Letter: Lawsuit and settlement improving Penobscot estuary

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 25, 2024

I was thankful to see that $20 million for beneficial environmental projects has been awarded to several local municipalities, the Penobscot Nation and nongovernmental organizations to help clean up and restore the Penobscot estuary from mercury, which was part of the waste from plants discharging into the Penobscot estuary. This money comes from the 2022 multi-hundred million dollar cleanup and restoration settlement of the lawsuit brought by the Maine People’s Alliance and Natural Resources Defense Council to clean up and restore the estuary. Thank you, MPA and NRDC, for your decades-long lawsuit. ~ Pam Person, Orland

This pond is a paddling gem

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 25, 2024

Runaround Pond in Durham is a secret paddling gem. I found it by accident a couple of years ago and have returned about a dozen times since. For me, the narrow 2.7-mile body of water has multiple attractions. Sheltered on all sides, a pleasant paddle can be enjoyed even on a windy day. The winding shoreline is largely undeveloped leaving the impression of a wilderness environment. Wildlife is plentiful, including beavers, otters, deer and turtles. The pond is a bird watcher’s paradise. The aquatic vegetation produces a variety of radiant flora. The launch area is located in secluded Runaround Pond Park. ~ Ron Chase

Letter: Benefits of riding the bus

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 25, 2024

When I take the bus to Portland at the beginning of the workday, I feel refreshed by walking to the bus stop. I’m happy to leave the driving to someone else. I often feel reflective and mellow. It’s hard to feel too self-important riding the bus. These are not experiences I have when I drive myself into work. When I ride the bus, I walk more, get more sunshine and contribute to the betterment of the planet. I enjoy being part of a diverse community and having more time to myself. A pretty good deal for four bucks each way. ~ Justin Whitlock, Yarmouth

Solar ads promise savings using Janet Mills’ face and fake incentives

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 25, 2024

Facebook or Instagram advertisements promoting conversions to solar power with costs covered by the state of Maine use official photos and formal-sounding program names to attract customers to solar incentives. One features a portrait of Gov. Janet Mills and mentions Maine’s “solar for all” program. Another says the state will cover the cost of installation and that people who sign up can “say bye” to their power bills. But these ads are misleading. There are many solar incentives available to Maine homeowners, including a federal solar tax credit program and a controversial net energy billing program, but they are not this generous. The state also has no role in producing the ads. When asked whether the Maine government is behind their program, a sales representative admitted that it’s “actually a federally backed program.” The financial incentives are not yet available for Maine residents.

Nation’s agriculture secretary to pledge funds for rural Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 25, 2024

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visits Orono on Thursday and Brunswick on Friday to announce agricultural funding for forestry and clean energy in Maine. He also plans to promote the work of the current Biden-Harris administration and the Inflation Reduction Act, which will fund the new programs. On Thursday, Vilsack plans to reveal funding for forest landowners to “adapt to climate change impacts, improve carbon storage and keep working forests working.”

How Mainers can have an impact on our lakes

WMTW-TV8 • July 24, 2024

With over 6,000 lakes and ponds across Maine, lake conservation is critical for the future of our natural resources. Last month, Gov. Janet Mills signed a proclamation to create more diverse support for lakes around the state by making July Lake Appreciation Month in Maine. They are vital to both residents and visitors, providing access for 380,000 licensed freshwater fishermen and over 112,000 boaters. Maine lakes also provide more than half of Mainers with drinking water and act as vital habitats for more than 70 percent of our wildlife species. Susan Gallo, the executive director for Maine Lakes, shared that there are many ways for Mainers to get involved, and she said residents can volunteer to inspect boats.

University of Maine moving forward with new aquaculture research facility

MAINE PUBLIC • July 24, 2024

The University of Maine is moving ahead with plans for a new aquaculture workforce and innovation center. The 14,200 square foot facility will house large fish tanks and classroom spaces, serving as a hub for aquaculture research at the university system's flagship campus in Orono. The university said the new facility will boost existing aquaculture research and workforce training programs. The Maine Aquaculture Association estimates that the industry will need more than 1,300 new workers over the next 15 years. UMaine received $7 million in federal funding and an additional $3.3 million in state funding to support the project. Construction is expected to begin this fall, and the facility could open next year or early 2026.

Island communities ask Gov. Mills to intervene to get ferry service back on track

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 24, 2024

Officials from six separate island communities—Frenchboro, Matinicus, North Haven, Swan’s Island and Vinalhaven—are asking Gov. Janet Mills to intervene in a workforce crisis that has disrupted ferry service to and from the mainland. Throughout the year, cancellations due to staff shortages have plagued the Maine State Ferry Service that operates daily service to several Midcoast and Down East islands, affecting both residents and visitors.

Sweetgrass harvest can return to Acadia National Park

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 24, 2024

Wabanaki tribes may soon have the ability to gather sweetgrass in Acadia National Park for traditional uses after more than a century of not being able to do so. The National Park Service announced Wednesday that Acadia can enter individual agreements with the federally recognized tribes with historical and cultural ties to the land there. The Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, the Mi’kmaq Nation, the Passamaquoddy Tribes at Pleasant Point and at Indian Township and the Penobscot Nation, collectively called the Wabanaki Nations, have a cultural heritage of using the grass medicinally, ceremonially and in basket making.

Is climate change putting the lobster roll in jeopardy?

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC • July 24, 2024

Since the early 1980s, Maine lobstermen have experienced a climate-driven lobster boom. That’s because climate change has been warming the Gulf of Maine more than three times faster than 99 percent of the ocean. Warmer waters initially meant more lobster, but by 2050 conditions may become challenging for lobsters to survive in. Since a 2012 marine heatwave, the deep-water temperatures have been about 3°F warmer than average, but this year, temperatures are back to levels not seen since before 2011. But it’s still hard to say if this year’s cooler waters will benefit Maine’s lobsters, particularly if the warming trend continues in future years.

A Photographer’s Mission to Save the Ocean Begins With Powerful Images

PETA PIXEL • July 24,2024

National Geographic photographer Brian Skerry has spent decades diving around the globe, telling the stories of the world’s oceans. For his latest projects, years in the making, he has been much closer to home, documenting the unprecedented — and deadly — changes happening in the Gulf of Maine. Unfortunately, the Gulf of Maine is imperiled. The gulf’s waters are warming faster than 97% of the global ocean, offering a startling preview of a looming disaster and destroying ocean life and habitats with terrifying rapidity. As part of a cover story in National Geographic last month and a three-part documentary NOVA series premiering on PBS this week, Skerry investigates what’s happening in the Gulf of Maine, how it’s affecting animals and people alike, and what can still be done to curb the destruction.

NOVA Special: Sea Change Bounty in the Gulf of Maine

MAINE PUBLIC • July 24, 2024

the Gulf of Maine is 7,500 miles long and as much as a thousand feet deep, a marine treasure of some 36,000 square miles. From the tip of Cape Cod to Nova Scotia, it courses with cold, nutrient-rich, deep-sea water, artfully mixed by the world’s biggest tides. This rich environment feeds a web of 3,000 species ranging from microscopic plankton to seals and massive right whales. Millions of people have lived along its rising edge, drawing their sustenance, fame, and fortune from its plentiful depths. For all its storied bounty, and because of it, the Gulf is also in peril. The first episode of Sea Change (July 24) explains how the bounty in the Gulf was forever affected by European settlers and how wildlife and people adapted to its changes. In the second (July 31), scientists investigate how the Gulf came to be and how its cold waters, unique tides, and even geologic shape powers a web of thousands of species. The last episode (August 7) explores the future of the Gulf. Maine Pubic TV, July 24-August 7, 9 pm.

Road project limits access to popular Hancock County hike

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 24, 2024

A road project that started this week in Blue Hill will limit access to a popular set of local hiking trails, although there are alternative ways to reach them. The town of Blue Hill says that Mountain Road will be closed for eight to 10 weeks as it is totally rebuilt. During that time, hikers won’t be able to access the main parking area to reach the trails up Blue Hill Mountain. Blue Hill Heritage Trust, the group that manages the mountain, says there are two routes that hikers can still use to summit it. They can use street parking downtown and climb the Post Office Trail, which is about a mile long and connects with other trails up the rest of the mountain. Alternatively, they can park along Turkey Farm Road, which provides access to the 2-mile Becton Trail up the backside of the mountain.

Breaching whale slams into power boat, flipping it off Portsmouth, New Hampshire

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 23, 2024

Two fishermen had to leap from their boat Tuesday afternoon when a whale breached and fell on top of the vessel, flipping it onto its side. Two brothers from Maine, Colin, 16,  and Wyatt Yager, 19, shot the video on Tuesday and then rescued the fishermen who fell from the overturned boat.

Column: The spiders in the mailbox

CENTRAL MAINE • July 24, 2024

We’re well into spider season in Maine now, which runs from July to about mid-September. By “spider season” I just mean this is the time when most of them are the most active, so you’re apt to notice them. Most spiders live outdoors, but some seem to prefer being indoors with people. The ones who have adapted whole lifestyles to human presence are referred to as “synanthropic,” such as house spiders, who are usually the ones who build the cobwebs on your doorframes, lights and cellar ceiling. House spiders are shy and run away long before they’d ever try to bite a human. Like almost all spiders, they’re dangerous to bugs, not us. ~ Dana Wilde

Thousands of honey bees invaded the Washington County Sheriff’s Office

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 24, 2024

Between 40,000 to 50,000 honey bees set up a home for themselves inside an old vent from the jail, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. This was a problem deputies, corrections officers and maintenance staff couldn’t handle on their own. the sheriff’s office recruited beekeepers Bill Case and Jim Lenke to handle the stinging bugs. Case and Lenke had to be lifted more than 30 feet in the air to reach the vent, where the bees had nested. The bees were removed and relocated to a local farm.

To decarbonize, New England is betting big on offshore wind. Can it deliver?

MAINE MORNING STAR • July 24, 2024

Governors across New England are banking big on mammoth turbines being installed off the coast to not only keep the lights on as the region moves toward cleaner electricity, but also to meet a surge in power demand from electric vehicles and a shift to electrified home heating. The push into offshore wind comes amid longstanding apprehension over New England’s dependence on natural gas power generation. In 2023, about 49% of New England’s electricity was supplied by natural gas power plants. Nuclear plants accounted for 20% and renewables made up 10%, with hydropower, oil and imports from other regions comprising the rest. Coal was just 0.2%. The last coal plant in New England near Concord, New Hampshire, is scheduled to close in 2028 and will host solar and battery storage. At the moment, there are about 1,400 megawatts of wind power on the system. Developers are proposing nearly 18,000 megawatts, most of it offshore wind.

Opinion: How Mainers can best protect against storm damage, flooding

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 24, 2024

Extreme weather events in Maine and across the country have fueled rising property insurance rates. First, talk to your insurance agent to see if there are more affordable options. Second, your agent can also check for discounts, such as “bundling” opportunities (using the same insurer to cover your home and auto) and certain upgrades to your home. You may also consider increasing your deductible. Third, check to see if your homeowner’s policy contains a water damage exclusion. Consider buying flood insurance. Finally, you should be proactive about removing rotten trees or other hazards that may cause a loss during a storm. ~ Bob Carey, superintendent, Maine Bureau of Insurance

Aroostook-born hiker sets time on International Appalachian Trail in Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 24, 2024

An Aroostook County native is working to put Maine’s portion of the International Appalachian Trail in more people’s sights. Robert Greenier, 33, was born in Fort Kent and lived near Presque Isle as a child. Now a Colorado resident, he hiked all 138 miles of the Maine leg in just under 67 hours, finishing in the wee hours of Sunday in Fort Fairfield. His trek will give other competitive hikers something to beat. But more than that, he aims to draw attention to this route that traverses parts of the U.S., Canada and Europe and could potentially bring more tourists to Aroostook County.

Why deer flies are plentiful in parts of Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 23, 2024

Deer flies, horse flies or black flies slash their way into human skin with scissor-like mouthparts looking for a meal, leaving painful bites behind. There are dozens of species of black flies and hundreds of deer and horse flies with different regional distributions. How many will bite you this year probably depends on the number of short, intense rain events that happen where you live. This precipitation pattern is becoming more common in Maine, replacing longer storms that leave less standing water, according to Jim Dill, a pest management specialist with the UMaine Cooperative Extension. There are unusual deterrents to try. You could make a baby oil-covered helmet trap, fill a spray bottle with repellent of Epsom salts, mouthwash and stale beer, or rub your clothes with a dryer sheet.