Opinion: With federal support, conservationists and timber companies find common ground

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 13, 2024

Here in Maine, land owners and conservation organizations have found common ground when it comes to our state’s greatest natural assets. Protecting the health of Maine’s forests and the waterways that keep them thriving is something both of our organizations can get behind. For The Nature Conservancy, it’s because healthy forests are vital for people and the planet. For Baskahegan, it’s because thriving forests mean jobs and growing local economies. For both of us, addressing the outdated dams and undersized culverts on forest roads that block passage of native fish like Atlantic salmon and brook trout is a top priority. Nearly $25 million in federal funding is coming to Maine to support private landowners who want to make these improvements to road-stream crossings on their property. ~ Eileen Bader Hall, The Nature Conservancy in Maine; Kyle Burdick, Baskahegan Co.

Penobscot Nation, conservation group file appeal to stop Juniper Ridge Landfill expansion

MAINE MORNING STAR • November 13, 2024

The Penobscot Nation and Boston-based environmental organization Conservation Law Foundation filed an appeal on Tuesday to stop the expansion of the Juniper Ridge Landfill. The suit comes a little more than a month after the Maine Department of Environmental Protection issued a ruling that opened the door for the site to increase its capacity, despite continued objections from local residents and advocates that doing so could worsen environmental hazards. “Challenging this decision is not just about protecting our environment,” Alexandra St. Pierre, director of communities and toxics at CLF, wrote Wednesday.

Southern Maine experiencing very high fire danger

MAINE PUBLIC • November 13, 2024

The Maine Forest Service said the southern half of the state is experiencing very high fire danger, from the western mountains to Bangor to islands just south of Bar Harbor. Crews from Wales battled a brush fire near the Oak Hill High School on Wednesday. Wildfires fueled by dry conditions and wind also broke out Tuesday in Hollis, Sanford, Bath and Damariscotta. The state said the northern part of Maine is experiencing high fire danger.

Federal money fuels Maine’s clean energy and climate goals. Could Trump pull the plug?

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 13, 2024

A lot may be on the line for Maine’s energy policy in a second Trump presidency. From federal money supporting electric heat pumps and electric vehicles to expanding a network of chargers and building a wind port on Penobscot Bay, the state looks to Washington for millions of dollars to advance its clean energy and climate goals. Starting in January, the federal government’s executive branch, which controls billions of dollars in energy funding, will be headed by President-elect Donald Trump, who favors fossil fuels over zero-carbon energy he calls a “green new scam.” The greatest threat from the Trump administration to Maine’s energy and climate policies could be to its offshore wind initiatives.

Northern Forest Center housing project to proceed

PISCATAQUIS OBSERVER • November 12, 2024

The Northern Forest Center purchased five acres of land in downtown Greenville off Spruce Street and plans to build housing to serve the local workforce. The housing project plan seeks to develop 29 units of new housing that incorporate a mix of multi-family buildings, duplexes, and single-family homes to be built over three years.The Northern Forest Center Center hopes to use the project to demonstrate the environmental and economic benefits of utilizing mass timber construction. 

$4,000 reward offered for information about illegal deer killings on Mount Desert Island

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 12, 2024

The Maine Warden Service is offering a reward up to $4,000 for information about two deer that were illegally shot at night on Mount Desert Island. The first deer was killed late on the night of Oct. 5 or early in the morning of Oct. 6 in the town of Mount Desert, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife said in a statement Tuesday night. The buck was left to rot and was discovered by a local resident. The second deer, also a buck, was shot during the early morning hours of Nov. 6 in the town of Tremont, which also is on MDI. The head was cut from that animal and the remainder was left to rot, the department said. Hunting is prohibited on the island that is home to Acadia National Park and night hunting is illegal across the state.

Concerns remain over proposed development in Portland’s Bayside neighborhood

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 12, 2024

At the Planning Board's second workshop on the project, which would combine housing-first, affordable and market-rate apartments concerns remained over the location of the project in Bayside neighborhood and the lack of green space it would bring to the neighborhood.

Commission urges Maine to prepare for next round of severe winter storms

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 12, 2024

The December 2023 and January 2024 storms caused an estimated $90 million in damage to Maine’s public infrastructure, plus millions more in private property losses. On Tuesday members of the Maine Infrastructure Rebuilding and Resilience Commission released a report on how the state can prepare for more extreme weather events and be ready to recover and rebuild.

Bates College students rally to organize opposition to Trump

SUN JOURNAL • November 12, 2024

About 80 Bates College students rallied Tuesday to protest President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda and begin organizing opposition to its implementation. Some also criticized Bates College for failing to divest fossil fuel companies from its portfolio and not doing enough in the wake of the election for students who fear what Trump policies might mean for them.

Earth’s biggest polluters aren’t sending leaders to UN climate talks

ASSOCIATED PRESS • November 12, 2024

World leaders are converging Tuesday at the United Nations annual climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan although the big names and powerful countries are noticeably absent. But 2024’s COP29 climate talks are lacking the top leaders of the 13 largest carbon dioxide-polluting countries. Their nations are responsible for more than 70% of 2023’s heat-trapping gases.

Task force issues recommendations for helping Maine dairy farmers

MAINE PUBLIC • November 12, 2024

A state task force to support Maine's commercial dairy farms is recommending that the Dairy Tier Program be fully funded. The program offers supplemental payments to farmers when the price of milk falls below the cost of production. The task force suggests that it may be necessary to find new revenue streams for funding and increase the annual baseline. Other recommendations include increasing on-farm technical support and increasing milk processing capacity in Maine. The deadline for submitting feedback on the recommendations is Friday, Nov. 22, and the task force will submit its final report in January.

Maine Audubon says stickers are preventing birds from striking notorious Portland building

MAINE PUBLIC • November 12, 2024

Striking buildings is one of the leading causes of bird mortality in the U.S., killing nearly a billion birds every year. But recent modifications to the deadliest building for birds in Portland shows injuries and fatalities can be avoided. Volunteers for Maine Audubon regularly found large numbers of dead birds around MEMIC's building on Commercial Street during annual surveys, according to outreach manager Nick Lund. In some years, more than 30 killed or injured birds were found near the six-story building, Lund said. But exterior decals installed on three stories of windows have reversed that trend and saved lives. "We found during our fall surveys, zero dead birds back there which is a complete validation of the time and effort it took MEMIC to put those up, and a real proof of concept for bird safe window technologies," Lund said.

Column: The night of the old white men

MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • November 6, 2024

In the near term, climate is the most important issue for all the world. Trump will likely pull out of the Paris Agreement once again, but that will have a limited effect on other countries. He has promised to “drill, baby, drill,” but you can’t sell more oil than people are willing to buy and the world demand for oil is going into decline. Moreover, the U.S. has not built a new coal-fired power plant in over a decade because coal is simply not competitive with solar and wind energy. He will try to repeal the massive Inflation Reduction Act, Joe Biden’s big anti-global warming initiative. ~ Gwynne Dyer

Brunswick group organizing to do widespread PFAS screening in wake of toxic foam spill

TIMES RECORD • November 11, 2024

In the wake of the worst toxic firefighting foam spill in Maine’s history, a renters organization is working to better inform the public and widely test for toxic forever chemicals in Brunswick Landing. The Brunswick Renters Organization is compiling requests for a bulk order of home test kits for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — better known as PFAS or “forever chemicals.” The aim, it said, is to create a database of contamination levels around the former Brunswick Naval Air Station while raising awareness about the long-running history of military contamination.

US top climate negotiator: ‘We won’t revert back’ as Trump prepares to take over

ASSOCIATED PRESS • November 11, 2024

During the first day of the U.N. climate talks, COP29, Climate Adviser John Podesta struck a defiant but realistic tone in a press conference. He said Trump will likely pull the United States out of the landmark Paris Agreement and try to roll back many of the Biden Administration’s signature climate moves, including the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act that included $375 billion in climate spending. “Are we facing new headwinds? Absolutely. But we won’t revert back to the energy system of the 1950s. No way,” Podesta said. “Setbacks are unavoidable, but giving up is unforgivable.”

Editorial: Offshore wind leases sold despite Trump pledge to end industry

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 11, 2024

Donald Trump, who was elected president on Nov. 5, has pledged to end offshore wind “on day one.” Industry experts believe he could slow, but not stop, the growth of renewable energy in the U.S. Last month’s lease auction, held just before the election, lends credence to this assessment. Eight offshore wind leases were sold. The fact that companies, including Central Maine Power owner Avangrid, purchased leases to install offshore wind turbines is an endorsement of the potential for this relatively new form of electricity generation. More data needs to be collected about the potential impact of offshore wind on marine species, including endangered right whales, and on commercial lobster fishing. But, last month’s federal lease auction shows there is serious interest — despite threats to hamper the industry from the next president — in developing offshore wind to help meet growing demand for renewable energy.

How Donald Trump could hamstring Maine’s offshore wind projects

ASSOCIATED PRESS • November 10, 2024

Opponents of offshore wind energy projects expect President-elect Donald Trump to kill an industry he has vowed to end on the first day he returns to the White House. “We are going to make sure that that ends on Day 1,” Trump said in a May speech. “I’m going to write it out in an executive order. They destroy everything, they’re horrible, the most expensive energy there is. They ruin the environment, they kill the birds, they kill the whales.” Numerous federal and state scientific agencies say there is no evidence linking offshore wind preparation to a spate of whale deaths along the U.S. East Coast. Commercial fishermen in Maine said they hope the Trump administration will undo policies designed to help build and approve offshore wind projects. Trump is unlikely to end projects under development but might have more leverage over ones still in the planning stage.

Maine dams face an uncertain future

MAINE MONITOR • November 10, 2024

As Maine’s aging dams require significant investments to meet stringent environmental standards and continue operating, will their owners double-down and do what it takes to keep them running, or will state influence and local opposition send them to retirement? These complex decisions are more urgent than ever. Maine must fulfill its quickly approaching renewable energy goals, and is pursuing more wind and solar projects to do so. Meanwhile, state policies on water quality and fish passage are more influential than ever, and proponents of aquatic habitat restoration are galvanizing to flood public comment forums on dam operation licenses with pro-dam removal messaging. What happens with Maine’s remaining dams could have dramatic implications for the communities that have been shaped by these structures for centuries and for the state’s renewable energy portfolio.