day in the village of West Boothbay Harbor, bubbling fish tanks, rare blue lobsters and interactive exhibits brought visitors of all ages to the Maine State Aquarium, which reopened Wednesday for the first time since it closed in 2020. Maine’s only aquarium reopened during Boothbay Harbor’s Windjammer Days Festival after the four-year closure that began because of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and was extended after officials discovered damage to walls, floors and electrical systems. It has seen just over $1 million in renovations in that time, which included adding new displays, repairing walls and floors and improving pumps and filters in the tanks.

People are being warned of an aggressive bird in Bangor

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 27, 2024

A protective songbird has people ducking for cover at the courtyard of a Bangor business. Bangor Savings Bank put signs outside its building on Hamlin Way to warn employees and visitors of the bird, which made a nest in a tree at a nearby entrance. This is the first year bank employees reported seeing the bird. The bird is believed to be a northern mockingbird that’s protecting a nearby nest, according to Bob Duchesne, who pens a weekly bird column.

Maine’s tiny coastal cottages are turning into million-dollar properties

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 27, 2024

Marcus Groff bought his cozy Ogunquit cottage 10 years ago for $315,000. Earlier this month, Groff listed the property for $825,000. That trend has rendered the neighborhood largely unrecognizable in just a decade, he said. The value of a typical Ogunquit home soared by nearly 132 percent from 2014 to 2024, which was among the largest increases in the area. In May, that typical value sat at $915,000. It’s a similar situation in Saco. An 870-square-foot home on Ferry Beach is on the market for $829,000, even though it can only be used for three seasons. It was built in 1951 and last sold in 1994 for only $113,000.

10 monsters that dwell in Maine’s waterways

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 27, 2024

Many strange freshwater creatures in Maine often go overlooked. Whether hiding in the shadows or darting across the water’s surface, these real life monsters are more fascinating than dangerous. Their survival tactics and adaptations make them uniquely suited for a watery world, from rivers to swimming holes. Here are just a few of these amazing creatures: Moss animals (bryozoan), water scorpions, bloodsuckers, water striders, green sponges, water snakes, bladderwort, whirligigs, snapping turtles, fishing spiders.

Auburn committee recommending changes to recycling program

SUN JOURNAL • June 26, 2024

A city committee is recommending a series of changes to Auburn’s solid waste and recycling programs, and will present the report during a public hearing Thursday. The report from the Sustainability and Natural Resources board gives an outline of several changes that should be considered, including a program that accepts all recycling commodities as well as provides wheeled and lidded containers.

Harpswell removes dead humpback whale from water

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 26, 2024

Officials removed the humpback whale carcass found off Harpswell from the water on Wednesday afternoon, after it had potentially been floating along the Maine coast for more than a week and a half. This is the second humpback whale carcass found in Maine this month. The other was found June 6 off Cape Elizabeth entangled in fishing gear. A necropsy determined that one likely drowned.

Penobscot Nation and towns get mercury pollution settlement funds

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • June 26, 2024

Various entities, including the Penobscot Nation and three eastern Maine towns, are set to receive funds through a legal settlement with the onetime owner of an Orrington chemical plant over mercury it dumped into the Penobscot River between 1967 and 2000. Those funds, which will help the groups to perform watershed restoration and improvement projects, are part of a much larger settlement that Mallinckrodt U.S. LLC, one of the former owners of the former HoltraChem Manufacturing plant, reached in 2021. It will pay at least $187 million as part of the settlement. While much of that funding will go to remediating the mercury contamination, $20 million of it has been reserved for projects in communities affected by the pollution.

Merrymeeting Bay Bird Walk, Dresden, July 6

FRIENDS OF MERRYMEETING BAY • June 26, 2024

Ornithologist Will Broussard will lead a bird walk along Merrymeeting Bay at Green Point Wildlife Management Area, Dresden, July 6, 7-9 a.m. Hosted by Friends of Merrymeeting Bay.

Video of man smashing turtles at Portland cemetery triggers outrage, police investigation

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 26, 2024

A video of a man picking up and smashing wild snapping turtles near Portland’s Evergreen Cemetery ponds on Saturday sparked outrage on social media. Both Portland police and the Maine Warden Service are investigating the incident.

Letter: Support BEACH Act

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 26, 2024

An alarming rates of bacteria at local beaches can make our swimmers sick. Fortunately, U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree is on the committee that has the power to decide how much money to allocate to the BEACH Act (HR 7203). This act will enable communities to continue beach testing, allowing us to know when there is bacteria in the water. Urge your representatives to support this act. We must fully fund the BEACH Act to ensure communities have all the resources they need. Find more information in the Safe for Swimming? report on Environment Maine’s website. ~ Carly Cohen, Environment Maine, Portland