Column: Here are some of the best ways to see new birds in Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 27, 2024

In 2025, I resolve to see more new birds. Feel free to make that your resolution, too. Everybody can see new birds, even experts. It’s just a matter of knowing where to look. The best part is that inexperienced birders can see a lot more new birds than experts can. Almost any bird beyond your backyard bird feeder might be new. Intermediate birders can add a new life list bird today, although it might require driving somewhere. That’s the secret to Maine. Our state has so many different habitats, a new bird can be found in any direction. It’s possible to find at least 300 birds in Maine during the year. ~ Bob Duchesne

Maine grower is changing the state’s fruit tree landscape

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 27, 2024

By the 1970s, many Maine apple trees were near the ends of their lifespans. Their fields were overgrown, the farmers who planted them forgotten. When Palermo resident John Bunker started rediscovering them, they were mostly “mysterious, anonymous gifts from the past.” Over the next 40 years, Bunker’s hobby grew into a business that has changed the state’s fruit tree landscape on homesteads and small farms, saving and spreading these varieties that could have been lost otherwise, along with other unique fruits, trees and ornamentals. By 1994, his hobby had grown into a full-time job. Jen Ries started working with him 22 years ago and took the lead at the tree division around 2020. Forty years in, Bunker comes across apple trees he sold that have grown large enough for grandchildren to climb on. “It’s very personal for people to plant a tree,” Ries said.

Opinion: The oil and auto industries’ inconvenient truth

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 26, 2024

Maine residents should strongly support the Maine attorney general’s decision to take action against oil and gas companies and their trade association for allegedly downplaying the dangers of climate change. The suit alleges that they bear responsibility for decades-long deceptions enabling them to make enormous sums of money with minor interference from government regulators. Donald Trump has said that on day one of his term it’s going to be “Drill Baby Drill,” America should increase its energy production and human-caused climate change is “a hoax.” Trump told a group of oil executives he will immediately reverse dozens of President Biden’s environmental rules and policies and stop new ones from being enacted. We bear responsibility for creating a livable climate. The fossil fuel and automotive industries must be part of the solution. ~ Patrick Walsh, Belfast

Unusual winter drought persists across Maine

MAINE PUBLIC • December 26, 2024

Maine's drought conditions have improved in recent weeks but the state is still experiencing an unusually dry period as winter sets in. An update to the U.S. Drought Monitor on Wednesday showed that more than 60% of Maine is in moderate drought. Nearly the entire state is at least abnormally dry. To address drought pressure on farmers, the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry is setting up a grant program to help pay for drilling new wells and building ponds and other water storage.

Navy has ‘moral obligation’ to remove foam, Brunswick airport authority says

TIMES RECORD • December 26, 2024

“The federal government left us with that stuff, and the federal government has a moral obligation to get rid of it,” said Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority Interim Executive Director Steve Levesque. Levesque’s statements echoed a September letter from Maine federal lawmakers and an October letter from the Environmental Protection Agencycalling on the US Navy to help in the wake of Brunswick’s disastrous Aug. 19 toxic foam spill that spewed 1,450 gallons of PFAS-laden aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) into Brunswick airport’s Hangar 4 and surrounding waterways.

Letter: State should cut losses and look to Mack Point for offshore wind facility

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 26, 2024

We recently learned that the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) failed to receive a $16 million grant for an offshore wind manufacturing facility on Sears Island. This marks the fourth MDOT grant application failure since 2023 for the Sears Island development. It’s past time for the Mills Administration to cut our taxpayer losses and focus on more modest improvements to Mack Point in furtherance of the floating offshore wind research array. ~ Stephen Miller, Islesboro Islands Trust

Letter: Save Maine winters and Maine livelihoods

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 26, 2024

Wintertime in Maine is not what it used to be. We have rehashed the issue of climate change countless times. But this topic never seems to be seriously addressed. Organizations have only told us that someday, our decreased carbon emissions will make a difference. But I have to ask, when is that someday? Our planet is not the only thing impacted by climate change. In 2022, Maine’s outdoor recreation industry comprised 3.9 percent of the state’s economy. Let’s work to save our winters and our livelihoods. ~ Sophia Soucy, Hermon

Spanish energy giant purchases CMP parent company for $2.5B

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 26, 2024

Spanish energy giant Iberdrola has completed its $2.5 billion acquisition of Central Maine Power’s parent company. The transaction makes Maine’s biggest electric utility privately held and reduces its visibility to federal securities regulators. New York regulators approved Iberdrola’s purchase of the remaining 18.4% of Avangrid Inc. on Dec. 20 and the deal was completed Monday, with shareholders being paid $35.75 a share. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission had signed off on the acquisition in September.

Maine's nature-based shoreline rules face pushback

MAINE PUBLIC • December 26, 2024

A new state policy to encourage using biodegradable materials to prevent shoreline erosion is facing backlash from critics who say it risks damaging coastal properties. Representatives for engineering firms and Maine realtors denounced new restrictions as inflexible and ineffective during a recent hours-long public hearing this month at the state Board of Environmental Protection. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection wants to speed up permitting for shoreline stabilization projects that use natural methods. Those practices use timber, grasses and other biodegradable materials to reestablish and strengthen natural dunes and shorelines. But new regulations would also make it harder to get permission to install rocks and gravel to reinforce coastline near homes.

Letter: Brunswick’s haste will lead to traffic standstill

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 26, 2024

Brunswick Town Council passed the two-way conversion of Pleasant Street (at a $4 million premium) without a plan. The concern for pedestrian and bicycle safety on Pleasant is valid but there are other ways to “calm” traffic. With this “plan,” we will slow down traffic; most likely to a standstill. ~ Lynne Holland, Brunswick

Maine seeks boost in energy storage to avoid costly grid upgrades

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 24, 2024

The Governor’s Energy Office recommended in a new report Monday that the state Public Utilities Commission establish programs that would add 200 megawatts to be built by developers. The PUC is reviewing the report and has not yet begun soliciting public comment. To pay for new storage projects a customer of Central Maine Power should expect to pay an average $5.90 a month more in the first year the program is in effect; the bill would decrease $3.41 a month in the following year.

Acadia and locals chafe at state’s terms for repairing MDI road

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 24, 2024

In a Dec. 12 email to the Maine Department of Transportation, Acadia National Park Superintendent Kevin Schneider wrote that the state’s request for a five-day turnaround to respond to the state’s terms sheet about repairs to Seawall Road was unreasonable. Schneider’s email reinforced the Southwest Harbor select board’s same sentiment about terms that the state agency has put on the repairs to Seawall Road.As proposed, Acadia National Park and Southwest Harbor would each pay 33 percent of the costs for future repairs to the road and Maine DOT would pay 34 percent.

Opinion: I hope Mother Nature might teach Maine to cooperate

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 24, 2024

Camp Ellis has a history of storm damage and a need for FEMA aid well outside the hurricanes. In the past, I could walk between its boulder wall and the waves at low tide. That’s impossible now, due to further additions of boulders over which storm waves still break. A while back, as a buffer against the waves, a huge berm of sand was constructed under a woven plastic netting in front of the boulder wall. Most of the berm is already gone; the ensuing storms blew the netting apart. No amount of money is going to prevent nature from reestablishing its boundaries. ~ Doug Yohman, East Waterboro

What the 2024 eclipse did for Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 24, 2024

Approximately 224,800 people traveled to or around Maine for the eclipse and the estimated economic impact for the state was between $207 million and $219.8 million, according to Jennifer Geiger of the Maine Office of Tourism. Maine and New Hampshire had some of the most significant gains in spending because of a sudden change in weather, with Texas falling out of favor with eclipse watchers when clouds were predicted. The weather was clear in the Northeast. Aroostook County tourism data indicated a 99 percent boost in visitor spending over the 5-day event compared with the same days of the week the prior four weeks. The state saw a 23 percent jump in tourist spending over the same period.

Advocates cheer possible end of genetically modified salmon

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 23, 2024

Environmental advocacy groups are cheering what they say is the end of a controversial attempt to market genetically engineered salmon, following a yearslong regulatory and legal battle. A coalition of environmental, recreation and consumer groups sued the Food and Drug Administration for approving the world’s first genetically engineered food animal nearly a decade ago. The groups argued the new fish could further threaten the endangered Atlantic salmon, especially if they were to escape and mingle with the natural gene pool, and charged that the FDA violated procedural law by failing to consult scientists with relevant expertise, Friends of Merrymeeting Bay said.

Reports show ME clean energy projects can include wildlife protections

PUBLIC NEWS SERVICE • December 23, 2024

Wildlife advocates say it's possible to transition to renewable energy while protecting vital habitats and species. As Maine builds out its offshore wind infrastructure, advocates want regulators to use available data regarding seabed habitats when citing transmission cables. Veronica Ung-Kono is a transmission specialist with the National Wildlife Federation. She said wind energy is critical to countering the climate crisis - but species like lobster, oysters, and crabs help sustain the ocean ecosystem. "Because those cables will be buried under the seafloor," said Ung-Kono, "it's incredibly important that those species are prioritized in that decision-making process." Ung-Kono said two new reports provide a summary of research regarding wildlife and the power grid both on and offshore, and where data gaps remain.

Federal Court Declares Genetically Engineered Salmon Unlawful

FRIENDS OF MERRYMEETING BAY • December 23, 2024

A U.S. District Court has ruled the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) violated environmental laws in approving genetically engineered salmon. The FDA ignored the serious environmental consequences of approving genetically engineered salmon and the full extent of plans to grow and commercialize the salmon in the U.S. and around the world, violating the National Environmental Policy Act. The Court also ruled that FDA’s unilateral decision that genetically engineered salmon could have no possible effect on highly-endangered, wild Atlantic salmon was wrong and in violation of the Endangered Species Act. The FDA must now thoroughly analyze the environmental consequences of an escape of genetically engineered salmon into the wild. The plaintiff coalition, jointly represented by legal counsel from Center for Food Safety and Earthjustice, includes Friends ofMerrymeeting Bay.

Third right whale entanglement reported in a week

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 23, 2024

A third endangered North Atlantic right whale has been reported entangled in fishing gear within one week, this time off the coast of North Carolina. Two of the whales are so seriously injured they are expected to die.North Atlantic right whales are approaching extinction, with a primary cause of injury and death identified by NOAA Fisheries to be fishing gear entanglements and vessel strikes in both U.S. and Canadian waters. Maine fishing gear was linked to one of the deaths for the first time in October.

Maine ban on PFAS-laden products moves forward

MAINE PUBLIC • December 23, 2024

After a years-long delay, a state ban on some products containing harmful forever products may move forward. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection recently proposed rules that would gradually outlaw the sale of consumer goods with intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. The family of chemicals has been used in a wide array of industries for decades. But there are recent heightened concerns about the chemicals' harm to human health and the environment. Under the rules nine categories of products including cleaners, cosmetics, cookware, textiles and ski wax would be banned in 2026. That prohibition would extend to most goods in 2032.

Greater Portland Landmarks gets new executive director amid lawsuit

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 23, 2024

Greater Portland Landmarks, started in 1964, does advocacy and education and manages the Portland Observatory. Four key employees, including the former executive director, left Greater Portland Landmarks in 2023. Part-time staff and volunteer board members kept the organization going. Kate Lemos McHale started in July as the new executive director. She watched as the Portland Museum of Art pursued expansion. She described their plan as “exciting” because of its use of mass timber and its reference to Wabanaki culture. However, she thinks the museum could have integrated a 19th-century building on Free Street into the design, and she is concerned about the policy implications if that building is demolished. Lemos McHale said she remains hopeful that the two institutions will find common ground. “I think the lawsuit is necessary, and what I have advocated for is really just to find a solution.”