The most comprehensive online source of conservation news and events in Maine and beyond, edited by Jym St. Pierre
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 16, 2024
An injured hiker was rescued from Chick Hill on Monday night. Rescuers were called to the mountain in Clifton about 7:30 p.m., according to the Eddington Fire Department. The hiker was stuck near the base of the Chick Hill cliffs with an ankle injury and couldn’t walk out.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 16, 2024
Bangor is getting closer to adding a pedestrian and bicycle pathway along 14th Street Extension, three years after the project was first developed. The 0.38-mile path will run along 14th Street Extension, beginning at Ohio Street and connect with the existing Kenduskeag Stream Trail. From there, pedestrians can follow the trail into downtown Bangor. The city has seen nine vehicle crashes involving pedestrians, one of which was fatal, so far this year. Statewide, more than 90 crashes involving pedestrians have happened this year, five of which were fatal. The idea for the pathway came from the Bicycle Coalition of Maine and Maine DOT’s Heads Up! Pedestrian Safety Initiative.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 16, 2024
Plants that conveniently fill out an ornamental garden can cause big headaches down the line, in part because of what makes them so successful at growing in your yard. One of those plants that could take over your garden is Bishop’s Weed, also known as goutweed or ground elder. The low-lying, quick-spreading plant widespread throughout Maine was sold by nurseries as a ground cover for years before it was classified as severely invasive. Bishop’s weed may irritate some people’s skin.
TIMES RECORD • July 15, 2024
The project director for the Kennebec Estuary Land Trust told those at a community gathering on July 10 that rising sea levels are threatening vulnerable species. “Sea level rise may drown marshes if protection methods aren’t taken quickly,” Ruth Indrick told those meeting at the Bath Freight Shed. “That’s where conservation comes into play.” KELT has observed lush stretches of cordgrass disappearing each year, slowly diminishing Maine’s salt marshes. The intertidal zone is crucial for nursing fish species, filtering pollutants and shielding the coast from flooding. It’s also home to the saltmarsh sparrow, a species the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife recently listed as endangered.
MAINE PUBLIC • July 15, 2024
A new program from southern Maine workforce development agencies plans to train hundreds of new workers for the clean energy industry. Green Jobs for ME is managed by the Coastal Counties Workforce Inc. and operated by Goodwill Northern New England. It is funded with a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. Goodwill's senior director of workforce services David Wurm said the program will target people who are underrepresented in construction and engineering occupations. The groups plan to train more than 300 workers over the five year program.
TIMES RECORD • July 15, 2024
Wabanaki people have developed their understanding of the environment through close observance of the changing landscape over time. As such, state and local land trusts have turned to Indigenous wisdom, looking to integrate ancient methods of stewardship into decision-making. Maulian (Dana) Bryant, tribal ambassador for the Penobscot Nation, was recently appointed co-chairperson of the Maine Climate Council Subcommittee on Equity, a new role she said focuses on incorporating Indigenous knowledge into state plans.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 15, 2024
An 80-year-old man jumped off a boat Sunday and died despite lifesaving efforts from bystanders and medical personnel.
MAINE MONITOR • July 14, 2024
Conservationists have celebrated over the decades as plans for a coal plant and a liquefied natural gas terminal on Sears Island came and went without success. This latest proposal presents a new kind of conflict. Rather than pitting townspeople against a corporate polluter, this development would support clean energy and be integral to the state’s plan for cutting climate emissions. Coastal residents concerned for both climate change and ecological preservation are conflicted over the planned location of a facility that advocates say will help launch Maine’s offshore wind industry.
MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • July 14, 2024
More than 220 miles of foot trails crisscross the wild country of Baxter State Park, Gov. Percival Baxter’s enduring legacy. These winding, scenic paths offer myriad ways for day hikers and backpackers to explore the park’s 209,644-acre expanse.. A small but dedicated seasonal trail crew, several full-time staff, plus volunteers and contractors, work hard to ensure that the park’s trail system and related infrastructure is well-maintained and safe for the hiking public, while also protecting the natural resources. When it came time to dedicate the latest Maine Mountain Guide that was an easy call: “This 12th edition is dedicated to the trail maintainers and trail builders throughout Maine, and in particular to the incredible BSP trail crew, who over the past 10 years has accomplished three enormous relocation projects. Absolutely amazing work. Thank you!” ~ Carey Kish
MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • July 14, 2024
By the end of this summer, the Maine Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation will have planted almost 100 new wild chestnut tree seedlings at 10 locations around Maine. So, if the trees are all going to die, what’s the point in planting them? It’s all about genetics. The idea is that some of the trees will survive at least long enough to produce chestnuts, which are the seeds that can be planted to create a new generation of trees. Those trees would be genetically diverse, so scientists hope that at least one will have a magic formula that makes it immune to the chestnut blight. “Over the past 25 years, (the Maine chapter) has planted over 65,000 chestnut trees and produced many thousands of nuts and seedlings for others to plant.” Maine is the ideal spot for this chestnut-planting effort, as it has more surviving American chestnuts than any other state. ~ Tom Atwell
MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • July 14, 2024
I have compiled my top dozen birding sites in southern and central Maine:
• Evergreen Cemetery
• Scarborough Marsh
• Biddeford Pool
• Marginal Way, Ogunquit
• Laudholm Farm
• Kennebunk Plains
• Brownfield Bog
• Reid State Park
• Sabattus Lake
• Viles Arboretum
• Messalonskee Lake
• Waterville Trails
~ Herb Wilson
BLOOMBERG • July 13, 2024
When Nestle SA tweaked its plastic packaging goals in 2022, few noticed. The shift in language on the website of the world’s largest food maker pledged to mostly use plastic “designed for” recycling by 2025 rather than only use “recyclable” or reusable packaging by next year – its original commitment. The subtle rewording, highlighted publicly here for the first time, might seem like semantics. But the difference amounts to 280,000 metric tons of additional non-recyclable plastic waste a year. It’s a fresh indication that the efforts to curb the use of virgin plastics – including a key pledge made by dozens of companies since 2018 to make all such packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable – are failing.
MAINE PUBLIC • July 12, 2024
The Environmental Protection Agency is recommending that states monitor fish for 12 different PFAS chemicals. The EPA announced the new guidelines, adding five PFAS chemicals to its "contaminants to monitor for advisories" list, and seven to its "contaminants to monitor to watch" list. The "to watch" list is a new addition, meant for chemicals that are found in the edible tissue of fish that could be a concern for human health, but does not have an oral toxicity measure from a federal agency. Maine has already issued consumption advisories for 16 bodies of water throughout the state because of high levels of PFAS.
MAINE MORNING STAR • July 12, 2024
Three people were honored Thursday at the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor at Nihkaniyane, the second year that members of the Wabanaki Alliance and allies have come together to recognize the coalition’s work and the relationships that make it possible: Carol Wishcamper, a founding supporter of the Wabanaki Alliance; Rena Newell, former Passamaquoddy Tribal Representative to the state Legislature and former chief of the reservation at Sipayik; and Beth Ahearn, who this year retired as director of government affairs for Maine Conservation Voters, one of the earliest members of the Wabanaki Alliance.
MAINE PUBLIC • July 12, 2024
Nine people, including eight from Maine and one from New Hampshire, have been sentenced in a long-running commercial fishing scheme. The fishermen pled guilty to underreporting their catch of Atlantic herring, a popular lobster bait, according to U.S. attorneys. Federal officials said that in a three-year scheme, the owner, captain and crew of a Rockland-based commercial fishing vessel known as the Western Sea knowingly submitted false landings reports to NOAA. The crew caught more herring than is allowed under weekly federal limits. During more than 80 trips the Western Sea crew caught and sold more than 2.6 million pounds of herring that was not reported. The Western Sea concealed the income on tax documents.
MAINE MONITOR • July 12, 2024
Maine will coordinate plans for new transmission lines — particularly regional projects to share power from offshore wind farms — with nine Northeast neighbors, under a major agreement announced this week. This doesn’t make for the most exciting headline. For some, it might raise the specter of controversial developments like the CMP Corridor power line. But experts agree that transmission lines — big, long-distance power lines, versus the distribution wires strung along local streets — are a crucial part of tackling climate change while controlling costs and shoring up reliability for everyday energy users. The reason: Electrification, increasingly powered by renewables, especially the dawn of offshore wind.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 11, 2024
An algae bloom in late June killed farmed salmon at aquaculture sites in the Jonesport area. The die-offs occurred at salmon farms run by Cooke Aquaculture USA in Eastern Bay near the towns of Jonesport and Beals. “The marine algae was concentrated by ocean currents and formed an algae bloom,” Hedlund said in an emailed statement. “As the bloom moved into the Jonesport/Beals area it caused periods of low dissolved oxygen in the water column.” The bloom dispersed naturally after a few days, and Cooke has safely removed and disposed of the dead fish.
MAINE PUBLIC • July 11, 2024
Friends of Acadia has announced a $10 million fundraising campaign, aimed at addressing the shortage of housing for seasonal staff. The organization began fundraising about a year ago, and has raised more than $7 million, which will be used to leverage additional federal money. Housing has become a serious barrier for hiring staff, said park superintendent Kevin Schneider, but it's especially difficult for seasonal workers who only need it for only a few months. "Housing is critical for us at Acadia National Park, if we don't have a house, we won't be able to have a seasonal employee, that's really what it amounts to," he said. "It is impossible for somebody to find a place to live for the six months summer season if we can't provide housing for them." In recent years, about 30% of the park's seasonal positions were unfilled, in part because housing is so difficult for workers to find.
MAINE PUBLIC • July 11, 2024
About three dozen protesters marched and sang in front of the Maine Public Employee Retirement System offices in Augusta Thursday to draw attention to what they consider is its failure to rapidly divest from oil and gas companies fueling the climate crisis. A 2021 state law demanded that Maine PERS pull all its investments from fossil fuels. But Divest Maine campaign manager Hope Light said the agency has dragged its feet. Switching from oil, gas and coal will bring the same or better returns for Maine retirees, Light said, and would limit the system's risk as the public turns away from fossil fuels. Maine PERS said it has implemented the law in accordance with its sound investment criteria and fiduciary obligations.
MAINE PUBLIC • July 11, 2024
Six commercial woodland owners have been selected to pilot climate smart forestry that advocates hope could help store millions more tons of fossil fuel emissions in the north Maine woods. The New England Forestry Foundation on Thursday said it will use some of a $30 million grant from the U.S.D.A. to reimburse landowners for using approved methods. Foundation senior forester Brian Milakovsky said the techniques aren't "rocket science.” On some Maine acreage timber companies already cut down overgrown young woodlots to encourage more valuable trees, called pre-commercial thinning, and use similar climate smart methods. The idea is to grow trees that can store more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, either by staying alive in the forest or as durable building materials and other products.
