Bills revive debate over Sears Island port plan

MAINE PUBLIC • March 12, 2025

Lawmakers heard more than five hours of testimony Wednesday from both sides of a debate over preserving Sears Island in the Town of Searsport. A pair of bills from state representative Reagan Paul would extend a conservation easement across the island and restore sand dune protections in a 330-acre parcel set aside for development. The Winterport Republican said it's time to end decades of controversial port proposals for the island in the town of Searsport. The latest plan is a floating offshore wind port by the Maine Department of Transportation that has so far failed to attract federal funding. Local conservationists support the proposal and said the highest and best use of the island is as a wild area. But opponents including state agencies, environmental groups and labor unions, argue it would be a mistake to give up the commercial parcel on Sears Island.

Trump’s FBI Moves to Criminally Charge Major Climate Groups

NEW REPUBLIC • March 12, 2025

The FBI has told Citibank that recipients of EPA climate grants are being considered as potentially liable for fraud. That is, the Trump administration wants to criminalize work on climate science and impacts,” the @capitolhunters account wrote Wednesday on X. “An incoming administration not only cancels federal grants but declares recipients as criminals. All these grantees applied under government calls FOR ENVIRONMENTAL WORK, were reviewed and accepted. Trump wants to jail them.“

EPA head says he’ll roll back dozens of environmental regulations

ASSOCIATED PRESS • March 12, 2025

In what he called the “most consequential day of deregulation in American history,” the head of the Environmental Protection Agency announced a series of actions Wednesday to roll back landmark environmental regulations, including rules on pollution from coal-fired power plants, climate change and electric vehicles. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said, “We are driving a dagger through the heart of climate-change religion.” Zeldin said he and President Donald Trump support rewriting the agency’s 2009 finding that planet-warming greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare.

Crunch time for Western Maine loggers

BETHEL CITIZEN • March 12, 2025

March is crunch time for loggers hauling heavy loads in Western Maine. Many towns will be posting their roads soon, meaning certain roads will be closed to heavy logging trucks to prevent potential damage to the thawing asphalt. In the logging industry today, it’s all about volume. “Twenty or 25 years ago, a chainsaw and a skidder were enough,” says Bob Brown, of Upton, who manages the Kennebec Lumber Yard on Route 26 in Bethel. “Now, loggers need feller bunchers, de-limbers, processors, and slashers. They have to produce more to cover the cost of the equipment.” Brown worries about the future of logging and hopes more young people will enter the industry. “It’s a hard living, but it’s an honest living. Everything you make, you earn,” he says.

USDA ending local purchasing programs for Maine food banks and schools

MAINE PUBLIC • March 12, 2025

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is ending two national programs that help food banks and schools in Maine — and around the country — purchase produce from local farmers. USDA told Maine officials and partners that it has terminated the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program. It helped Good Shepherd Food Bank buy produce from about 100 Maine farmers, which is then distributed to local food banks around the state. "That program is incredibly important to the state of Maine, both in food today — food that we source and distribute today — and in food tomorrow, which is the economic viability for those 100 farmers and for our partner agencies to experience fresh, nutritious produce," said Good Shepherd President Heather Paquette. At the same time, the food bank recently learned USDA will stop delivering about 1 million pounds of food through the Emergency Food Assistance Program to Maine.

Letter: The ultimate price of fossil fuel

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 12, 2025

What shall it profit a man should he gain the world, yet cause the extinction of his species? A fossil fuel executive must have the skin of a reptile, for very shortly they shall, rightly or wrongly, be the most reviled and despised individuals in the 300,000-year history of humanity. ~ Richard Rust, Portland

Fairfield needs more help with water contamination as funding dries up

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 12, 2025

A Maine town that has some of the worst forever chemicals contamination in the country will continue to need broader testing of soil and drinking water at a time when state funding is dwindling, a new report from a town committee found. The committee’s report to the Fairfield town council said the $25 million in the state’s program for tests and filters, which can cost up to $5,300 annually, could run out as soon as two years from now, shifting the financial burden to residents. It could be too costly for them, the report said, and, if the filter systems aren’t maintained, they could pose health risks.

'Vindictive': Trump USDA Freezes $100 Million for University of Maine Amid Trans Athlete Fight

COMMON DREAMS • Marcy 11, 2025

The Trump administration on Tuesday stepped up its clash with Maine's Democratic-led government over the state's support for transgender women who play on women's sports teams, as the University of Maine announced $100 million in its federal funding had been halted. Gov. Janet Mills told President Donald Trump she will "comply with state and federal law." UMS has used its current USDA funding to invest in numerous projects, including but not limited to:
• Research on PFAS forever chemicals, on Maine farms;
• The development of sustainable packaging materials derived from Maine's forests;
• Research on the health and sustainability of the state's lobster fishery;
• Support for 4-H youth leadership and STEM skill development programs serving tens of thousands of Maine youth annually; and
• Education and outreach to Maine livestock farmers on farm biosecurity and disease outbreak preparedness.

Regulators approve Versant rate hike

MAINE PUBLIC • March 11, 2025

Versant Power customers are in for even more expensive electric bills after Maine regulators on Tuesday approved a rate hike to help the company with system upgrades. It's the latest in years of price increases for consumers in northern and eastern Maine. Versant serves about 159,000 customers. The Maine Public Utilities Commission approved a 23% increase in Versant's distribution revenue. The company said it needs extra funding to modernize its system and to cover storm recovery, higher payroll and the effects of inflation. The increase translates to an added $11.15 to the average residential customer's monthly bill, according to the agency.

Woman rescued after 25-foot fall in Acadia

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 11, 2025

On March 10, 27 people amassed to rescue a 55-year-old woman who had been hiking on the Pemetic Northwest Trail. Despite wearing traction devices on her footwear, the woman slipped on ice and fell 25 feet. After the rescuers performed a technical rescue to retrieve the woman, she was transported by the Mount Desert Fire Department ambulance to Mount Desert Island Hospital. The woman suffered head and leg injuries in the fall.

Falmouth retailers prepare for pesticide ordinance to take effect

FORECASTER • March 11, 2025

Retailers of pesticide and fertilizers in Falmouth will encounter new regulations starting on April 1. This change follows the approval of the pesticide and fertilizer ordinance, which was approved by the Town Council on Feb. 24. The ordinance states that retailers that sell products for lawn, garden and landscape applications must clearly mark products that are permitted for use in Falmouth with prominent signage. In relation to in-store products, the ordinance bans the use of all pesticides with neonicotinoids. It also bans any non-synthetic substance listed as “prohibited” on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances and only permits synthetic substances marked as “allowed” on the list.

A single day of Trump and Musk’s cost-cutting campaign remakes huge sections of government

ASSOCIATED PRESS • March 11, 2025

Turmoil is engulfing federal agencies since President Donald Trump and Elon Musk launched their campaign of disruption. Some changes appeared designed to increase political control, such as requiring Environmental Protection Agency officials to seek approval from the Department of Government Efficiency for any contracts exceeding $50,000 so they can be monitored by DOGE representatives.

You can dispose of your illegal lead jigs at 3 sportsmen’s shows this spring

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 11, 2025

If you find yourself with a bunch of lead tackle that is or soon will be illegal to use while fishing, you have options. Maine Audubon plans to be at the next three sportsmen’s shows in the state, where the group will give you lead-free alternatives to your lead sinkers or jigs. Maine Audubon and other conservation groups have long supported banning lead sinkers and jigs small enough that loons can ingest them. The birds can scoop them up off the bottoms of lakes and ponds and die from lead poisoning. Maine Audubon will be at Eastern Maine Sportsmen’s Show, March 14-16, at University of Maine Orono; Aroostook Spring Sportsman’s Show, March 22-23, at The Forum, Presque Isle; and State of Maine Sportsman’s Show, March 28-30, at the Augusta Civic Center.

Temporary law on training bear dogs could become permanent

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 10, 2025

A part of a law that temporarily allowed bear-hunting dogs to be trained in certain areas of Hancock and Washington counties could become permanent if the full Legislature approves it. Members of the Standing Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife on Monday voted unanimously among those present that LD 751, “An Act to Amend the Hunting Laws Related to the Training of Dogs and Open Training Seasons” ought to pass. That part of the law was scheduled to be repealed on May 1.

Tests show no dangerous contamination from Rumford paper mill discharge, senator says

RUMFORD FALLS TIMES • March 10, 2025

Water tests from the release of black liquor into the air by ND Paper mill in December show no dangerous contamination, Sen. Joseph Martin of Rumford told the Board of Selectpersons on Thursday. On Dec. 10, ND Paper said its mill experienced an operational issue that resulted in black liquor, a byproduct of the papermaking process, being released into the air and into a section of town. It turned falling snow brown in areas close to the mill.

Could Trump tariffs apply to electricity? Confusion reigns

MAINE MORNING STAR • March 10, 2025

When President Donald Trump’s administration announced that it was moving forward with sweeping tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods, it ignited anger above the northern border and confusion below it among the organizations that manage the electric grid in parts of both countries. ISO New England said 9% of New England’s electric demand was met with imports from Canada and New York. ISO New England has made filings with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to prepare for potential electric tariffs even though it doesn’t think the tariffs apply to electricity. Rob Gramlich, president of Grid Strategies, said, “It’s too delicate a system to start imposing policies that nobody’s ever even thought about onto these systems.”

Removal of contaminated sediment has begun along Portland waterfront

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 10, 2025

The first phase of the long-awaited $25 million Portland Harbor dredging project — construction of a 9-acre confined aquatic disposal pit, or CAD cell — was completed early this month, wrapping up after 40 days despite bad winter weather, said Bill Needelman, Portland’s waterfront director.“It went exactly as planned,” Needelman said. “Now we can move on to the kind of routine dredging that should be normal for an urban harbor like ours.” The CAD was dug in a shallow, little-used South Portland cove.

Developer who owes the city money seeks approval for North Deering project

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 10, 2025

A controversial North Deering development seeking planning board approval is hitting roadblocks on all sides, with resistance from neighbors and conservationists and a contempt order from the city for overdue payments on a fine. GenX Capital Partners, a development company with properties in Maine and Miami, is proposing a 54-unit condominium development at 1 Hope Ave. The project would include nine duplexes and 12 triplexes situated by the edge of Portland’s Presumpscot River Preserve, a 48-acre public nature preserve