7 things to expect from Maine’s new Legislature

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 6, 2025

EXCERPT: While the deadline to file bills is not until Jan. 10, lawmakers also are likely to resume debates on topics including climate change. House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham, R-Winter Harbor, said Republicans want to repeal Maine’s net energy billing program, which provides generators with credit for renewable power they produce and send to the electric grid, and a 100-megawatt cap on hydropower plants. Senate Minority Leader Trey Stewart, R-Presque Isle, cited the same issues.

Jimmy Carter raised climate change concerns 35 years before the Paris Accords

ASSOCIATED PRESS • January 6, 2025

When Jimmy Carter chose branding designs for his presidential campaign, he passed on the usual red, white and blue. He wanted green. Emphasizing how much he enjoyed nature and prioritized environmental policy, the color became ubiquitous. Nearly a half-century later, environmental advocates are remembering Carter, who died on Dec. 29 at the age of 100, as a president who elevated environmental stewardship, energy conservation and discussions about the global threat of rising carbon dioxide levels. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to abandon renewable energy investments, echoing how President Ronald Reagan dismantled the solar panels Carter installed on the White House roof. But politics aside, the scientific consensus has settled where Carter stood two generations earlier.

Dozens of fishermen have applied for a rare chance to catch Maine shrimp

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 6, 2025

Upward of 30 Maine fishermen have applied for just seven slots available in a short, experimental shrimp season due to start in February.The tasty, long-prized pink crustaceans have been off limits to local fishermen for a decade because of low population levels, which scientists attribute to climate change and warming waters in the Gulf of Maine. But in December, the Maine Department of Marine Resources, in cooperation with the Atlantic State Marine Fisheries Commission Northern Shrimp Board, announced it was seeking fishermen interested in participating in a special winter sampling research program to try and gauge the species’ health and population.

Polar vortex brings chilly temps to Maine

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 5, 2025

The eastern U.S. is on track for a frigid week as a polar vortex stretches south, bringing below-normal temperatures to Maine. Starting Monday, much of the eastern two-thirds of the country will see temperatures 12 to 25 degrees colder than usual for this time of year. In Portland, temperatures were only expected to be about 6 degrees below normal Sunday and Monday, said Jon Palmer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray. The interior parts of Maine will see the chilliest conditions, with lows in the single digits and below zero in some spots.

How climate change is shortening Maine’s ice season, and why it matters

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • January 5, 2025

Maine lakes are warming two times as fast as the air around us, according to the Maine Climate Council. Less ice coverage and warmer waters increase summer stratification, which deprives the bottom waters of a pond or lake of oxygen. Fish need oxygen; if there is not enough dissolved oxygen in the lake water, they die. Warmer waters promote algae and vegetation growth, including invasive species that plague the lakes. While most people value its skating, fishing and snowmobiling benefits, a seasonal ice cap also protects the water below from shoreline runoff — less ice means less protection from chemicals, salt and nutrients in the runoff and declines in water quality.

How Jimmy Carter’s White House solar panels ended up in Maine

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • January 5, 2025

The need for alternative sources of energy and a desire for energy independence prompted President Jimmy Carter to install the first solar panels on the roof of the White House in 1979. The panels were later removed by the Reagan administration in 1986 and placed in storage. In 1991, the array of 32 solar panels formerly atop the White House was brought to Unity College. Sixteen of the panels were used to heat water for more than a decade. The college, now known as Unity Environmental University, is still in possession of 28 of the panels while four others have found new homes. The university has held on to them because of their historic nature and because they’re a reminder of Carter’s work to advance renewable energy efforts.

Maine businesses say H-1B visas are critical to filling labor gaps

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • January 5, 2025

H-1B visas allow 65,000 skilled workers to come to the U.S. each year to fill specialized jobs, often in technology, health care, higher education, scientific research or other STEM fields. Locally, they’re favored by companies like The Jackson Laboratory, Eastern Maine Medical Center, UMaine, Idexx and Wex. Elon Musk, who’s has been tapped to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency, says H-1B visas are the reason he and many other immigrants have found success in the U.S. He is prepared to “go to war on this issue.” Anti-immigration Republicans have criticized the program. President-elect Donald Trump has historically opposed H-1B visas, but last week appeared to change course, saying the country “needs smart people.”

Maine winter recreation faces uncertain future

SUN JOURNAL • January 5, 2025

Maine has lost about two weeks of winter temperatures and snow cover since the early 20th century. The warmer winters have had a stark effect on snowmobilers in the past few years around the Lewiston/Auburn area. Snow is usually accompanied by rain or warm temperatures soon after melting most, if not all, of the freshly fallen snow. The more frequent winter rain has caused washout problems along trails. The Perkins Ridge Sno-Travelers club has focused a lot of its efforts on grooming for other winter activities, such as snowshoeing, skiing and fat-tire biking. Some winter recreationists are hopeful that winter recreation activities will continue in Maine despite warmer winters; others are less confident.

Editorial: A further sorry twist to Brunswick foam leak

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • January 5, 2025

Tens of thousands of gallons of firefighting foam that leaked from tanks at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station last summer have been sent out of state for disposal. On the receiving end were incinerators in Ontario and Arkansas, and the people living near those incinerators are rightfully concerned that the toxic chemicals could be hurting them.“Study after study shows we don’t build incinerators of any kind in white, middle-class neighborhoods,” says Gail Carlson, an assistant professor of environmental studies at Colby College. Until we can take full responsibility for our own chemical mismanagement, we have to stamp out mismanagement.

Lack of ice threatens smelt season for 3rd year

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 5, 2025

Dozens of smelt camps used to dot Maine’s tidal rivers four or five decades ago. The season began shortly after Christmas and ran through the end of March, but climate change has ripped that tradition apart. Several camps have gone out of business and the ones that are left have shortened seasons, if any at all.

Quebec magical hiking trails are really accessible to Maine hikers

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 4, 2025

Just like in Maine, the people of Quebec embrace the wilderness through outdoor activities like snowshoeing and skiing, hiking and biking, ice skating and canoeing. Conserved land and trail systems are scattered throughout the province, which is home to 28 national parks, and that doesn’t count trail networks like Sentier des Caps de Charlevoix. Plus there are downhill ski mountains and — of particular interest to me — a 9-mile ice skating trail called Domaine de la Forêt Perdue, which roughly translates to “field of the lost forest.”

Maine natural gas prices will rise less than expected following pipeline talks

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 4, 2025

Regulators and three natural gas pipelines serving Maine have reached agreements on rate increases that advocates said are smaller than anticipated but may still lead to higher prices for customers. Specifics on the changing rates tied to the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline, Algonquin Gas Transmission and Granite State Gas Transmission, which serve businesses and large electricity generators in the region, are still under wraps and will need federal approval later in 2025. Though Maine’s climate goals seek 80 percent renewable energy generation by 2030, natural gas remains a key source for the state and currently generates nearly half of New England’s power.

US Chamber, oil industry sue Vermont over law requiring companies to pay for climate change damage

ASSOCIATED PRESS • January 4, 2025

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute are suing Vermont over its new law requiring that fossil fuel companies pay a share of the damage caused over several decades by climate change. The federal lawsuit filed Monday asks a state court to prevent Vermont from enforcing the law, which was passed last year. Vermont became the first state in the country to enact the law after it suffered catastrophic summer flooding and damage from other extreme weather.

Warming winters turn Waterville into unexpected skiing destination

MORNING SENTINEL • January 4, 2025

While warming winters are leaving many recreation businesses who rely on cold and snow without a vital lifeline, others are turning to man-made snow: like Quarry Road Trails in Waterville. “We’ve become a mecca of sorts because nowhere else has snow, quite literally,” said Victor Esposito Jr., Quarry Road’s lead ski coach. “People come from all over, 20, 30, 40 miles, because we’re not a two-hour drive like most of the resorts and we don’t charge anywhere near as much: And we actually have snow.”

Browntail moth populations in Maine crashed in 2024, so expect a less itchy spring

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 4, 2025

Proliferation of a fungus caused browntail moth populations to crater in 2024, which likely means that Maine residents will get relief from the forest pest this spring and summer, scientists said. The state tracks defoliation caused by the caterpillars, and saw it plummet from 46,000 acres in 2023 to 2,000 acres in 2024. UMaine is researching whether a pheromone can be used to disrupt the mating patterns of browntail moths, another way to control the population. Browntail moth populations typically go through a boom-bust cycle that lasts 10-12 years, and 2024 was considered the ninth year of the current outbreak. So in year 10, 2025, it appears likely that Maine will enter a “bust” cycle for the browntail moth.

Column: Snowy owls are coming to Maine; see them in the most ethical way

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 4, 2025

Yes, Snowy Owls are coming south! This is always exciting for birders and owl aficionados as we get an opportunity to see one of the most charismatic and endearing animals. We typically only see them following a year of high reproductive success in the Arctic, where they nest. When there is too much competition often the young birds will wander south in search of food. The fun word associated with these types of movements is called an irruption. if your presence is changing the animal’s behavior in any way, you are too close. The first sign will be the owl looking your way. If an owl turns its head to look at you or in your direction, or if you have made eye contact, then that is your sign to start backing up. Don’t flush a bird just so you can get a photo of it flying! ~ Doug Hitchcock, Maine Audubon

Opinion: Maine must remain vigilant in protecting its forests

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 4, 2025

During the last severe outbreak in the 1970s and 1980s, the spruce budworm infestation caused widespread tree mortality across Maine’s forest. It cost our economy hundreds of millions of dollars and the ecological effects were significant. This summer, landowners and state officials noted increased spruce-fir defoliation in northern Maine. Indicators predict elevated budworm populations in approximately 250,000 acres. In response, landowners implemented a coordinated plan. We hope federal and state funding will be approved so we can tackle spruce budworm head-on. The early intervention program will cost $15 million in 2025 alone. But if left untreated, the current infestation could disrupt Maine’s forest economy to the tune of $794 million annually. ~ Alex Ingraham, Pingree Associates, which manages 820,000 acres of forestland in Maine

A conversation with Samantha Horn, director of Maine’s new Office of Community Affairs

MAINE MONITOR • January 3, 2025

I came to Maine in 1999 and I started working in natural resource agencies, including Inland Fisheries and Wildlife as a biologist and Department of Marine Resources as the aquaculture policy coordinator, and I really got a strong sense of how Maine communities were engaging in discussions around how to make decisions about how we use our land, how we use our water. I then got the opportunity to join the Land Use Planning Commission where I could think deeply about how we use our land, how people who live in the local area can have a strong voice. And then from there, I went to The Nature Conservancy, then did a little bit of consulting along the same lines. All of my jobs have been about: How can communities have agency and good discussions about how we use land? Now I’ve landed in this role. It’s housing, it’s land use, it’s how we conserve lands. It’s a coastal program. It’s lots of threads, but it’s all about how our communities can be healthy.

Injured hiker rescued in Acadia National Park on New Year’s Eve

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 3, 2025

A woman was rescued on New Year’s Eve after she fell on a mountain in Acadia National Park. The 68-year-old was hiking with her husband on Gorham Mountain about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday when she slipped from a standing position and hurt her lower leg, according to John Kelly, a management assistant in the Acadia superintendent’s office. Five park service employees and 11 volunteers from MDI Search and Rescue carried the woman about an eighth of a mile to the Gorham Mountain parking lot on the Park Loop Road. Her husband drove her from the scene.