King Sponsors Bill to Help Our Kelp

SENATOR ANGUS KING • February 19, 2025

U.S. Senator Angus King is introducing legislation to help improve conditions for kelp forest and marine life. The Help Our Kelp Act — which has a companion bill in the House of Representatives — would invest federal resources to address ongoing crises that kelp forest ecosystems face along the Maine coast. Kelp forest ecosystems in Maine and along the nation’s shores provide food and habitat for hundreds of fish and marine mammals. These aquatic regions stabilize Maine’s coasts allowing for responsible economic activities including fishing, shipping and innovations in the blue economy. Over the last 50 years, changes in climate, poor water quality and overfishing have damaged between 40-60 percent of America’s kelp forests.

Labor union leaders, including former BIW worker, call on Trump to boost US shipbuilding to counter China

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 19, 2025

The heads of four major labor unions, including the parent union of the local that represents many Bath Iron Works employees, called on President Donald Trump on Wednesday to boost American shipbuilding and enforce tariffs and other “strong penalties” against China for its increasing dominance in that sphere. China manufactured more than 1,000 oceangoing vessels in 2023, while the United States made fewer than 10.

Portland hires consulting firm for long-delayed Franklin Street redesign

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 19, 2025

The city of Portland has hired a consulting firm to update and refine the design adopted by the City Council in 2015 for an updated Franklin Street. WSP USA Inc., a global engineering and design firm, was selected for the project after a “competitive selection process.” Planning work is expected to take about 10 months. The project to overhaul Franklin Street, a major thoroughfare that runs through downtown Portland, has been in the works for nearly two decades and is projected to cost $26 million. The plan aims to restore the road to something closer to what it was decades ago before the area was transformed by urban renewal — a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly neighborhood.

The Maine sportsmen’s show season kicks off this Saturday

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 19, 2025

The Cabin Fever Reliever kicks off the sportsmen’s show season on Saturday, Feb. 22, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., at the Brewer Auditorium.. The event, put on by the Penobscot Fly Fishers, is for one day only. It is the first in a string of popular sportsmen’s shows that are held in Brewer, Orono, Presque Isle and Augusta.

South Portland’s leaf blower ban won’t apply to residents, businesses

SENTRY/LEADER • February 19, 2025

The South Portland City Council unanimously voted down a proposed ordinance on Tuesday that would have phased out the use of gas-powered leaf blowers citywide and instead will only require city departments to begin switching to electric models.

Solar farm proposal in South Portland raises neighborhood alarm

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 19, 2025

Dawson Street neighbors had no idea that a 10-acre solar farm had been proposed next door until Portland International Jetport started cutting trees last month to clear a runway approach. City officials have halted the tree-clearing project near Interstate 295 because it may have violated local, state and federal land use laws. But the scope of tree removal so far — and the potential for 10 additional acres to be cleared for a solar farm — has neighbors feeling disregarded, exposed and vulnerable. Cassie Moon said Tuesday that wetlands have been filled, a vernal pool has been plowed under and the roar from I-295 has increased exponentially without the buffer of evergreens. “It has all been destroyed. Nobody notified the neighbors this was happening. And with a solar farm it will be even worse.”

Letter: Maine should stop coyote killing contests

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 19, 2025

I cannot even begin to comprehend how there are individuals in this state who take part in coyote killing contests, and that these barbaric events are allowed by the Maine Department of Inland Fishies and Game. I believe these contests are inhumane and serve absolutely no purpose other than to torture animals. I encourage everyone who cares about a healthy ecosystem, working towards eradicating Lyme disease and for the ethical treatment of all animals, to please contact your state representative and senator and let them know your thoughts on this matter. ~ Janie Whitney, Bar Harbor

Using community solar? Double check your electricity savings

MAINE PUBLIC • February 18, 2025

The Maine Office of the Public Advocate is urging rate-payers enrolled in community solar programs to double check their utility bills, after a small number of customers reported not seeing expected savings. Public Advocate Heather Sanborn said there's no current indication this is a widespread issue, and that problems with one solar provider involving delivery rates have been resolved — but that folks should double check out of an abundance of caution. Ratepayers who notice billing discrepancies are urged to contact the public advocate's office.

Maine farmers face high costs from USDA grant freeze

MAINE PUBLIC • February 18, 2025

The uncertainty fueled by the Trump administration’s wave of funding and hiring freezes is now being felt by Maine farmers. Those who have signed agreements with the U.S. Department of Agriculture are nervously awaiting word on whether they will get their promised funds, or be on the hook for thousands of dollars of projects that are already well underway. Maine Congresswoman Chellie Pingree said she is hearing from farmers worried about losing their livelihoods to these sudden expenses. "It's got my blood boiling, and I know it's got a lot of farmers in the state of Maine very concerned about how they're going to make ends meet," she said.

Acadia National Park loses staff under Donald Trump’s sweeping layoffs

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 18, 2025

President Donald Trump’s mass firing of federal workers has hit Acadia National Park. Eight full-time staff at the national park that mostly lies on Maine’s Mount Desert Island were laid off Friday amid the Trump administration firing more than 10,000 federal workers across multiple agencies, according to Friends of Acadia. The eight staff collected fees at entrances and helped maintain more than 150 miles of trails. Trump’s federal hiring freeze has also drawn concerns from Acadia supporters over whether it would affect seasonal positions. Acadia typically fills more than 100 seasonal positions each year to deal with the influx of visitors during the core tourism season. The park is perennially among the 10 most visited in the country.

Editorial: Trumping Our Public Lands

MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • February 18, 2025

Donald Trump’s pick to be Secretary of Interior is Doug Burgum. The former governor of North Dakota ran in the 2024 Republican presidential primary but dropped out and became a big Trump supporter. Burgum is being rewarded with overseeing the Department of Interior (DOI), which manages hundreds of millions of acres of your public lands. Trump and Burgum see not national treasures to be conserved but resources to be exploited. Like Trump, Burgum is a huge booster of oil and gas drilling. He is expected to reverse protections for our public lands, wound the Endangered Species Act, shrink or delete national monuments, and push drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. On Monday, he sent an email update about big news from DOI. There was no mention of the 2,300 Interior professionals who were fired last Friday. Instead, he trumpeted the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico. His hearing is February 20. He will be confirmed by the MAGA-dominated US Senate. How will Sen. Susan Collins vote?

Maine's fisheries regulator stepping down

MAINE PUBLIC • February 18, 2025

Patrick Keliher, Maine's longest-serving commissioner, is leaving his post as chief of the Department of Marine Resources following high-profile tensions with the state's lobster industry. Keliher first landed the DMR post in 2012 picked by Republican Gov. Paul LePage. The regulatory changes have often put Keliher in the position of trying to protect an industry that often argues that lobstermen are capable of regulating themselves. In January, those tensions came to a head when some lobstermen called Keliher a sell-out. He has expressed frustration with what he calls some in the industry's short-term thinking instead of prioritizing protecting the fishery.

New report charts a 10 year path forward for Maine's outdoor recreation economy

MAINE PUBLIC • February 18, 2025

A new report from the Maine Office of Outdoor Recreation and business charts a roadmap for growing the state's $3.4 billion outdoor recreation economy over the next decade, with a focus on education, accessibility, and workforce development. Stacey Keefer, executive director of the Maine Marine Trades Association, which contributed to the report, said one potential solution to workforce challenges is more education and publicity about outdoor jobs in the state. Jeff McCabe, director of the Maine Office of Outdoor Recreation, said increasingly severe weather due to climate change is posing a serious threat to the outdoor recreation economy, but that also creates an opening for more trail worker jobs needed to make the state's outdoor infrastructure more resilient.

Bar Harbor college 1st in country to eliminate the use of single-use plasticware

SPECTRUM NEWS • February 18, 2025

Bar Harbor’s College of the Atlantic will become the first campus in the country to eliminate disposable plastic food ware in their dining operations, according to the nonprofit Post-Landfill Action Network. A reusable to-go program launching at the college this winter replaces single-use plastic with stainless steel containers, mugs and sporks. According to College of the Atlantic, the effort will keep more than 50,000 pieces of plastic out of the waste stream.

Another earthquake recorded in Maine

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 18, 2025

Another earthquake was recorded in Maine, but this one was more than 250 miles from the quake that rocked southern Maine last month. The 2.5 magnitude earthquake at 8:56 p.m. Sunday was centered 21 miles northwest of Millinocket. Its recorded depth was about 6.6 miles. The impact was much less significant than the 3.8 magnitude earthquake on Jan. 27 that was felt as far north as Bangor and south as New York City. That quake was centered 6 miles southeast of York Harbor.

This toxic chemical is more common in Maine groceries than you think

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 18, 2025

The “BPA-free” labels on sports water bottles and groceries don’t tell consumers the whole story about the toxic chemical bisphenol A. Variations of the chemical that still pose a health risk may be used instead, and a widespread number of products still contain BPA and don’t disclose it. Health experts and toxic chemical researchers in Maine are calling for broader regulations on BPA after a new law in the European Union banned its use in any materials that come into contact with food for humans.

The voice of Maine sportsmen turns 50 this year

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 18, 2025

The Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine marks its 50th anniversary in 2025. SAM is currently joining forces with the Gun Owners of Maine and the National Shooting Sports Association to pursue a legal challenge to Maine’s 72- hour waiting period between gun purchases and possession.

Camden committee recommends removing downtown dam

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 17, 2025

After years of deliberations, a Camden committee has recommended that the town remove the downtown Montgomery Dam ahead of a vote on the matter next spring.The Megunticook River Citizens Advisory Committee voted 8-1 to approve a recommendation for fully removing the 254-year-old dam. The committee argued that fully removing the dam is the best option, including the increased flood risk that would come with keeping it and the hindrance it creates to marine species that would benefit from a free-flowing river.

A Valentine’s Day celebration of vital, overlooked eelgrass

TIMES RECORD • February 17, 2025

On Feb. 14, the Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education and the Collaborative for Bioregional Action Learning & Transformation (COBALT) held a workshop blending art, science and Indigenous wisdom: “For the Love of Eelgrass.” Befitting the holiday, attendees discussed seagrass meadows’ reproductive strategies and their crucial role in the health of Maine’s coast. This is especially important as more than 50% of native eelgrass has declined in recent years.

Interior Department Ignores Thousands Fired In Reviewing Its Week

NATIONAL PARKS TRAVELER • February 17, 2025

It was a great week at the Interior Department: the "Gulf of America" was crowned, grazing fees on public lands remained absurdly low, and U.S. Geological Survey staff helped rescue cold-stunned sea turtles in Florida. Those 2,300 Interior employees — including 1,000 from the National Park Service — whose Valentine's Day greeting were termination notices? Not a mention in Interior Secretary Doug Burgum's "This Week At Interior" email sent Friday to review what Interior was up to last week. The video was removed early Monday. The grazing fee — the amount charged ranchers for allowing their livestock to graze on U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands — for 2025 is $1.35 per month per cow-calf combination. That's the lowest it can drop under the law. Grazing fees on private lands are much, much higher.