Eighth-generation Mainer restores century-old fruit trees on family land

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 6, 2025

EverettvSmith, an eighth-generation descendant of the early settlers in the town of Hope is focused on the future: bringing the land back into production to provide for his three young children. Those fruit trees — mainly apples, pears and plums — are a link between the two. Smith is building a small mail-order business of local varieties, a passion that grew out of researching his family’s long history in the Maine orchard world. While Maine has long attracted aspiring homesteaders from out of state, Smith is building up his own homestead and business on land he has deep connections to. Because he knows so much about its past and is so invested in its future, he said he feels he’s just borrowing the land.

What’s next for Madison’s TimberHP after Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing?

SUN JOURNAL • April 6, 2025

By the end of 2024, finances at TimberHP were in distress. The growing expenses and unsuccessful attempt to raise more equity ultimately led the parent company of TimberHP, GO Lab Inc., to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection March 25. As part of the prenegotiated Chapter 11 restructuring plan, the company said participating bondholders will invest $29 million to support the transition through bankruptcy and to provide capital for business growth, including the completion of its manufacturing line for the TimberBoard product. Madison, the third largest town by population in Somerset County with about 4,700 people, was faced with a serious blow when Madison Paper Industries announced its closure in 2016.

Opinion: When it comes to the National Park Service, there is no deep state

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • April 6, 2025

This administration is using its chainsaw to whack away at what it falsely defines as “government waste” with no forethought or plan. The National Park Service (NPS), for example, operates under various legal mandates. Its mission is to preserve this nation’s most cherished natural and cultural resources for the enjoyment, education and inspiration of this and all future generations. There is no “deep state” — only park rangers, biologists, historians, maintenance workers and other dedicated professionals committed to preserving our nation’s most cherished natural and cultural heritage. The people who serve the millions of visitors to our national parks are not thinking about who the president is or how the political winds are changing as they go about their work on behalf of all Americans. They’re just keeping up with the daily operations of the park. ~ Sheridan Steele, Acadia National Park superintendent (retired)

Letter: Maine gets more than enough sun for solar energy

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • April 6, 2025

Maine gets a decent amount of sun. Why don’t our engineers, architects and construction folks integrate solar into the buildings, and utilize more of the natural resources we have filtering into the urban environment? Ask a tradesperson what breaks down their materials and installations over time. Solar PVs are the one thing that actually wants to get hammered with 30 years of UV sunlight. ~ Will Kessler, NABCEP-PVIP, Portland

Cuts to federal food program put local farms, schools in a bind

SUN JOURNAL • April 6, 2025

A Lisbon Falls farm was able to build a strong relationship during the pandemic with Lisbon schools through the federal Local Foods for Schools program, which provides funding to districts to buy local produce. That’s all in peril now. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced last month the program has been canceled along with $2.78 million in federal funding that would have come to Maine over the next three years. As school districts recalibrate how much they can afford to purchase from local producers, the farms, many of them already struggling financially, are bracing for the loss of income they had planned on.

Loggers don’t need government handouts

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 5, 2025

Loggers are a testament to resilience, ingenuity, and dedication, working tirelessly to harvest and transport timber. Today, wood remains vital — not only for construction and paper, but also for emerging fields like nanotech and biofuels. Maine’s logging industry significantly contributes to the state’s economy. Very little of this money coming into the state had anything to do with federal funding, rather it’s the result of the free market at work as intended. An implication that Maine loggers depend on government subsidies to survive is entirely untrue. The government can be most helpful if it protects its citizens and their businesses from unfair competition, not stimulate them with subsidies. ~ Brent Day, owner of Day Logging in Porter

Angus King fumes after Trump administration cuts climate change from threat assessment

MAINE MONITOR • April 4, 2025

For more than a decade, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence included the mounting impacts of climate change in its annual reports on global and regional threats to U.S. national security. But the U.S. intelligence community’s fact-based, nonpolitical streak came to a screeching halt last month. The 2025 threat assessment, which the Trump administration released on March 18, makes no mention of climate change or other environmental threats, part of a broader administrative effort to scrub such references from government websites and documents. At a Senate hearing last week, Maine Sen. Angus King (I) used part of his allotted time to interrogate Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard about the sudden change.

Maine dairy farmers ask state to fully fund supplemental payments program for milk production

MAINE PUBLIC • April 3, 2025

As Maine dairy farmers stare down the uncertainties brought by a tariff standoff with Canada, the industry is asking the legislature to fully fund a state program that offers supplemental payments to farmers when the price of milk falls below the cost of production. Annie Watson, an organic dairy farmer, and president of the Maine Dairy Industry Association, said the lion's share of grain supplies for Maine dairy herds is coming from Canada and will be subject to price increases from tariffs.

It's not just tariffs; broad economic uncertainty could weigh on Maine's lobster industry

MAINE PUBLIC • April 3, 2025

Members of the lobster industry and economic experts worry that broader global economy uncertainty may drive down demand for the product in Maine. Canada is Maine's biggest trading partner, and received more than 75% of the state's fish exports last year, according to Amanda Rector, Maine's state economist. China has placed a 10% tariff on U.S. lobster exports. And trade experts warn that more dire impacts may still be on the horizon.

Letter: Preserve railroad access in Maine

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 3, 2025

This is the last opportunity to preserve railroad access from Portland to the White Mountains and beyond. On Friday, April 4, at 10 a.m., the Legislature’s Transportation Committee will receive testimony on LD 676, which would fund removal of 31 miles of Mountain Division track from Sebago to Fryeburg. Track removal is counter to Maine’s efforts to preserve this rail corridor which include: three miles of newly constructed track, one newly constructed bridge and nine miles of rail with trail preserving the corridor for recreational and railroad use. Most importantly, two railroads have expressed interest in the Mountain Division that connects Portland with St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Rails with trails may be the best use of the Mountain Division. ~ Wayne Duffet, Portland

Opinion: Trump tariffs jeopardize our ability to keep the lights on in northern Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 3, 2025

Maine and New Brunswick are not at war with one another. We are friends and neighbors. And until the Trump administration initiated a trade war with Canada, we had no reason to fear a disruption in our electricity supply from New Brunswick. Yet here we are. The New Brunswick provincial government is seriously considering shutting off the flow of electricity from New Brunswick into northern Maine. In the event New Brunswick stops the flow of electricity into Maine, there is not enough generating capacity in Northern Maine to keep all the lights on; preserve all our food; keep all our heating systems energized; keep our stores open; keep our businesses running; and keep our citizens employed. ~ G. Melvin Hovey, retired Maine Public Service Company executive

This approach to trails is a first in Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 3, 2025

Snowmobile and ATV trails that were so devastated by the 500-year storms more than a year ago could be repaired with money from the $30 million bond voters approved in November. The clubs just have to apply for the money by Sept. 26. The state has had money to build, repair and maintain trails through two major federal programs for decades, but this is the first non-conservation-related state bond to support just outdoor recreation infrastructure in Maine.

Yarmouth solar project hits zoning hurdle

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 2, 2025

The proposed 0 Layfette Street solar project near the Holy Cross Cemetery does not meet the requirements for a Yarmouth zoning special exemption, according to legal counsel, meaning the project can’t proceed without zoning changes. On Feb. 28, the Planning Board heard a proposal from New Leaf Energy for a solar panel farm next to the Holy Cross Cemetery on land leased from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland. The 12-acre undeveloped parcel for the project is located near the Riverside Cemetery and Royal River. The developers estimate the solar project would produce 3 million kilowatt hours of energy annually. Residents of the area widely opposed the project at its introduction.

South Portland to host Earth Day Resource Fair at Mill Creek Park

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 2, 2025

Mill Creek Park will play host to South Portland’s first Earth Day Resource Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 26. The city holds a flurry of smaller-scale events and initiatives to celebrate Earth Day, such as the South Portland Land Trust’s volunteer cleanups of open spaces, and city departments providing activities like crafts and scavenger hunts. Chris Payne, founder and owner of Dirigo Science Connection, thought a resource fair would be a great way to bring the community together for a larger event that would be both entertaining and educational.

Donald Trump blasts Susan Collins for opposing his Canada tariffs

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 2, 2025

President Donald Trump criticized U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and three other Republican senators in an early Wednesday social media post for not backing his plan to impose new tariffs on Canada. Trump has said he will enact sweeping new tariffs Wednesday, which he dubbed “Liberation Day,” on imports from other countries, including 25 percent tariffs on Canadian imports and 10 percent tariffs on Canadian energy products. “They are playing with the lives of the American people, and right into the hands of the Radical Left Democrats and Drug Cartels,” Trump said.

Stop the spread: protect Maine’s waters

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 2, 2025

Imagine heading out for a peaceful day of boating and swimming, only to find the water clogged with invasive plants. Or to your favorite fishing spot, where you discover your choice fish species is struggling to survive as a newly introduced invasive fish is beginning to thrive. This is the reality when aquatic invasive species take over. All eradication, suppression, and other management strategies are costly and cause irreversible damage to the water and its native species of fish, plants, and wildlife. Preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species is the most effective way to protect Maine’s waters.

Judge sides with federal agencies, won’t pull permits for NECEC

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 1, 2025

A federal judge has decided not to revoke permits for the controversial New England Clean Energy Connect corridor, effectively ending a long-running legal battle — but not until more than a third of the project had already been completed. Chief U.S. District Judge Lance Walker on Monday ruled in favor of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Department of Energy, after several environmental groups sued the federal agencies over their environmental analysis of the $1.5 billion 145-mile transmission corridor to bring Canadian hydropower to the New England grid.

Emerald ash borer confirmed on Mount Desert Island

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 1, 2025

The Maine Forest Service expanded its emerald ash quarantine zones to include all towns on Mount Desert Island. The quarantine follows the discovery of a “well-established” population of emerald ash borers, an extremely invasive wood-boring beetle that kills nearly all species of ash trees in Maine.

Town of Brunswick to host spring Coastal Cleanup for Earth Day

TIMES RECORD • April 1, 2025

The Town of Brunswick has partnered up with Mere Point Oyster Co., Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust and others for the fourth annual Coastal Cleanup event on Saturday, April 5. Cleanup will be from 10 a.m. to noon alongside Paul’s Marina, Merrymeeting Shellfish Co., Smith’s Boatyard and Flight Deck Brewing in celebration of Earth Day. All ages are welcome to volunteer. The event will include scavenger hunts and a shell-decorating station so children will have fun while making a positive impact on the environment.

Bill would eliminate coyote killing contests in Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 1, 2025

A bill that will go to public hearing in Augusta on Wednesday would prohibit coyote killing contests in the state if enacted. LD1293, An Act to Prohibit Coyote-killing Contests in Maine, targets a longtime practice in the state in which private rod and gun clubs or other nonprofits will award prizes or honors or otherwise compensate hunters who kill coyotes to support popular game animals such as deer. Animal rights advocates see the control programs and contests as exploitative, cruel and unsportsmanlike.