The most comprehensive online source of conservation news and events in Maine and beyond, edited by Jym St. Pierre
MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • January 12, 2025
Coastal Maine is not immune to the sort of devastation that is ravaging Los Angeles. We need only look to Acadia in 1947. Now is the time for us to assess our public and personal fire readiness: Should woodlands be thinned of deadwood? Do we have an open barrier between our structures and trees? Do we have a plan of escape? Will we be ready if the wildfire comes? ~ Geoffrey Bates, South Bristol
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 12, 2025
Old Town native Russ Willey Jr. often wakes up to the sound of his grandfather’s chainsaw running outside. That means it’s time to get to work in the woodyard and start recording videos. Willey, his grandfather Richard Cote Sr. and longtime friend Kevin Violette bring almost 3,000 YouTube spectators along with them to work at Willey’s Firewood. In southern Maine, Phil and Karen Allen film humorous, down-to-earth educational videos about their firewood business, delivery strategies, equipment and the occasional dangers, such as safety episodes. In two years, they’ve gained 153,000 subscribers. The two families are part of a small handful of Mainers making a mark in the community of firewood online companies, whose members call themselves “woodhounds,” around the country.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 11, 2025
I began to wonder what my resolutions should be for the new year. I need to remember success isn’t just about hooking a fish or bringing home an animal. This year, I’ll try to keep our gear better organized. I’ll invest in some better-quality equipment, and sort through the unnecessary clutter. I’m ready to get back to a simpler approach. I need to spend far more time on the shooting range. I am going to fish more, including with my family and friends. I need to rekindle the excitement of pulling a 6-inch brook trout out of a tiny stream, and not be so focused on finding fish I can measure in pounds. Finally, I need to become more involved in the outdoors. I have taken from it for so many years, and it’s time to start giving back. ~ Chris Sargent
DAILY BULLDOG • January 11, 2025
Shiloh Pond Community Forest is a 215-acre tract of pristine woodland, home to two pristine ponds, Shiloh and Little Shiloh, located north and west of in-town Kingfield. Thanks to the vision and extraordinary efforts by the people of Kingfield; and the technical assistance from the High Peaks Alliance and the Maine Trust for Public Land, and funding from the Maine Natural Resources Conservation Program, in 2024 this tract officially became the town’s first parcel of public wild land. A local Shiloh Pond Committee formed to oversee the property. A number of Kingfield businesses and individuals made significant financial or in-kind service donations to improve the access road, repair a bridge, clear and mark trails, and create signage. This is a story of heartening community initiative. ~ Doug Dunlap
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 11, 2025
With blood up to his elbows, Jared Lavers of New Gloucester dropped to one knee in the North Maine Woods beside his dead moose and asked his girlfriend of six years for her hand in marriage. It wasn’t exactly Prince Charming on a white horse, but Christine Messer thought it was perfect. She didn’t want fancy, she said, just something special. Lavers, 34, and Messer, 37, both love to hunt, which is why Messer said it meant a lot to her that he planned his proposal out the way he did.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 11, 2025
I will happily waste 30 minutes of my day watching the deer on my lawn. I own a lot of trail cameras so that I can get a glimpse into the woods when I am not out there. It’s fun and exciting and we all want to continue to have the opportunity to watch them. So, I beg of you to please stop feeding the deer and stop thinking that this is helping them. What this is really doing is killing the health of the overall herd and opening them up to a worst fate. ~ Erin Merrill
MAINE MONITOR • January 11, 2025
In the last week of one of Maine’s driest falls on record, a meager turnout of just 19 Denmark residents unanimously voted to expand the town’s authority over bottled water behemoth Poland Spring and large-scale water extraction from local aquifers. The amendment approved at a Dec. 14 special town meeting gives Denmark powers to reduce or halt private water extraction when aquifer levels hit certain thresholds and to require large-scale extractors like Poland Spring to apply for new permits when their corporate ownership changes.
SUN JOURNAL • January 11, 2025
As President Biden prepares to shuffle off the stage, he has just banned new offshore drilling along an enormous swath of the U.S. coastline as part of “the most ambitious climate and conservation agenda in our country’s history.” If you are grateful that God gave the U.S. cheap and abundant energy, and want to keep it that way, Biden can’t leave soon enough. America is an oil and gas superpower. It should be unapologetic about it, and leverage every last drop for our economic and geopolitical advantage. Trump should enlist Congress to reverse the Biden ban. ~ Rich Lowry
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 11, 2025
Up and down the East Coast, we face the same needs to meet a rising demand for electricity. Some voices in the incoming administration are arguing that wind and solar must be excluded from the electrical grid. No convincing reason is given for this argument, and such an exclusion would make it far more difficult to prevent power blackouts from demand outstripping electricity supply. With nuclear fusion more than 10 years in the future, and climate change a real thing, we would be foolish to put all our energy needs in the fossil fuel basket. Fossil fuel interests are of course arguing for exactly that, out of pure financial self-interest. ~ Chris Wiegard, Chester, Va.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 10, 2025
This is turning into a better-than-average snowy owl year. Great photos taken in Maine are turning up on Facebook and on other social media. Some photos are so awesome, they are calendar-worthy. Normally, I would be worried about how much stress the owl endured to produce such breathtaking photos, but there are hopeful signs. Rare owls only come to Maine because they can’t find enough food up north. Getting flushed by a too-eager shutterbug doesn’t help. It may force the owl to expend what’s left of its energy reserves. It’s not just snowy owls. Two other Canadian owls draw the same crowds: the northern hawk-owl and great gray owl. ~ Bob Duchesne
WASHINGTON POST • January 10, 2025
Scientists in Europe Friday confirmed that 2024 had been the hottest year on record — and the first to surpass a dangerous warming threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) that nations had pledged not to cross. But even as experts described the year as unprecedented, they acknowledged that it would ultimately become just one more marker in an upward warming trajectory causing havoc on a growing scale.
SUN JOURNAL • January 10, 2025
The developer behind the Mt. Auburn Apartments is proposing a 180-unit multifamily development on Stetson Road. The proposal, which will be in front of the Planning Board on Tuesday, would place 22 duplexes and 34 quadplexes on the land between Stetson and North River roads, not far from Center Street.
FORECASTER • January 10, 2025
The Yarmouth Town Council voted unanimously in favor of a resolution to remove the dams on the Royal River after decades of study and deliberation on how to restore to their wild state sections of the river that runs into Casco Bay. Proponents argued the removal of two dams in Yarmouth would improve the river ecosystem by restoring aquatic habitat and increasing fish passage through the river.
SUN JOURNAL • January 10, 2025
The Select Board on Tuesday unanimously agreed to enter into a memo of understanding with Trout Unlimited to remove the Brush Shop Dam on the Nezinscot River, which is over 200 years old. Built in the early 1800s, the structure is near Tilton’s Market on Turner Street. Gene McKenna, the conservation chairman of the Merrymeeting Bay chapter, said the removal would benefit brook trout as they migrate to colder waters upstream. It would also allow the river to return to its natural state. He saw no danger of flooding downriver when the 10-foot dam is removed.
MAINE MORNING STAR • January 10, 2025
With only about 50,000 commercial and residential natural gas customers in Maine, there is a looming question about how much it will continue to contribute to the state’s energy mix. Public Advocate William Harwood and environmental advocates would like to see its use wind down in the coming years, but others say the resource is the stopgap needed for Maine to reach its clean energy goals. While the state waits for an analysis to help guide utilities into the future, there are generally two schools of thought on how natural gas factors into a more climate-friendly energy mix. Since it is cleaner than coal or oil, some view it as a bridge to more reliance on renewable energy sources as dirtier fossil fuels come offline. Others want to scale back its use, given that it still presents environmental risks.
WBLM • January 9, 2025
As anyone in Maine can attest, the state is an outdoor lover's dream. No matter the season or location, Maine offers year-round adventure. So, it's no surprise that one of the state's favorite outdoor pastimes has earned a national recognition. In a popular article, the renowned travel guide Fodor's highlighted the best snowmobiling trail systems across the United States, and Maine made the cut. The Katahdin Region, known for its expansive beauty, was proudly featured among the top 11 destinations.
SUN JOURNAL • January 9, 2025
Lake Auburn, which serves as the drinking water for both Lewiston and Auburn, has been under the microscope from politicians and environmentalists over the past several years due to the changing climate and development pressures. Due to historically clean water, the cities hold a waiver from filtration, which allows the water to be delivered to customers without a costly filtration plant. However, water quality must remain pristine in order for the waiver to be maintained. Despite water levels roughly 4 feet below average and some of the warmest temperatures on record, the water quality at Lake Auburn is solid, according to new Watershed Manager Danielle Olsen.
MAINE PUBLIC • January 9, 2025
The Maine Department of Transportation has chosen a Unity company to operate the freight railroad line that stretches from Brunswick to Rockland. Maine Switching Services currently repairs rail cars and provides car switching services to paper mills in Rumford and Skowhegan. According to the DOT, the company plans to resume freight service this spring along the Rockland Branch Railroad and plans to offer scenic train excursions by the fall. But Maine Switching Services has not offered to operate passenger rail service along the line, meaning a proposal to extend Amtrak Downeaster service from Brunswick to Rockland remains on hold for now.
TIMES RECORD • January 9, 2025
After a year of hearing environmental concerns raised by the community, the plan for what happens with 230 acres of town property (Former Maine Gravel Services and Captain William Fitzgerald Recreation and Conservation Area) will be reviewed in a final public forum Saturday before heading to Town Council. Sherry Mason, chairperson of the committee, predicts determining what rules will be in place will draw pushback. For instance, whether to allow hunting and where and how dogs should be present on the property, given the abundance of wildlife there. One resident who lives near the property is calling on the committee to reconsider including a swimming area in the pond, citing a concern for local ecosystems and impact to her family’s well-water quality.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 9, 2025
During an almost four-hour meeting at South Portland High School, parents, residents, city employees and industry representatives debated the virtues of artificial turf, a synthetic plastic product designed to replicate grass. Supporters said the artificial turf allows for more play time and lower maintenance costs, while opponents said the product contributes to plastic pollution and increased injuries. Sarah Woodbury, of Defend Our Health, made her pitch that artificial turf can contain toxic chemicals like PFAS, so-called “forever chemicals” that can cause cancer, and slough off microplastics into waterways. In 2029, a Maine ban on all artificial turf that contains PFAS will go into effect, and Woodbury said her organization will introduce a measure in the Legislature this session that would institute a three-year ban on all synthetic turf.
