Major Fish Farm Project Faces Legal Battle! Will Nature Prevail?

NORDIC OVERLAND • January 8, 2025

In a dramatic turn of events, a nonprofit organization is challenging a contentious fish farm project in Belfast, Maine. Upstream Watch has initiated legal proceedings against Nordic Aquafarms and the local government, alleging serious missteps in the permitting process that could endanger the environment. Upstream Watch’s director, Jill Howell, has passionately voiced the group’s concerns over the ecological integrity of the site, which is home to undeveloped forests, wetlands, and important waterways. Howell believes that allowing development in such a sensitive area would be detrimental to the community and its valued natural resources.

Letter: Comic strip no laughing matter for wildlife

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 8, 2025

The Jan. 1 cartoon of Dennis the Menace releasing a balloon outdoors, with the words “Happy New Year” written on it, was hypocritical at best. A happy new year will be highly unlikely to some unfortunate animal due to the prolific incidence of wildlife creature deaths caused by released balloons. ~ Lucy Hardy, Wells

What’s next in adaptive moose hunt is unclear

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 8, 2025

In 2020, in an experimental effort to reduce winter tick infestations in Maine moose, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife undertook the so-called “adaptive moose hunt.” The object was to deliberately reduce cow moose populations in wildlife zone 4 to reduce winter tick severity. Hunters were the management tool used to cull female moose numbers. Research in other parts of North America showed that moose that live in low-population densities had fewer ticks. The jury is still out as to how successful the adaptive unit hunt has been in reducing cow moose numbers. The good news is that last year was the second year in a row that tick numbers were lower and also showed one of the highest moose survival rates since 2006.

Bank donates $25K to Black Mountain of Maine’s capital campaign

RUMFORD FALLS TIMES • January 7, 2025

Black Mountain of Maine recently received a $25,000 contribution from Franklin Savings Bank towards their capital campaign. “Their support will help us expand our snowmaking capacity, ensuring better coverage and earlier openings for seasons to come. This gift doesn’t just benefit the mountain — it helps our entire community thrive by supporting outdoor recreation, tourism, and healthy lifestyles in the River Valley region.” Last year, the ski area received $1.2 million in grant monies that will enable them to make snow faster and hopefully lengthen their ski season.

Lobster co-op says it won $5M settlement in years-long litigation against former CEO

MAINE PUBLIC • January 7, 2025

A cooperative of fishermen known as Lobster 207 says it has reached a $5 million settlement in a years-long case against its former CEO, Warren Pettegrow, and his family members. The cooperative sued Pettegrow, his parents and another conspirator five years ago, alleging they submitted fraudulent invoices, embezzled funds and stole products that were then sold to Lobster 207 members at a premium. "The Pettegrows vehemently deny the contentions in this suit and that they engaged in any wrongdoing," attorney David Ginzer said in an emailed statement. "However, they sought to resolve this action to move forward…”

Camp Bomazeen sale must benefit central Maine Boy Scouts, court says

KENNEBEC JOURNAL • January 7, 2025

The state’s highest court affirmed a lower court’s ruling that a much-loved Boy Scouts camp on Great Pond in Belgrade can only be sold if the proceeds from its sale are used to support camping activities for Boy Scouts in central Maine, not to pay off debt. However, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court also rejected a counterclaim from the leaders of a group trying to keep Camp Bomazeen a Boy Scout camp, and perhaps take control of it locally, ruling that a regional scouting group that took possession of the camp did so improperly. The court’s decision, issued Tuesday, leaves Camp Bomazeen, for now, in the hands of the Pine Tree Council of the Boy Scouts of America, and its future still in limbo.

62-lot senior neighborhood proposed on rural Monmouth site

KENNEBEC JOURNAL • January 7, 2025

Residents will have a chance to weigh in during a public hearing Thursday on a proposed 62-unit senior housing development on 33 acres of undeveloped land between Academy Road and Main Street. The project would include 62 identical two-bedroom, single-family homes for people 55 and older. Some residents nearby don’t want the plans to move forward. Construction on the site would disturb 12,570 square feet of wetlands, an area large enough that the Maine Department of Environmental Protection would issue a permit for the project under the state’s Natural Resources Protection Act. As part of the permitting process, Michaud’s company would then pay almost $66,000 in fees to the Maine DEP in lieu of more traditional on-site environmental impact mitigation efforts.

Farmington alliance to host Rockefeller Conservation intern

CENTRAL MAINE • December 7, 2024

The High Peaks Alliance has been selected as a host for the ninth annual Richard G. Rockefeller Conservation Internship Program, run by Maine Coast Heritage Trust. This marks the first time the alliance will welcome a Rockefeller intern. This summer, a Maine college student will embark on a 10-week conservation adventure with the alliance. The intern will be immersed in various aspects of land stewardship, from trail maintenance to community engagement and crucial behind-the-scenes work.

Gov. Mills introduces bill to respond to severe weather fueled by climate change

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 7, 2025

Gov. Janet Mills introduced her first bill of the new legislative session Tuesday with a proposal to help Maine respond to severe weather and the long-term impacts of climate change. Mills’ proposal, which is sponsored by legislative leaders from both parties, includes a grant program that would help residents make investments to safeguard their homes against extreme weather. It makes one-time investments in the Maine Emergency Management Agency and utilizes federal funds to establish a new state office to reduce storm damage and protect infrastructure.

Opinion: The Bangor Mall was never a good idea

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 7, 2025

Over the years, criticisms of the Bangor Mall as something that contributed to the decline of Bangor’s downtown were often met with the response that the mall was the new downtown. This is nonsense. Downtowns are public places, democratic places: Everyone has a right to be there. A mall, by contrast, is a private space. A real downtown is a commons, a gathering place that offers more than an opportunity to buy stuff. It has architectural interest, places to repose and infinite opportunities for people watching. The mall is an architectural study in sterility. Now the mall is dying, and it’s an ugly death. So what is to become of the Bangor Mall property? I’ve long thought that it would make a fine cow pasture. ~ Robert Klose, Orono

Letter: Ski trails closure serves as a reminder

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 7, 2025

I learned today that Smiling Hill Farm will cease its cross-country skiing operations because “of the increasing lack of snow in our area.” Smiling Hill Farm is where I discovered cross-country skiing as a child, and where I rediscovered it as an adult. This news, paired with the shelving of a plan to make a large swath of Smiling Hill Farm a highway connector, has highlighted how important it is to conserve green spaces. Once they are gone, they are gone forever, and their importance to our culture and communal well-being cannot be understated. Green spaces are also at risk due to climate change, and this news highlights the importance of electing representatives who will take action to mitigate climate change. We are already losing recreational spaces, and without making conservation and climate action a priority, we will lose more. ~ Julianna Hansen, Acton

‘Forever chemicals’ are polluting water in an unexpected way — via prescription drugs

WASHINGTON POST • January 6, 2025

The widespread use of pharmaceuticals in America is introducing even more toxic “forever chemicals” into the environment through wastewater, according to a study released Monday, and large municipal wastewater treatment plants are not capable of fully filtering them out. The plants’ inability to remove compounds known as organofluorines from wastewater before it enters drinking water supplies becomes even more pronounced during droughts and could affect up to 23 million people, scientists wrote.

Hillandale ends egg farm operations in Turner

SUN JOURNAL • January 6, 2025

The Hillandale Farm shut down its poultry-raising facilities permanently last month, state Sen. Jeff Timberlake of Turner confirmed Monday. “Basically, they can’t afford to do business in Maine,” Timberlake said. “It’s gonna affect all farming in the state of Maine because there was an awful lot of dairy farmers around the state who used the chicken manure from Hillandale to spread on their cornfields to grow corn.”

In 2024, solar contributed to the New England grid like never before

MAINE PUBLIC • January 6, 2025

ISO New England is reporting that for the first time in a single year, it has recorded over 100 days in which energy demand actually went down in the middle of the day due to solar use.

Conservation group urges better fish passage for Brunswick dam

MAINE PUBLIC • January 6, 2025

Conservation groups see an opportunity to restore migratory fish on the Androscoggin River as a hydropower dam in Brunswick goes through federal relicensing. Brookfield Renewable wants to keep the dam operating after its license expires in 2029. But critics say its current fish passage is ineffective and are pressing the company to consider all alternatives to improve passage. Free the Andro, a recently established coalition of local and national conservation groups argue the 40-year-old dam blocks Atlantic Salmon, shad and other fish from traveling the river to spawn. "It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, and multiple generations are going to either benefit or not benefit from the decisions made in the next five years around this relicensing," said organizer Chip Spies, a Brunswick resident.

Rumford mill, town still probing Dec. 10 brown snow event

RUMFORD FALLS TIMES • January 6, 2025

The investigation into the release of black liquor into the air Dec. 10 from the ND Paper mill, which resulted in brown snow, is ongoing and the town continuing to work with the mill on a resolution. The status update followed a report from Maine Environmental Laboratory that on Dec. 19 there was a somewhat elevated pH on the Three Fields Complex.

President Biden Protects America’s Coasts from Future Oil and Gas Leasing

WHITE HOUSE • January 6, 2025

Today President Biden will take action to protect the entire U.S. East coast, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California, and additional portions of the Northern Bering Sea in Alaska from future oil and natural gas leasing. In protecting more than 625 million acres of the U.S. ocean from offshore drilling, President Biden has determined that the environmental and economic risks and harms that would result from drilling in these areas outweigh their limited fossil fuel resource potential. With these withdrawals, President Biden is protecting coastal communities, marine ecosystems, and local economies – including fishing, recreation, and tourism – from oil spills and other impacts of offshore drilling.

Group calls for removal or redesign of Brunswick, Topsham dam for fish passage

TIMES RECORD • January 6, 2025

National and local conservation groups have joined together as the “Free the Andro” coalition to push for open water flows on a major river that winds between Brunswick and Topsham. The group — formed by Maine Rivers, American Rivers and the Merrymeeting Bay Chapter of Trout Unlimited — announced Monday that it plans to fight for “unfettered native fish passage at the Brunswick-Topsham dam,” located just upstream of the Frank J. Wood Bridge. The group is calling for either dam removal or redesign as the dam’s license comes up for renewal.

From boat sizes to waitlists, what lobster industry changes say about where fishery is headed

MAINE MORNING STAR • January 6, 2025

The threat of climate change and more restrictive right whale protections – as well as several years of more modest landing totals – have some in the lobster industry second-guessing their future in the business, yielding subtle, but real, changes in the makeup of the fishery. “There are fewer variable professional fishermen than there were 20 years ago, but there are more fishermen fishing full-time, offshore,” said Theresa Burnham, a postdoctoral research associate with the University of Maine. “Licenses overall are decreasing over time, as well. So the question is: Who is remaining?” Burnham is one of a handful of researchers looking at social indicators related to the lobster fishing industry for clues as to how the fishery is changing and what those changes might mean for the broader economy.

Maine electricity bills increased again this month

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 6, 2025

Central Maine Power Co. customers began paying 7% more in their monthly bills Jan. 1 to help fund $3.3 billion of upgrades to transmission lines, poles and other equipment in New England. Versant Power ratepayers can also expect increases, though smaller, later this year. Federal regulators are apportioning about $280 million of the region’s costs to Maine’s two major utilities, with the remainder assigned to utilities in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. The costs are divided based on load, or how much electricity each service area uses. New England’s transmission is a nearly 9,000-mile system.