Column: You should pay more attention to your backyard birds

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 30, 2025

[Originally published in April 2023] Forest bathing is the practice of sitting quietly in the woods, relaxing in the presence of nature. I think I just invented forest showering this week — walking quietly in the woods, letting the sounds of nature wash down over me. The eastern phoebes went first. A red-bellied woodpecker called from my neighbor’s yard, sitting high in a tree, just above a singing tufted titmouse. Hairy, downy and pileated woodpeckers have been exuberantly vocal. The songs of black-capped chickadees joined the chorus. Dark-eyed juncos gathered. I heard a distant loon. Song sparrows and American robins are everywhere. A merlin called from the edge of the driveway. This forest shower was all about spending quality time with the routinely normal birds around my home. Anybody can do it, starting today. ~ Bob Duchesne

Salmon fishery heating up in parts of Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 30, 2025

While fishing on Moosehead, Maine’s largest lake, is on the verge of heating up, a fishing guide says the state’s second largest is seeing some great salmon fishing. “The fish are big. The fish are healthy. Fishing is great,” said registered Maine guide Tom Roth, who lives on Sebago Lake and runs Sebago Lake Guide Service. “Catching salmon in the 3-5-pound range was unheard of until last year.”

Susan Collins and unions try to save funding for massive Maine battery project

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 29, 2025

President Donald Trump’s efforts to cut on funding for renewable energy initiatives may hit a rural Maine project that would be the world’s largest multi-day battery system. The potential loss of federal tax credits for the Lincoln battery storage project has brought together an alliance to back it: Democratic-aligned labor unions and U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the top appropriator in the chamber. The Lincoln project is set to benefit from tax credits in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, the Biden-era bill Trump has sought to dismantle. Collins said she spoke with Trump’s energy secretary, Chris Wright, about the Lincoln project “and pointed out that it aligns with the administration’s energy policies, would help improve the reliability of the New England electric grid, and would be beneficial in using a shuttered paper mill in a rural area of the state.”

Decision looming for Trump administration on 1st PFAS drinking water limits

ASSOCIATED PRESS • April 29, 2025

Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency set the first federal drinking water limits for PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, finding they increased the risk of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and babies being born with low birth weight. In a decision with consequences for tens of millions of Americans, the Trump administration is expected to soon say whether it intends to stand by those strict standards and defend the limits against a water utility industry challenge in federal court.

Orrington trash plant owes contractor $26K, company says

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 29, 2025

The owner of the Orrington trash incinerator owes a contractor $26,000, according to documents filed last week with Penobscot County. Eagle Point Energy Center owes $26,000 to Copia Specialty Contractors Inc., a Bangor-based company, for work done in December and January, according to a lien filed April 22. EPEC Asset Manager Evan Coleman denied Monday that the facility owes $26,000, and said it has already paid Copia $20,000. The shuttered trash incinerator was scheduled to reopen early this year but will likely be inactive for at least another year after a 10-day fire tore through the facility in October.

Public transportation advocates push measures to expand transit options in Maine

MAINE PUBLIC • April 29, 2025

Public transportation advocates are pushing a slate of measures aimed at streamlining and expanding transit options in the state. According to a new report from the Moving Maine network, two in five Mainers are "transportation insecure," meaning they lack reliable ways to get around. Josh Caldwell of the Natural Resources Council of Maine said that's fixable — but it's going to take coordination and buy-in at the state level. "We just need to keep investing in those things to ensure and expand those options, to ensure that Mainers have reliable and safe ways to get around, but are not simply a car," Caldwell said. Transportation is responsible for nearly half of the state's carbon emissions from fossil fuels.

Maine gives lobstermen a chance to inform future of fishery

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 29, 2025

After years of feeling overlooked, Maine lobstermen will get the opportunity to inform government data in a state-run survey addressing their views on the future of the fishery. The Lobster Advisory Council approved the move at a meeting Tuesday based on a proposal from the Department of Marine Resources, which wants to complete the survey as soon as possible. This is the first survey the department has conducted in 17 years. This time, lobstermen will answer questions about what they see out on the water, their opinions on potential regulations, what they want the fishery to look like in 10 years, and what needs to be done to reach that point.

Camden lawmaker proposes increase in state fines for improper pesticide use

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 29, 2025

A Camden lawmaker is proposing an increase in state fines for improper pesticide use in response to a high-profile case in which a wealthy landowner’s pesticide use damaged a neighbor’s trees and caused chemicals to migrate to a nearby town park. The proposal from Rep. Vicki Doudera comes in response to a 2022 case in Camden in which Amelia and Arthur Bond were cited for improperly using the herbicide Tebuthiuron, despite it being labeled “not for residential use,” and for violating town ordinances by clearing too much vegetation and topping trees too close to the shoreline. The Bonds paid over $1.7 million in penalties. LD 1697 would raise civil fines for pesticide violations from a maximum of $1,500 per violation to $25,000. In cases where the violator is found to have “benefitted substantially” from the violation, the maximum penalty would increase from $4,000 to $50,000.

Most Americans haven’t tried seaweed, Maine study shows

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 29, 2025

More than half of Americans have yet to try seaweed, a new study from Maine aquaculture researchers shows. The Maine Aquaculture Association surveyed over 2,000 people across the country to gauge the general temperature of how Americans feel about seaweed — one of Maine’s major aquaculture products. The study, which in part explores American hesitancy with trying new food, finds that leaning on seaweed as an ingredient in different snacks and making ready-to-eat dishes could sway consumers to the Maine way. The state’s aquaculture industry rakes in between $85 million to $110 million annually. In 2025, researchers predict the value of Maine’s aquaculture exports will reach $800 million. Maine is campaigning to become the leader in the country’s seaweed aquaculture industry.

Maine nonprofits try to navigate funding cuts, unclear rules and an uncertain future

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 28, 2025

Nonprofit community organizations and research facilities across the state have seen federal grants canceled and are now facing a bigger challenge: how to come up with a large chunk of money that had previously seemed guaranteed. They’re also navigating an uncertain future and how to apply for new funding in the face of a slew of executive orders. The cancellation of federal grants has come fast and furious for Maine nonprofits, the vast majority of which are small organizations without deep pockets to cover the losses. “It’s happening in an arbitrary, capricious and likely unlawful way,” said Jennifer Hutchins, executive director of the Maine Association of Nonprofits. At the Shaw Institute in Blue Hill, executive director Charles Rolsky is unsure about the money he expects to receive through a $150,000 grant from NOAA to study the impact of PFAS on seals over a 30-year period.

High school students face challenge on environmental knowledge in Auburn

SUN JOURNAL • April 28, 2025

Deep in the woods at Evergreen Outdoor Education center on Andrew Drive in Auburn six teams completed tasks at five stations that quizzed them on environmental topics. The activities were a part of the 2025 Envirothon organized by the Androscoggin Valley Soil & Water Conservation District. Teams from Androscoggin and Oxford counties competed. Winners will advance to the state championships in Augusta next month.

USDA cancels grant for Freeport farm, but a new opportunity may be on the horizon

NEWS CENTER MAINE • April 28, 2025

A farm in Freeport that had been working to support climate-friendly practices at hundreds of farms nationwide is regrouping after losing its federal grant funding. Wolfe’s Neck Center for Agriculture and the Environment had secured a $35 million grant through the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program — an initiative launched under the Biden administration — but that funding has now been canceled. The U.S.D.A. ended the program, saying it was "...largely built to advance the Green New Scam.” The grant was meant to support farms by improving soil health, increasing biodiversity, and reducing environmental impact over five years. Although the grant cancellation was a setback, Wolfe’s Neck Center has been invited them to apply for a new program introduced under the Trump administration: Advancing Markets for Producers. 

Lawmakers consider bill to require legislative approval for Juniper Ridge Landfill contract

MAINE PUBLIC • April 28, 2025

Lawmakers are considering a bill that would require legislative approval for the state to renew a contract to operate the Juniper Ridge Landfill in Old Town. Monday's public hearing on the bill comes amid debate over a proposed expansion of the state-owned landfill and a contract extension for its operator, Casella Waste Management. State Sen. Mike Tipping said that bill would give the public more input into management of the site. "Ensuring that before any other decisions are made about this major state-owned facility, that the legislature, and through them, the people of Maine, would have a say," he said. But Anya Trundy, deputy commissioner of the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, said it is unlikely that another company would want to take on the contract.

Researchers discover new bacteria in rabbit ticks in Maine

MAINE PUBLIC • April 28, 2025

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst say they've discovered a new bacteria in rabbit ticks in Maine that's related to the spotted fever pathogen. Microbiology professor Stephen Rich, who is also executive director of the New England Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases, said the bacteria was discovered in rabbit ticks from a residential backyard. The finding prompted researchers, in collaboration with the University of Maine, to test more rabbit ticks. Out of nearly 300 collected from nine counties, 6% tested positive for the pathogen. "Our concern is that it stay that it stay rare and in rabbit ticks and that it not spill over into black-legged ticks or deer ticks or other things that more frequently feed on people," Rich says.

Coastal Rivers seeks volunteers for estuary monitoring program

TIMES RECORD • April 28, 2025

Coastal Rivers’ Estuary Water Quality Monitoring Program is looking for volunteers to get out on the water and be part of an ongoing community science project to inform the broader community about the health of the Damariscotta River. A volunteer training session for this program is scheduled from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday, May 2, in Damariscotta. Twice a month during high tide, from mid-May through the middle of October, volunteers take water samples from seven locations.

Dover-Foxcroft voters will decide the fate of town’s ailing dam

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 28, 2025

Voters will decide the future of the Mayo Mill Dam and its associated costs when they go to the polls on June 10 to cast ballots on the Dover-Foxcroft referendum ballot. Two articles concerning the dam were approved at the annual town meeting on Saturday in the first of a two-step process. The first article would authorize the select board to raise and appropriate $250,000 and have the authority to borrow up to $250,000 (for a total not to exceed $500,000) to begin consulting work to surrender the dam’s FERC license. The second dam article asks residents to authorize the select board to borrow up to $9 million for the retention and repair of the dam. Financing the $9 million over 25 years, with a 5 percent interest rate, would put the project cost at $14,107,600.

What Aroostook would look like if it ever seceded from Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 28, 2025

In 1997, then-Rep. Henry Joy, R-Crystal, won funding for a task force that studied creating two states out of Maine. Joy’s secession plans never materialized, but renewed talks of secession tied to grievances are once again finding a platform. Aroostook has a greater need for public services and therefore benefits from its connection to the rest of Maine, noted James Myall, a policy analyst with the Maine Center for Economic Policy. Forming a new state out of Aroostook and other rural Maine counties is a tall task and one unlikely to succeed anytime soon, since both the Democratic-controlled Legislature and Congress would need to approve a secession.

A Bangor man says he found Easter eggs containing White Supremacist propaganda in park

SPECTRUM NEWS • April 28, 2025

A Bangor man said he and his family discovered roughly two dozen Easter eggs containing flyers with White Supremacist propaganda at Talbot Park on Easter Sunday. Woodman said the flyers contained false statistics, a link to a website with antisemitic messaging and a photo of a teenager who police say was fatally stabbed in Texas earlier this month. Woodman said, “Not only am I disgusted by what was on there, I’m disgusted at the fact that somebody took the time to roll these up and put them in tiny Easter eggs and leave them around for kids to find.”

Polarizing glamping trend continues to grow in Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 28, 2025

After luxury campgrounds gained a foothold in Maine during the early part of the coronavirus pandemic, new proposals for “glampgrounds” —  where guests can stay for hundreds of dollars a night — have run into growing headwinds in the state in recent years. But given the high demand for lodging to accommodate tourists along the coast, those developments may be here to stay or even expand in the coming years. While Maine has long relied on tourism as a major driver of its economy, the pushback against new glampgrounds has highlighted the state’s uneasy relationship with the industry and other types of development.

Turkey hunting has become too commercialized

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 28, 2025

Like too many things in the world today, turkey hunting has largely become commercialized. There’s far more emphasis on gear, camo, and looking the part, than the actual nuts and bolts of it all. There’s no invisible camo pattern or magic call that can guarantee you’ll sling a bird over your shoulder. Turkey hunting is about trial and error, honing your skills and hoping a little luck will tip the scales in your favor. It’s about woodsmanship, persistence and patience.