The most comprehensive online source of conservation news and events in Maine and beyond, edited by Jym St. Pierre
SUN JOURNAL • February 21, 2025
Community fruit orchards in the Twin Cities have a new caretaker and a promising spring ahead. Sean O’Connell, a community tree steward serving with Maine Conservation Corps, is set to lead free fruit tree care workshops and orchard maintenance days in Lewiston-Auburn schools. O’Connell plans to build an arboretum in one of the eight L-A orchards before he wraps up his term in November.
ASSOCIATED PRESS • February 21, 2025
The Trump administration is restoring jobs for dozens of National Park Service employees fired amid government-wide reductions and hiring nearly 3,000 additional seasonal workers, following an uproar over an aggressive plan to downsize the agency. Lawmakers and advocacy groups have criticized the widespread layoffs as unnecessary and a threat to public safety and the parks themselves. Concern about the layoffs was bipartisan. Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, said she’s worried that Acadia National Park will “not be able to hire the seasonal employees required to collect entrance fees and perform other essential tasks such as maintaining trails and providing first responder services to visitors.”
MAINE PUBLIC • February 21, 2025
A new report says that Maine's state goal of eradicating lead poisoning by 2030 will not be realized until 2050. State CDC Toxicologist Dr. Andrew Smith said blood testing of young children and housing inspections have increased, and that public health officials in high-risk communities such as Lewiston have secured federal funds to tackle the problem. But the state concluded that efforts so far will not be enough to eradicate lead poisoning by the end of the decade.
MAINE PUBLIC • February 21, 2025
A proposed rule that would require solar companies to pay a state fee in order to place panels on agricultural land took a step forward Thursday. State agricultural officials and the Board of Environmental Protection say the proposed fee is aimed at balancing competing land uses. If implemented, solar companies would have to pay a compensation fee to the DEP in order to develop on what is assessed as 'high-value agricultural farmland.' The Department of Agriculture estimates that roughly 13% of Maine land would be have this designation.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 21, 2025
A halt to clean energy tax credits being considered in the Republican-controlled Congress and by the Trump administration could boost electricity prices in Maine by 17% over the next 15 years, adding an average of $15 to a monthly bill, according to a study. Eliminating tax credits could lead to a $22 billion-a-year falloff in clean power investment in the U.S.; in Maine, the loss would be $100 million annually, according to the report. Nearly 1,500 megawatts of power generated by onshore wind, battery storage and solar energy would be lost in the next 15 years in Maine, with most disappearing by 2030. The result would be a loss of less expensive clean energy produced in Maine, exposing consumers to price volatility for fossil fuels such as natural gas and oil, whose prices are tied to global markets.
TIMES RECORD • February 21, 2025
Daniel Stevenson will become the new executive director of the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority (MRRA) on March 3, replacing Steve Levesque, who filled in after former Director Kristine Logan resigned in the wake of August's chemical spill. Before his MRRA assignment, Stevenson served as the Westbrook economic development director and the Biddeford economic development director for seven years in each position. His earlier career was spent with Maine’s Department of Economic and Community Development. “We also have a plan in place for periodic testing and monitoring of the oil-water separation systems to ensure they are properly maintained,” said Levesque. “Ultimately, our goal is to remove all PFAS/PFOS concentrate from the hangars.”
MAINE GOVERNMENT NEWS • February 20, 2025
Governor Janet Mills has officially proclaimed February 24 to March 2, 2025, as Invasive Species Awareness Week in Maine. This proclamation coincides with National Invasive Species Awareness Week (NISAW), an annual event dedicated to raising public awareness about the environmental and economic threats posed by invasive species. The week serves as a call to action for individuals, communities, and organizations to help prevent and manage invasive species across the state. "Invasive species threaten Maine's natural landscapes, forests, and waters," said Governor Mills. "By taking proactive steps to prevent their spread, we can help protect our environment, economy, and way of life for generations to come."
FRANKLIN JOURNAL • February 20, 2025
A team of Maine outdoor enthusiasts is preparing to embark this month on a rare midwinter traverse of the 100-mile Wilderness, a demanding stretch on the northern end of the Appalachian Trail. The expedition by Ryan Wilford, Adam Schoff and Evan Spencer is both a test of endurance and a mission to raise at least $10,000 for underprivileged youth through United Way of the Tri-Valley Area’s Hope Fund. The 100-Mile Wilderness is the name given to the next-to-last section of the Appalachian Trail on its 2,180-mile route from Springer Mountain, Georgia, to Mt. Katahdin in Maine. The most remote section of the trail, it runs between Monson and Abol Bridge over the West Branch of the Penobscot River just south of Baxter State Park.
CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS • February 20, 2025
On February 3, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to create a sovereign wealth fund (SWF), saying the United States will have one of the largest funds in the world. That requires raising trillions of dollars very quickly. Given that the United States is roughly $36 trillion in debt, experts question where the money would come from. The Trump administration seems to be signaling that selling out and selling off the nation’s public lands to the highest bidder might provide the necessary funding. Doug Burgum, President Trump’s secretary of the interior, explained that the nation’s parks, public lands, and natural resources—including timber, fossil fuels, and minerals—are assets on “the nation’s balance sheet.”
SUN JOURNAL • February 20, 2025
The third annual Pennesseewassee Lake Ice Fishing Derby is set for this weekend, with more than $5,000 in cash prizes and an additional $5,000 in raffle prizes. The derby will be Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a food truck on the ice both days. For those who have not preregistered, registration closes at 10 a.m. Saturday. Proceeds will benefit Moose Maine Kids, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting outdoor activities for children.
TIMES RECORD • February 20, 2025
The Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association is working to get locally caught fish into Maine’s school lunchrooms. The nonprofit has teamed up with school districts in Brunswick, South Portland, Rumford and Somerville to improve access to local seafood by developing student-tested menu options. MCFA launched the product in Brunswick Junior High School lunch lines this fall. On Feb. 11, it broadened the reach to serve hundreds of tots to Brunswick tots.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 20, 2025
A Hampden trash plant is scheduled to reopen in six to eight weeks, five years after it closed. The plant will start accepting small amounts of trash as it ramps up to full operation by the end of this year, said Michael Carroll, executive director of the Municipal Review Committee, which is a group of 115 cities and towns. The MRC operates the plant, Municipal Waste Solutions, which closed in 2020. The committee partnered with Innovative Resource Recovery, LLC, a subsidiary of White Oak Global Advisors, an investment firm that has the backing of billions of dollars. Hampden’s plant reopening should divert trash from Juniper Ridge Landfill.
NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO • February 20, 2025
For the past 25 years, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has helped develop building codes, the construction standards that help houses survive hurricanes, wildfires and earthquakes. Now, the Trump Administration has ordered that to stop. FEMA is dropping out of the latest effort to improve building codes, taking its name off recommendations that its experts have already developed and submitted. Strengthening building codes has historically been opposed by the homebuilding and construction industries over concerns about the cost. Studies show modern building codes have saved billions of dollars in damage from natural disasters.
MAINE MORNING STAR • February 20, 2025
U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree is asking the Trump administration to go even further to protect National Park Service workers — seasonal and otherwise — amid the federal hiring freeze. Last week, Pingree sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum asking him to immediately resume seasonal hiring for the National Park Service to prevent financial ramifications, including the potential for a $500 million shortfall if there aren’t workers there to collect entrance fees. While Pingree said on Wednesday she is relieved to hear the Department of the Interior will reinstate the seasonal hires who were subject to the original hiring freeze announced last month, she’s now calling to immediately lift the hiring freeze across all parks and all positions.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 20, 2025
Floating communities, breakwaters and parks. New water taxi services, replanted eelgrass beds and sauna-based tourism. Reclaimed tank farms turned into ponds, marshes or parks. Covering shoreline bluffs with native plants that draw pollinators and prevent erosion. These are some of the imaginative ideas that architecture, engineering, environmental studies and urban planning students from schools like Harvard, Yale and Cornell developed as part of a design studio to help Portland and South Portland prepare for climate change. Student designs are on display in the community gallery at the Portland Public Library through March 15. The work will move to the South Portland Public Library on March 21 and, along with additional art work, to the SPACE Gallery in Portland on April 4.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 20, 2025
On Tuesday, the Maine Department of Marine Resources held its first public demonstration day, where anyone — in and out of the industry — could see how ropeless lobstering gear, still being developed, could work. And for some lobstermen, it felt like the first time the state was listening. State officials and representatives of fishing groups weren’t there to convince anyone that the equipment, meant to curb whale entanglements, worked. They knew it would be a losing battle. The traps get plunged into the water, sinking to the bottom until they’re summoned with the tap of a button. The lobstermen were skeptical, at best.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 20, 2025
Investing in clean and renewable energy is a commonsense way to help reduce harmful carbon emissions, protect our environment, and increase the resiliency of communities across the state, particularly along the coast. It is also just a smart move for Maine’s economy and workforce, with the production of clean energy and related technologies supporting thousands of jobs and spurring business growth throughout the state. Sen. Susan Collins should continue to help advance smart policies that increase investments in our state’s clean and renewable energy economy and workforce, while also protecting existing clean energy tax credits passed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. ~ Jay Nutting, Vassalboro
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 20, 2025
Voters in the Washington County town of Steuben will decide on March 11 whether to ban commercial rocket launches, after bluShift Aerospace approached local officials a few years ago to see if they might be willing to have the company base some of its operations there. The company wants to build small rockets, which would use environmentally friendly fuel it has developed, to launch satellites into orbits above the earth’s north and south poles. The relatively sparsely developed coastline in Washington County, and the shoreline’s southern exposure to the sea, are well-suited for the company’s plans. But the vote in March could bar the company from either building rockets in Steuben or launching them off the town’s coastline.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 20, 2025
Maine’s outdoor recreation economy has generally happened on its own, but the state has a plan to more deliberately grow it 10 percent in as many years. The 10-year Outdoor Recreation Economy Roadmap, spearheaded by the Office of Outdoor Recreation and Maine Outdoor Brands, recognizes what others have accomplished and identifies goals and actions that will build on that base. The goal is to grow the $3.4 billion economy into a $3.7 billion one, said Jeff McCabe, deputy director of the Office of Outdoor Recreation on Wednesday.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 19, 2025
Workers at Acadia National Park were laid off last week as part of a mass firing of about 10,000 federal employees to slash government spending. The eight Acadia National Park employees laid off represent a 10% reduction of year-round staff for one of the state’s busiest tourist attractions. The terminated Acadia workers are among 1,000 National Park Service employees who were fired as President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk make dramatic cuts to the federal workforce. Acadia National Park has received nearly 4 million visitors annually since the pandemic, and last year, it brought in over $475 million in visitor spending and contributed $685 million in economic output. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she is continuing to work with Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum “on the remaining problems caused by the sweeping hiring freeze and the elimination of probationary workers.”
