Letter: Coyote killing contests need to be banned

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 20, 2025

Maine has yet to ban coyote killing contests, despite the cruel and malicious nature of this masquerading “sport.” I implore voters to contact their state representatives and encourage them to support an upcoming bill: “An Act to Prohibit Coyote Killing Contests.” Coyotes are a vital part of Maine’s ecosystem. They have as much of a right to live here as the rest of us, and there is no credible science to support that their extermination would effectively manage Maine’s wildlife. In fact, the killing of coyotes further complicates wildlife restoration efforts, as it damages the delicate predator-prey relationship that is essential as humans encroach on natural spaces. ~ Madison Ellingsworth, Portland

Rescuers search for missing father-son fishing crew near Lubec

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 19, 2025

The Maine Marine Patrol, U.S. Coast Guard and other rescue agencies are searching for two missing fishermen and their 34-foot scallop boat off the coast near Lubec and South Addison. The fishermen —  Chester Barrett and his son Aaron Barrett — were reported missing Saturday night by a family member when they didn’t return as expected. Barrett’s boat left Cobscook Bay State Park at approximately 5 a.m. Saturday. After encountering rough seas, the crew planned to seek refuge in Cutler but never arrived.

Conservancy adds nearly 3,000 acres to Hancock County forest preserve

MAINE PUBLIC • January 19, 2025

With the help of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other partners, the Nature Conservancy in Maine has added nearly 3,000 acres to the Narraguagus Forest Preserve north of Tunk Mountain. The parcel includes a variety of habitats as well as permanent protection of almost five miles of the West Branch of the Narraguagus River. TNC’s forest program director Mark Berry said the heavily forested addition is now part of 46,000 contiguous acres of conservation lands in eastern Hancock County.

Talk on forever chemicals in Hallowell public drinking water set for Jan. 29

CENTRAL MAINE • January 19, 2025

The impact of PFAS (also known as forever chemicals) is the focus of a free community forum set for 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29, at Hallowell City Hall, 1 Winthrop St. PFAS are man-made substances that have been measured at elevated levels in Hallowell drinking water. The forum will cover local drinking water safety, ongoing efforts to address it, and practical steps that residents can take to protect themselves. The panel of experts discussing various aspects of PFAS contamination.

Nature Connects: Expanding and securing public access to Maine’s great outdoors

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • January 19, 2025

For nearly 40 years, Land for Maine’s Future — a statewide, bipartisan land conservation program — has helped to conserve over 660,000 acres of land across the state for hiking, hunting, snowmobiling and other public recreation. Roughly half of this is also working land used for timber harvesting, farming and commercial fishing. One of the secrets to the program’s success over the years has been the partnership between Maine land trusts and sporting groups. While short-term funding is essential, we are also looking at long-term funding strategies, which will be key to sustaining this program well into the future. ~ Jeff Romano, Maine Coast Heritage Trust; Kaitlyn Nuzzo, The Nature Conservancy in Maine; David Trahan, Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine

Opinion: Build resistance to Trump’s ‘cut baby cut’ forest policy

SUN JOURNAL • January 19, 2025

The new Trump administration will not only endorse the “drill baby drill” slogan, but will also support the “cut baby cut” approach. There should be a ban on cutting old growth and mature forest on all public lands, effective immediately. All forestry operations should be based on maximizing carbon intake. We are all aware how much the forests do for us as carbon sinks and in terms of clean water, clean air, temperature and weather modifiers, and in supporting biological diversity. Now more than ever, forests are central in terms of saving the planet from the catastrophic outcomes of a rapidly warming planet. We must move away from exploitation and fully endorse a new relationship with the natural world. ~ Jonathan Carter, Forest Ecology Network

Letter: Portland’s Franklin Arterial plan ignores sea level

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • January 19, 2025

It’s time to get real and be honest with the public about the Franklin Arterial revamp planning and sea level rise. The City of Portland project rendering shows a 275-unit apartment building in the current Franklin Arterial median at the intersection with Lancaster Street. A major problem with this presentation is that, by 2100 or earlier, that intersection will be the shore of Back Cove. More than half of the project’s new buildings shown in the rendering will flood. It is past time to be honest. ~ Carl Wilcox, Minot

Letter: This Canadian is taking his tourism elsewhere

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • January 19, 2025

Since the 1930s, my family has summered or visited Maine every single year, spending thousands of dollars there. And we are not alone. Thousands of Canadians travel to beautiful Maine every year. We always felt welcome. But apparently the USA does not need us anymore. So says President-elect Trump. So, over the next four years, we will visit Gaspésie and New Brunswick instead of Maine. The ocean is just as nice and the lobster just as good. And I hope that we will resume visiting beautiful Maine in 2029. When cross-border trade takes place, it is because it is mutually beneficial to both parties. ~ Paul Beland, Montreal

Firefighters rescue driver of U-Haul that went through ice on Echo Lake

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 18, 2025

A 10-foot U-Haul truck went through the ice on Echo Lake on Mount Desert Island early Saturday, after being driven more than 450 yards across the lake. The driver, a 75-year-old man, was reportedly confused and not sure where he was driving. Firefighters carried him to shore before taking him to MDI Hospital. Later in the morning, the truck broke through the ice and became submerged. A marine salvage company is working to remove the truck from the lake.

Long-awaited cleanup begins with the digging of a giant hole in Portland Harbor

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 18, 2025

The long-awaited $25 million Portland Harbor dredging project starts on Monday as contractors begin digging a 9-acre pit in a shallow South Portland cove where seven decades of a working waterfront’s industrial sins will be buried over the next three winters.

Letter: Wildfires put every US state on notice – Maine included

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 18, 2025

Disastrous fires are becoming worse and increasing in frequency due to climate change causing warming of the planet. This fire is happening in January, which is hard to fathom. I look at our beautiful Maine woods and wonder if we are OK here because Maine is so much farther north. But then I remember the massive forest fires in Canada, near our latitude, that have occurred in recent summers. Some were so severe that their smoke polluted the Eastern Seaboard for days. America has just elected a climate denier and a politician who does not want to face scientific facts. As American citizens we can change all this by demanding action to slow climate change. ~ Nancy Hasenfus, Brunswick

What I’ve learned about hiking in extreme cold

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 18, 2025

We knew it was going to be alarmingly cold that day based on the weather reports. When hiking in the cold, it’s best to sweat as little as possible because that moisture cools your body down quickly when you slow down or stop for a break. In preparation, I packed a wool shirt that I could change into if I became too sweaty.  It takes a lot of energy to stay warm, so we packed extra snacks. And as usual, we carried survival gear. Hypothermia was our primary concern. This is when your body temperature drops low enough that things stop working properly, and this can rapidly lead to death. Windmilling your arms helps restore circulation to your fingers. Another trick for staying warm is to drink lots of water. This thins your blood and therefore improves circulation. Most important is to keep moving.

As Portland transitions away from PFAS-laden firefighting foam at the Jetport, lawmakers intend to make state follow

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 17, 2025

As the Portland International Jetport transitions away from firefighting foam laden with ‘forever chemicals,’ a state lawmaker is pushing for the rest of Maine to follow. State Rep. Dan Ankeles (D-Brunswick) teased a bill on Tuesday that would create a statewide collection and disposal process for the toxic aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), which contains high levels of a persistent, harmful class of compounds known as PFAS. The foam is common in fire departments across Maine. The Portland Fire Department is in the midst of that transition, having swapped AFFF in two of three fire trucks stationed at the Jetport for a PFAS-free foam while the final truck undergoes maintenance before completing the switch. Both measures follow the calamitous spill of the toxic firefighting foam at the Brunswick Executive Airport last August.

Column: For an interesting snapshot of local birds put out backyard feeders

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 17, 2025

The moment I put out a feeder, soon after Christmas, the chickadees, nuthatches and titmice pounced on it like it was an NFL playoff fumble. This alerted the blue jays and mourning doves. Within minutes, it seemed like every jay and dove within a half-mile knew the banquet table had been reset. Then a pair of northern cardinals settled in. Last week, I put out a suet feeder. A hairy woodpecker was on it instantly. Soon thereafter, a red-bellied woodpecker joined the feast. When it comes to appreciating wildlife, there’s no place like home. ~ Bob Duchesne

Art exhibition shines a light on the beauty of Maine’s night sky

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 17, 2025

On view through Feb. 28 is an exhibition that celebrates Maine’s clear skies and the ecosystem that thrives under the cover of night. The show is a collaboration between Waterfall Arts in Belfast, the Union of Maine Visual Artists and Dark Sky Maine. It includes more than 30 artists and a program of events that range from a lantern-making workshop to film screenings. DarkSky International is an organization that aims to restore the nighttime environment and protect communities and wildlife from light pollution. It has certified more than 200 places as part of the International Dark Sky Places program, which recognizes responsible lighting policies and effective efforts to reduce light pollution. The list includes two places in Maine — the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument and Appalachian Mountain Club’s Maine Woods.

Maine Calling: Plant-based eating, January 23

MAINE PUBLIC • January 17, 2025

A range of diets are centered on plants: vegan, vegetarian, plant-forward — which can also be called flexitarian. We learn about the history of and reasons for these food choices, and nationwide trends in dietary habits. Our panelists will offer some ideas and recipes for eating more fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains and other ingredients. This show is tied to a Maine Historical Society Exhibit: “Maine’s Untold Vegetarian History.”

Commissioner urges lobstermen to move gear from area with dozens of right whales

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 17, 2025

Maine’s marine resources commissioner is “strongly urging” lobstermen to move their gear from an area in the Gulf of Maine where over 70 endangered North Atlantic right whales were spotted earlier this week. “The ramifications of another entanglement in Maine gear could be devastating to your fishery,” Commissioner Pat Keliher said Friday afternoon.

Maine still relies heavily on fossil fuels but calls zero-carbon goals ‘achievable’

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 17, 2025

Maine energy officials on Friday offered a sober assessment of the state’s reliance on fossil fuels as they released a plan touting advances in electric heat pumps and electric vehicles and outlined ambitious goals for offshore wind, clean energy jobs and other features of a zero-carbon environment. More than a year in the making, the Maine Energy Plan released by the Governor’s Energy Office boasted of the state’s “nation-leading adoption” of heat pumps and heat pump water heaters, helping to reduce the state’s dependence on heating oil, a goal set in state law in 2011. A technical report in the energy plan demonstrates that Maine’s goal of 100% clean electricity by 2040 is “achievable, beneficial and results in reduced energy costs across the economy,” it said.

Maine Department of Marine Resources begins first bay closures for scallop fishing

MAINE PUBLIC • January 17, 2025

The Maine Department of Marine Resources will close several bays to scallop fishing this weekend, the first round of closures in the season this year. Scallop fishing will be halted this Sunday in Cobscook Bay along with Whiting and Denny's Bay, Upper Machias and Little Machias Bays and Upper Western Bay. Jeff Nichols, director of communications, said the process is a routine tool used to manage scallop populations. "Based on the survey work that we've done, we've made a determination that continued fishing in those efforts would deplete the resource to a point where it could not effectively recover," he said.

Nordic Aquafarms drops plan to build $500 million Belfast salmon facility

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 17, 2025

Nordic Aquafarms announced Friday that it is giving up on its plans to build a land-based salmon farm in Belfast. “This decision comes after long-fought legal challenges waged by opposition,” the company said in a statement, adding that it has spent “tens of millions of investment dollars and many years of planning and permitting” the project. The U.S. subsidiary of a Norwegian aquaculture company of the same name went public in 2018 with its plan to build a $500 million facility capable of producing 30,000 metric tons of Atlantic salmon per year in recirculating indoor tanks. The facility, which was to be built near the Northport town line, was to draw water from Penobscot Bay for its tanks and discharge wastewater back into the bay, but it was dealt numerous legal setbacks as it tried to secure that access.