Letter: Vote like Earth depends on it

CENTRAL MAINE • August 1, 2024

The majority of us want effective climate solutions and environmental protections. We need to elect officials who prioritize these issues. Our lawmakers have a responsibility to step up to solve the problem. All candidates running for office should take this issue seriously and have a viable plan to address heat-trapping pollution. Let your representatives and candidates seeking election know that you care about climate action. Find out what their positions and plans are around these issues and vote accordingly. Vote like the Earth depends on it! ~ Bonnie Sammons, Belgrade

Opinion: We must make Maine’s economy resilient to climate change

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 1, 2024

We should expect to see more extreme storms as the effects of climate change become more prevalent. For the sake of Maine’s economy, we must develop partnerships among governments at all levels and business sectors to identify strategies to mitigate the impacts of climate change and create the resilient infrastructure to withstand them. Making our infrastructure more resilient means elevating roads, ensuring culverts that run beneath roads and bridges have capacity sufficient to handle significantly greater water volumes and constructing wharves to withstand sea level rise and storm surges. There is no retreat for what remains of Maine’s working waterfront. Businesses can also tell government leaders what they need to succeed. Failure to act with a sense of urgency is not an option. ~ Linda Nelson, Governor’s Infrastructure Rebuilding and Resilience Commission

The 36 Best State Parks in America: Baxter

THRILL LIST • August 1, 2024

The country's more than 10,000 state parks span more than 18 million acres across the US. These spaces have always been invaluable, but have become even more important during recent years as stressed-out Americans scrambled to sate their wanderlust and rediscover their love of the great outdoors. Not only is the sprawling 200,000-acre Baxter State Park home to Northern Maine's beloved Mount Katahdin (the state's highest peak and the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail), it's also the domain of a killer variety of wildlife, from hawks to black bears who make their home amid the park's peaceful lakes and waterfalls. The park is void of paved roads, running water, and electricity, so this is your chance for the full Thoreau experience.

As the state looks to harness Gulf of Maine winds, a big question looms: How much will utility customers pay?

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 1, 2024

Maine’s offshore wind research project in the Gulf of Maine is the subject of negotiations that are picking up speed among state regulators, the project’s developers and the Public Advocate, who are trying to determine how much the zero-carbon energy will ultimately cost utility customers. The PUC on July 11 ordered that the price – or how it’s structured for the project in a contract between the developer, Pine Tree Offshore Wind, and CMP or Versant – should be “sufficiently defined and certain” to allow regulators to determine whether the cost to ratepayers is the lowest reasonable amount to finance, build and operate the project. The low-cost provision is required by state law, which mandated that the PUC execute a long-term offshore wind contract between a utility of no less than 20 years.

Column: Optimism for America’s future

TIMES RECORD • August 1, 2024

The motto of Donald Trump and the Republican Party he has captured is “Make America Great Again.” This is a backward-looking message based on the belief that if the country can return to its glorious past, reversing immigration, halting inflation, ending diversity efforts, limiting environmental protection and stymying the rise of women. This premise is almost entirely false. If corporate success is more important than human health, then the country could dismantle efforts to protect land, water and air. That would restore some version of “great again,” by trading future survival for short-term gain. Nations pass through difficult times without necessarily succumbing to them. ~ Gordon L. Weil

A new law should stop Old Town landfill expansion, opponents say

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 1, 2024

Maine is on the verge of a trash crisis, as overall waste sent to landfills increased by 34 percent from 2018 to 2022. Juniper Ridge, a state-owned landfill in Old Town, has a capacity of 10 million cubic yards and accepts trash from dozens of municipalities across the state, as well as 25,000 tons of waste from out-of-state. At the current rate Juniper Ridge is accepting trash, it will run out of room in 2028. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection will decide by Aug. 23 if a proposed 11.9-million-cubic-yard expansion at Juniper Ridge will have a substantial public benefit. It is the first time environmental justice must be considered.

Buyers eager to live on Maine’s coast are scooping up homes to tear down

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 31, 2024

Many homes on the market right now demonstrate the price of admission to Maine’s desirable coastal enclaves, which has ballooned in recent years due to record low housing inventory coupled with sky-high demand for waterfront property. Midcoast properties were seeing price increases up to 40 and 50 percent each year, Julie Williams, broker-owner at ERA Dawson-Bradford Co., said. That led many to assume, years on from the pandemic-related real estate boom, that their property will sell for well over its market value. “Things have cooled off, we’re seeing increases in pricing closer to 3 to 6 percent, or even price decreases.”

#LoveMaineWaters: Coalition urges boaters to prevent marine debris

TIMES RECORD • July 31, 2024

The Maine Marine Trades Association has partnered with Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, Maine Island Trail Association and Friends of Casco Bay to bring awareness to boaters about keeping Maine waters free of debris. In addition to keeping debris out of the ocean, the coalition considered and discussed the need for better public information about responsible navigation around lobster gear and sea farms. Any vessel traveling with line cutters on their prop shaft has the potential to run over a buoy and accidentally cut a line attached to a trap or other gear. Sailboats also run a risk of snagging lobster gear lines in their rudders, keels, or props.

Jonesport fish farm makes headway after court denies appeal of the project's local permits

MAINE PUBLIC • July 31, 2024

A proposed land-based fish farm in Jonesport is closer to breaking ground after a court denied an appeal of the project’s local permits. Maine’s Business and Consumer Court rejected the appeal from project opponent Protect Downeast, which argued that the town’s Planning Board misinterpreted the local land use code when it approved the project. The group also claimed that the facility would degrade water quality. But Justice Thomas McKeon said that the Planning Board followed local ordinances and considered substantial evidence in its approval.

Maine CDC finds 6 cases of West Nile virus in birds; investigating 1 in a human

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 31, 2024

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting six cases of West Nile virus in birds, and also is investigating one case of the mosquito-borne disease in a person. The virus was detected in crows from Bangor, Bridgton, Fryeburg, Parsonsfield and Sidney. West Nile virus was also found in a hawk in Yarmouth. The last known human case of West Nile in Maine was in 2018.

Portland Adult Education to expand heat pump apprenticeship program

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 31, 2024

Portland Adult Education was awarded $416,179 to bolster its renewable energy pre-apprenticeship and bridge programs by adding heat-pump and thermal-focused trainings. The organization plans to use the funds to prepare up to 150 people for jobs in the clean energy industry.

New Leader Selected for Trust for Public Land

TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND • July 31, 2024

Carrie Besnette Hauser as the new president and CEO of Trust for Public Land (TPL). Dr. Hauser most recently served as president and CEO of Colorado Mountain College, a public, undergraduate institution with eleven campuses spread across Colorado’s central Rocky Mountains. Dr. Hauser’s background also includes executive leadership roles at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Daniels Fund, and Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education. She has served on numerous boards including the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission, Great Outdoors Colorado, and American Rivers. “We are thrilled to welcome Carrie as our next president and CEO,” said Lucas St. Clair, chair of TPL’s board of directors.

Letter: Wilton Fish and Game learns about effort to overturn new gun legislation

DAILY BULLDOG • July 31, 2024

Saying, “The government failed us,” David Trahan, executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, spoke to members of the Wilton Fish and Game Association, explaining flaws in recently passed gun control legislation and outlining a legal challenge to the 72-hour waiting period for gun purchases due to go into effect soon. Trahan said that SAM has joined forces with Gun Owners of Maine, the National Rifle Association, and an as yet unnamed fourth organization to raise money and mount a legal challenge to the 72-hour waiting period. ~ William Sampson, Wilton

Opinion: Climate-smart forestry can grow Maine’s bioeconomy

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 31, 2024

Looking to build markets and supply chains for climate-friendly forest products, the Biden administration just announced $418,420 for Maine’s Timber HP GO Lab to produce sustainable wood insulation. And the USDA’s Partnership for Climate Smart Commodities is aiming even higher, working with the New England Forestry Foundation to help the first commercial landowners pilot climate-smart forestry management on their working lands. Six landowners will receive incentives that support a range of climate-smart forestry practices designed to to show how owners of working lands can increase carbon storage while continuing to harvest climate-smart wood products and maintain revenues. ~ Andrea Colnes, New England Forestry Foundation

Kennebec Land Trust to host Celebration of Land Conservation

KENNEBEC JOURNAL • July 30, 2024

The Kennebec Land Trust is set to celebrate another successful year of advancing land conservation throughout the Kennebec River and Lakes Region. This year’s event will take place over three days, with opportunities to learn more about the organization’s recent conservation accomplishments, latest trail improvements, and upcoming projects, and to connect with KLT staff, board members and supporters. A Mount Pisgah hike is set for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 12. The Howard Hill Hike will begin at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 13. The annual meeting is set for 5:30-7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 14, at Absolem Cider Company in Winthrop.

Wabanaki Nations can now gather sweetgrass at Acadia

MAINE PUBLIC • July 30, 2024

The Wabanaki Nations will now be able to contract with Acadia National Park to collect sweetgrass, which is used in tribal ceremonies and basket making. The National Park Service prepared an environmental assessment and found that the gathering of sweetgrass, which grows in salt marshes, would have no significant impact. Acadia Superintendent Kevin Schneider said this is a critical step in "preserving and protecting the park through co-stewardship with the Wabanaki tribes and providing space for Wabanaki citizens to heal and re-connect with their homeland."

Marine biologists are worried about a vital plant that is steadily decreasing in Maine

WMTW-TV8 • July 26, 2024

The latest data on parts of the Gulf of Maine are worrying local scientists. Eelgrass is a type of seagrass that lies a few feet below the ocean line. It's a vital part of the sea-life environment, and officials with Friends of Casco Bay are sounding the alarm on a growing problem in Casco Bay: The eelgrass has decreased. "From 2018 until 2022, 54.5% of the eelgrass beds in Casco Bay disappeared," said Ivy Frignoca, a baykeeper with Friends of Casco Bay. “If this continues we could see some really bad scenarios.”

Waters near Acadia National Park in Maine inundated with microplastics, study finds

SPECTRUM NEWS • July 24, 2024

University of Maine researchers have discovered that Frenchman Bay is suffering from significant microplastic pollution. Researchers found about 400 billion microplastic fibers on the surface of Frenchman Bay and in several rivers and estuaries. The findings were published in Environment Engineering Science. Grace Johnson, lead author of the study, said, “That is a lot of microplastics.” Microplastics are less than five millimeters in length, often small enough to pass through water filtration systems into lakes and oceans. They release harmful toxins and pose a threat to aquatic life.

Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon visits Bar Harbor lobster pound

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 30, 2024

Fallon, host of The Tonight Show, visited Stewman’s Lobster Pound in Bar Harbor and Finn’s Irish Pub in Ellsworth over the weekend. In 2017, he popped in for a pint at a Lubec brewery with Lorne Michaels, the founder and longtime producer of Saturday Night Live who now also produces The Tonight Show. Michaels, 79, owns Josh Pond Farm, a 150-acre organic wild blueberry and goat farm in Whiting, Maine, which is about 20 miles from Lubec and 90 miles from Bar Harbor. The Toronto native has purchased and conserved more than 5,000 contiguous acres of forest and blueberry fields surrounding the Washington County farm since 2009.

Critics, studies cast doubt on Maine’s claims of climate benefits from highway expansion

MAINE MONITOR • July 30, 2024

Climate and clean transportation advocates are calling into question a claim by Maine officials that a new toll road proposed outside Portland will reduce carbon emissions by alleviating gridlock. It’s a common argument made in favor of highway expansions nationwide, said Benito Pérez, a former transportation planner and engineer. But it relies on a narrow view of data that, in context, tends to show these projects are more likely to increase planet-warming emissions, he said. “This is a multi-dimensional issue when it comes to emissions reduction, and it’s not going to work.” Maine’s proposed Gorham Connector project has met stiff public opposition.