Column: For an ethical and enjoyable wildlife experience, embrace the space

TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY • July 8, 2024

The opportunity to see fascinating species thriving in their natural environments draws many of us to national parks, waterways and wildlife refuges every year. Almost as alluring is the appeal of getting the perfect picture that captures an animal’s beauty, ingenuity or charisma. But our Instagram aspirations must not be achieved at animals’ expense. Experts agree that the best way to protect and respect wildlife is to put our binoculars and zoom lenses to good use by giving these animals plenty of room to roam. ~ Michelle Reynolds, PETA Foundation

Maine dairy processors eligible for modernization grant

TIMES RECORD • July 7, 2024

Dairy processors in Maine and across the Northeast can now apply for the Dairy Processor Modernization Grant through the Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center. With a total of $1.2 million in funding, this grant will fund specialized equipment to help processors expand capacity, increase efficiencies and improve packaging. Dairy processors play a vital role in regional food supply.

Maine Maritime Museum to host talk with exhibition’s sound artist and curator

TIMES RECORD • July 7, 2024

Sound artist Dianne Ballon will be at the Maine Maritime Museum Friday in conversation with Associate Curator Catherine Cyr to discuss their work in creating “Lost and Found: Sounds of the Maine Coast by Dianne Ballon.” The July 12 talk is from noon to 1:15 p.m. and is free, but preregistration is required.

Persistent heat wave in U.S. expected to shatter new records as it bakes West and swelters in East

ASSOCIATED PRESS • July 7, 2024

Forecasters said Sunday that a long-running heat wave that has already shattered previous records across the U.S. will persist, baking parts of the West with dangerous temperatures that will soar into the 100s and holding the East in its hot and humid grip throughout the week.


Explore Acadia National Park by bicycle on historic carriage roads

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 7, 2024

Winding through the forest around mountains and ponds, the carriage roads of Acadia National Park are a great way to explore the park by bicycle. These wide, smooth roads are closed to motorized vehicles (with a few exceptions). They feature massive historic stone bridges and lead to some incredible views of Mount Desert Island. With a whimsical, rustic feel, the carriage roads follow the natural curves of the landscape, circling around Jordan Pond and Eagle Lake, and visiting several smaller bodies of water. They also hug the slopes of several mountains, including Day, Penobscot, Parkman and Sargeant.

Maxwell’s in Cape Elizabeth to close strawberry farm after 5 decades

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 7, 2024

Maxwell’s Farm in Cape Elizabeth, with a history that stretches to before the American Revolution and has more recently been a favorite spot for pick-your-own strawberries, is closing after 51 years. The farm posted a statement on its website Sunday that says rising but unspecified challenges for family farms and “increasing barriers at most every turn” have made it impossible for the owners to balance their faith, family and farm. The family traces its roots to James Maxwell, who in 1762 paid 2 pounds, 6 shillings and 8 pence “lawful money” for 25 acres.

Column: Some birds will attack if they feel a threat to their nest, young

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • July 7, 2024

The nesting season is in full swing and we often get some interesting reports of unusual wildlife behaviors that come with it. American goshawks are fiercely territorial and are the most likely to seriously injure someone getting too close to their nests. While males are off foraging for food that they’ll bring back to the nest, females stay to protect the chicks. There are lots of other signals that birds give us when we are too close to their nest or young, so be on the lookout. If you can avoid that spot for a short time, you can help increase the success of that nest and also keep from getting some goshawk scars. ~ Maine Audubon Staff Naturalist Doug Hitchcox

Editorial: Public beach access must be thoughtfully managed, protected

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • July 7, 2024

A fracas over parking for beach access in a Cape Elizabeth neighborhood highlights – yet again – tension between public, private and the supposed 'character” of a place. As the ongoing intertidal access case has shown us, public support for better public access to Maine’s beaches is – surprise, surprise – extremely robust. As neighborhoods up and down the coast seek to turn back the clock and close visitors out, that support will need to strengthen again. It needs to become so strong that it feels like common sense, which it is.

Letter: Maine pension fund should divest from PFAS

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • July 7, 2024

Your June 23 editorial warned of the high costs of dealing with Maine’s PFAS crisis. Recent articles have also warned of the costs that will be incurred by the worsening climate crisis. Ironically, the Maine Public Employees Retirement Fund invests in companies that are contributing to both of these crises. Would it not be an act of care to avoid profiting from investments that are harming present and future retirees? ~ Tom Mikulka, Ph.D., Cape Elizabeth

Letter: Stop noise pollution on our roads

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • July 7, 2024

Judging by the number of pickup trucks and motorcycles roaring up and down highways, large and small, the laws regarding modified muffler systems and the excessive noise they produce are not enforced. it appears neither law enforcement nor Maine state inspectors are doing anything to stop noise pollution on our roads. ~ Janice Robinson, Topsham

Obituary: Keith Fletcher

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • July 7, 2024

Keith Fletcher, 66, of Wells, passed away on July 2, 2024. Keith was a kind, passionate, and creative man who devoted his life to his family, land conservation, and music. After graduating from Antioch College in Ohio, where he earned a B.S. in 1980, Keith launched a career in land conservation. He also resumed his studies, finishing a M.S. from John Hopkins University in 1991. He championed conservation around the Delaware River, on the prairies of Iowa, and eventually across the woods and coastline of Maine. Most recently, Keith worked with Maine Coast Heritage Trust to help preserve Maine’s coast. He was also a member of the Wells Conservation Commission for 23 years.

Maine needs aquaculture workers. This free program is training them.

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 7, 2024

The aquaculture apprentice program is a joint venture launched in 2023 by the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, the Maine Aquaculture Association, and Educate Maine. It was developed after a study found about 884 people working in the field as of 2022, with potential growth for up to 1,450 jobs by 2030, but only if aquaculture businesses can find the kinds of workers they need. The workers sea farming operations want most are ones with boat handling experience, as well as basic plumbing, electrical, construction and small engine repair skills. However those types of potential employees, with practical vocational training, are in the shortest supply.

Birds flock to Merrymeeting Bay, a globally unique destination

KENNEBEC JOURNAL • July 6, 2024

Ornithologist Will Broussard led a small yet knowledgeable group on a hike Saturday, sponsored by Friends of Merrymeeting Bay, through a diverse and unique Merrymeeting Bay ecosystem, which is a globally significant bird habitat. A half-dozen local residents gathered for the hike that explored the area between the Kennebec and Eastern rivers that makes up the state-owned Green Point Wildlife Management Area in Dresden to watch and – perhaps more successfully on an overcast morning – listen for birds. Broussard, a Bowdoinham native with a passion for birds and nature, was the youngest person certified years ago by Cornell University’s Ornithology Lab to record bird sounds.

As ecotourism grows, so does the desire to maintain Downeast’s wild character

MAINE MONITOR • July 6, 2024

In the past decade, the state and roughly a dozen large nonprofit conservation groups have caught on to the idea that land and water preservation could also help boost Maine’s Downeast region’s lagging economy. A 2018 study reported that 19 percent of the two-county area was in some sort of conservation status — more than 700,000 acres of parks, wildlife refuges and preserves. And the figure has only grown. Much of that conserved land and water is being groomed for public access. There has been a large uptick in recreational tourism, and thus an influx of money. Conservation leaders say their Downeast planning efforts consider a crucial question: How do you create new recreational experiences, and new economic opportunities, while maintaining the culture of the region?

Letter: Hold fossil fuel companies accountable for climate crisis

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 6, 2024

It’s obscene that the fossil fuel industry continues to receive billions in subsidies (i.e., taxpayer dollars) at a time when they’ve been reaping record profits and, more importantly, the use of their products is beginning to render the planet unlivable. While common sense would dictate stopping these subsidies, Big Oil controls many of our elected officials. A portion of the financial support fossil fuel corporations receive should be converted to funding for carbon dioxide removal technologies. Funding currently to prop up the coal industry and finance fossil fuel development abroad are two areas that could be diverted for this purpose. ~ Tom Berry, Kennebunk

Letter: Petrochemicals increasingly threaten our health

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 6, 2024

Many are unaware that air pollution from burning fossil fuels and the chemicals released by their use is a health threat. Since 1990, there has been a 28% to 150% increase in diabetes, chronic lung disease, cancer and neurodevelopmental disorders. Experts believe petrochemicals have contributed to these increases. Since the 1950s, petrochemical production has increased 15 times and is rising. Improve your chances of good health by telling legislators to support a price on carbon to energize a rapid transition to renewables. Also, ask legislators to regulate existing chemicals and research chemicals before they are released on the public. ~ Nancy Hasenfus, Brunswick

Dramatic rescues punctuated a busy June for Acadia rangers

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 6, 2024

Rangers at Acadia National Park have had their hands full. They received a larger number of calls this past June than they did in the same month last year, even though park visitation is down this year. Some of their most dramatic rescues stacked up in the later part of the month, including the rescue of a climber on South Bubble Mountain, hikers who separately suffered injuries three days later on South Bubble and Gorham mountains, and a truck that drove over a cliff on the Park Loop Road. The park also sent staff when a New Hampshire man drowned off Bar Harbor.

Rescue underway on Appalachian Trail near Caratunk

CENTRAL MAINE • July 5, 2024

State and local emergency personnel were responding Friday to the report of an injured 14-year-old hiker on the Appalachian Trail at a point between Pierce Pond and the Kennebec River west and north of Caratunk. Unconfirmed emergency reports say the hiker had been unconscious for two hours, and weather conditions were stormy.

Train derailment in Penobscot County spills about 1,200 gallons of diesel

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 5, 2024

Officials are cleaning up about 1,200 gallons diesel fuel that spilled onto the ground in Penobscot County this week after a train engine hit parked rail cars and ruptured its fuel tank. The collision happened Tuesday near the Mattawamkeag-Winn town line, the Lincoln Fire Department said. The crash caused one car to overturn and a second car to derail, puncturing the engine’s fuel tank and releasing 1,200 gallons of fuel onto the ground. A newspaper investigation published last year revealed widespread issues with freight rail operations in Maine, including poorly maintained lines, unreported accidents, and secrecy around the hazardous materials transported through the state.