Opinion: Sen. Collins should help protect, maintain IRA funding

SUN JOURNAL • March 4, 2025

Maine is already a leader in clean energy, with renewables like hydropower, wind, solar and biomass accounting for two-thirds of all electricity generated in our state in 2023. Federal funding, rebates and tax credits provided by the Inflation Reduction Act are helping us build on that progress. Maintaining IRA funding and investments is critical if Maine is going to continue building out our clean energy economy and workforce. Sen. Susan Collins should help protect IRA investments and tax credits so Maine can keep building on our strong track record of energy and environmental leadership. ~ Bryan Morgan, Hebron

Letter: A senseless solar project in South Portland

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 4, 2025

South Portland strikes again. More open space and tree canopy destruction driven by continuing ignorance about climate change and what really needs to happen to save the planet. The Portland Catholic Diocese is leasing part of Calvary Cemetery to Massachusetts-based New Leaf Energy, which plans to clear cut mature trees to install a solar array. “Let’s cut down the trees we depend on to reduce climate change so we can build a solar array that destroys habitat, tree coverage and increases climate damage.” Duh. It’s way past time to do the right thing and shut these senseless projects down in the beginning. ~ Barbara Dee, South Portland

Letter: Stop harvesting small lobsters

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 4, 2025

We need to back off harvesting small lobsters. If most of the catch is presently 1 1/2 pounds, then lobstermen are catching most of the lobsters before they reach their spawning size, which is 3 1/2 inches and weighing 1 1/2 pounds. Maybe lobstermen could be allotted a bunch more traps for this one- or two-year waiting period to make up for their loss, while giving the 1 1/4 pound lobsters a chance to grow to spawning age. That extra 1/4 inch and an extra 1/4 pound would be accomplished after shedding one more time. It really may make a lot of sense to make the full adjustment to 3 1/2 inches all in one year. The 3 1/4 inches will be 3 1/2 inches after the next shed. It makes no sense to increase the size by less than 1/4 inch. ~ James O’Connell, Bar Harbor

Impressive Maine Harp Seal Covers Some Distance In Short Time

B98.5• March 4, 2025

The folks from the Marine Mammals of Maine organization found a little harp seal in distress along a Maine beach at the beginning of February. It had come in contact with some humans and some dogs and was stressed to the point of eating sand. Once the animal was feeling better, it was tagged with a special satellite identifier and released back out into the ocean. "Since February 10th, she has been traveling along the shelf in 39 degree Fahrenheit water. Seals can spend extensive periods of time at sea, eating, traveling, and resting without hauling out on land-while this kind of movement within her habitat is not unusual, it's still impressive to see on a map! We are so thrilled that she is strong enough to swim these distances, and that her unfortunate interaction with people and dogs last month did not prevent her from returning to the wild where she belongs." That one little seal has gone about 230 miles in the span of just a couple of weeks.

Closure looms for Fish & Wildlife Services HQ in Hadley

GREENFIELD RECORDER • March 3, 2025

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Department Service’s Northeast regional headquarters in Hadley, Mass., is proposed to close on Aug. 31 as part of the initiative to end leases for 164 federal office spaces nationwide, according to a list leaked by a government whistleblower. It’s unclear how these closures will impact federal employees, including the estimated 200 employees in the Hadley-based office. None of this information had been communicated to elected officials. Federal workers at the Hadley headquarters oversee 79 wildlife refuges located in 13 states from Maine to Virginia. “The people we’re talking about here protect and conserve our wildlife,” said U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, whose district includes Hadley. “They protect our open spaces and our environment. These are essential public servants. What their government should be saying to them is ‘thank you,’ rather than this.”

Kennebec Land Trust Reaches 7,940 Acres with Hopkins-Sinclair Conservation Area

KENNEBEC LAND TRUST • March 3, 2025

"In donating this property to the Kennebec Land Trust I was inspired by my grandfather's desire to conserve open space in the Town of Manchester. We are pleased that with the help of KLT, we could permanently protect the Hopkins-Sinclair Conservation Area,” Matt Sinclair said. “It is our sincere hope that people will enjoy and take care of this land. We encourage the public to bushwhack, hunt, and hike in these woods and wetlands as our family has for over 200 years.” On February 15, 2025, KLT received a 97-acre land donation from Robert Hopkins and Matt Sinclair. This forested and wetland-rich area supports diverse wildlife, including black bears and moose, and connects to a 1,533-acre protected corridor. The land is open for hunting and bushwhacking, with sustainable timber management by KLT. With this acquisition, KLT now protects 7,940 acres and maintains 60 miles of public trails.

Maine loses popular Sea Grant funding, 1 week after Mills' public confrontation at the White House

MAINE PUBLIC • March 3, 2025

Over the weekend, the Trump administration told the University of Maine that it is discontinuing a $4.5 million award to the Maine Sea Grant Program. There are 33 other similar Sea Grant programs in coastal and Great Lakes states around the country. Yet only Maine appears to have had its funding revoked. And the announcement came one week after Gov. Janet Mills sparred publicly with President Donald Trump at the White House about his executive order on transgender athletes. The four-year federal award from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration went into effect last February and would have awarded Maine Sea Grant roughly $4.5 million through January 2028, including about $1.5 million this year.

Trump’s Logging Order Unleashes Chainsaws on America’s National Forests

CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY • March 3, 2025

President Trump on Saturday signed an executive order aimed at undermining safeguards for endangered wildlife and bypassing other environmental protections to radically increase logging and road building on hundreds of millions of acres of national forests and other public lands. Federal forests account for about one-third of the forested lands in the United States, and increased logging will wreak havoc on critical wildlife habitat, pollute the water and air, and increase fire risk by destroying older, more fire-resistant trees.

Nature steward to speak on early spring stirrings of Midcoast wildlife

TIMES RECORD • March 3, 2025

Maine Coast Heritage Trust steward Kirk Gentalen will present photos and stories about where nature in the Midcoast is at during very early spring. At Rockland Public Library, March 6, 6:30 pm, free.

Maine’s might be the only Sea Grant program cut by Trump

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 3, 2025

Maine Sea Grant, a $4.5 million initiative that relies on federal funding to provide environmental and economic research along Maine’s coast, appears to be the only program of its kind that has so far had its funding abruptly cut off by the administration of President Donald Trump. Trump recently threatened to cut federal funding to Maine after a heated exchange with Gov. Janet Mills in Washington last month. The national Sea Grant program has funding partnerships with higher-learning organizations in more than 30 states and in the territories. A search did not turn up any reports of other Sea Grant programs outside Maine having their funds abruptly cut off.

Trump executive orders to increase logging in national forests

AXIOS • March 3, 2025

President Trump signed executive orders to increase lumber production across national forests and other public lands in the U.S., but wants to sidestep endangered species protections and other environmental regulations. Wildlife species reliant on undisturbed forests could face significant habitat loss, while expedited environmental reviews may reduce oversight on ecological impacts.

Anti-Hunter Turned Hunter Gives Back Through Wildlife Conservation Career

NRA HUNTERS NEWS • March 3, 2025

“I grew up an anti-hunter, in a residential neighborhood in Scarborough, Maine. My dad laughs at who I am now,” said wildlife biologist Olivia Lappin. “My motto when I was a child was ‘save the animals.’ It would be years before I saw the role hunting played in doing just that.” After completing a degree in biology at the University of Maine, and more fieldwork in various parts of the United States, Olivia realized she wanted to see through a wildlife biology research project of her own from beginning to end. That led her to the next phase of her immersion with nature, and the master’s degree program at Mississippi State University. It would also lead to a serious challenge of her anti-hunting stance. Olivia’s employment with Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever exposed her to another example of how hunters and hunting provide the needed support for the restoration and conservation of natural areas.

Lobster Fishermen Can Sue Environmental Group for Defamation, Judge Says

ASSOCIATED PRESS • March 3, 2025

A group of lobster fishermen can sue one of the world’s largest seafood watchdog groups for defamation, a federal court has ruled, over a report that described Maine lobster as an unwise choice for consumers. The threat to a rare whale species from getting tangled in fishing gear prompted Monterey Bay Aquarium in California to caution against eating a variety of lobster that New England fishermen have harvested for centuries. Seafood Watch, a conservation program operated by the aquarium, placed lobster on its do-not-eat “red list” in 2022. Judge John Woodcock ruled last month that the fishermen made a case that they suffered damage to their industry's reputation as a result of the red-listing, after the aquarium made a bid in court in Maine to have the 2023 lawsuit tossed. A spokesperson for the aquarium said Sunday it plans to appeal.

Rising Temperatures Are Scrambling the Base of the Ocean Food Web

NEW YORK TIMES • March 3, 2025

Plankton, minuscule organisms, are spread across the oceans, covering nearly three-quarters of the planet. But a warming world is throwing plankton into disarray and threatening the entire marine food chain. Think of Calanus, a type of zooplankton, as “little batteries that are floating in the ocean,” said Jeffrey Runge, a zooplankton ecologist who recently retired from UMaine. Calanus hibernate through winter, hiding from predators. But in November in the Gulf of Maine, David Fields, a zooplankton ecologist at the Bigelow Laboratory for Marine Sciences, was out hunting them. He aims to understand what’s happening to planktonic species as the ocean warms and its currents shift. Amy Wyeth, a zooplankton ecologist, is starting a new plankton sampling and habitat monitoring program for the Maine Department of Marine Resources to give the state “more predictive power,” to forecast the movements of right whales and help Maine’s lobster fishery avoid whales entanglements with endangered North Atlantic right whales.

High Peaks Alliance continues conservation and community engagement

DAILY BULLDOG • March 3, 2025

The High Peaks Alliance Director of Engagement, Amanda Laliberte, provided an update on their upcoming community involvements, including replacing the bridge that spanned the Sandy River in Farmington, the 2025 Outdoor Heritage Festival on June 21 at the Farmington Fairgrounds, and a Recreation Rangers Corps grant from the Sugarloaf Region Charitable Trust. The High Peaks Alliance is a land trust that focuses on public access to nature, recreation, hunting, fishing, and boating, as well as a focus on conservation. It is a non-profit organization comprising local volunteers who enjoy the outdoors.

Restoring Old Growth Forest Characteristics in New England, Apr 3

MAINE ORGANIC FARMERS AND GARDENERS ASSOCIATION • March 3, 2025

Anthony D’Amato, Forestry Program Director at UVM, and Paul Catanzaro, Professor & State Extension Forester at UMass Amherst, discuss maintaining old-growth characteristics within forests. Sponsored by Southern Aroostook Soil & Water Conservation District. April 3, 6 pm, Zoom, free, preregister.

Susan Collins, Angus King and Chellie Pingree call on Trump to avoid trade war with Canada

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 3, 2025

Maine’s congressional delegation is calling on President Trump to avoid a trade war with Canada as he plans to impose 25 percent levies on goods from Canada. Canadian energy products would be subject to a 10% tariff. Canada has vowed to retaliate. In a letter to Commerce Sec. Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer, U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King and U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree called Canada a “trusted friend and ally” with which the U.S. has substantial trade ties. In 2023, in Maine alone, $6 billion in goods traversed the border. Trade with Canada supports 60,000 Maine jobs. About 70% of imports in Maine come from Canada, and 30% of the state’s exports are destined to the north, including $200 million to $400 million of lobster shipped to processors over the border annually. Nearly all of Maine’s heating oil comes from Canada. Irving Oil has sent a notice informing customers their bills would rise to offset tariffs. ISO New England warned that Trump’s tariffs could increase electricity costs for New England between $66 million and $165 million.

Falmouth to audit trash scofflaws in response to pay-as-you-throw bag noncompliance

FORECASTER • March 3, 2025

In the coming months, Falmouth will begin auditing the trash that residents put on the curb for pickup, checking that they are using the mandatory yellow trash bags. Following the switch to an automated waste collection system in 2023, which no longer entails a person checking that the trash is in yellow bags, Falmouth saw a 10% decrease in the purchase of yellow trash bags as compared to the previous year. At the same time, the volume by weight of trash collected in Falmouth increased by 7%, leading some town councilors to believe that more households in Falmouth are putting their trash in the collection bin without using the yellow bags. The discrepancy between the increase in trash and the decrease in yellow trash bag purchases has left a hole in the town’s trash disposal budget. In FY 2024, Falmouth saw a net loss of $186,644 in the program.

Opinion: Let’s keep Portland’s public in public transit

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 3, 2025

I have been a public transit user for decades. My morning commute these days begins on a Casco Bay Lines ferry. I usually catch the No. 8 bus from the parking lot that will take me to the front door of Maine Medical Center. Or, I might take a bus to a class at USM. I might walk up to Congress Street to catch a crosstown bus. The fare is a true bargain. I get to see how the streetscape changes constantly. Inside the bus there are folks heading off to shopping, medical appointments or work. It feels like a small community on wheels. Since Jan. 20, it seems all we have heard about are public servants being summarily dismissed. Private transportation in cars will be prioritized under this new government that seems solely intent on being cruel and indifferent to those among us who can’t afford Teslas. To keep the public in public transit we must remain aware and involved with combating threats to our essential services. ~ Irv Williams, Peaks Island

See all the chemicals in your Maine town’s drinking water

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 3, 2025

Public drinking water across Maine contains 68 contaminants to varying degrees, including forever chemicals, chromium and byproducts of the disinfectants used to clean the water, according to new data from Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit that tracks toxic substances. The collected test data from 385 Maine water utilities provided by the state’s Department of Health and Human Services from 2014 through 2024. Consumers can find out which chemicals and in what concentrations are in their tap water by typing their zip code into the group’s database. “I’m not too happy with it,” said Chuck Harrison, general manager of the Bangor Water District. He said the group’s low contaminant guidelines are stricter than Maine or federal drinking water standards, which the water district meets. Almost 11,000 customers drink tap water from the Bangor Water District.