The most comprehensive online source of conservation news and events in Maine and beyond, edited by Jym St. Pierre
MAINE PUBLIC • May 1, 2025
The New England Aquarium has spotted more than 75 endangered North Atlantic right whales in shipping lanes south of Massachusetts. That's prompted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to issue voluntary speed restrictions for vessels transiting through those areas. Ship strikes are one of the leading causes of injury and death for the critically endangered species.
MAINE MORNING STAR • May 1, 2025
The Judiciary Committee advanced legislation on Wednesday to prevent the state from being able to seize Wabanki land for public use without consultation, though amended it in a way that appears to assuage at least some of the concerns raised by Gov. Janet Mills’ administration. The committee voted 10-4 in favor of an amended version of LD 958, incorporating a proposed amendment from the Maine State Chamber of Commerce that the prohibition would only apply to current reservation and trust lands, meaning land for which the federal government holds the legal title of on behalf of a tribe, and not land that may be put into trust in the future.
CBS 13 • April 30, 2025
In a move to address the ongoing issue of PFAS contamination, the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) announced the PFAS Fund has awarded $3 million to researchers to conduct studies that will help commercial farmers make informed decisions about utilizing agricultural property impacted by PFAS.
PENOBSCOT BAY PILOT • April 30, 2025
Volunteer Maine, the state commission for community service, received notification from the AmeriCorps federal agency late last week regarding the termination of all federal AmeriCorps grant programs under its administration. This unexpected action impacts over 100 communities across Maine and jeopardizes vital service efforts already underway. These programs span all 16 Maine counties, addressing challenges such as chronic disease prevention, workforce development, conservation efforts, educational enrichment, and community resilience.
World Wildlife Fund • April 30, 2025
The World Wildlife Fund is working to educate the general public about seaweed. Metrics for success include the number of comments at public hearings supporting seaweed farms and the number of farm applications. Much of this is done by funding local organizations already engaged in the work. “One of our biggest opportunities is the number of people unfamiliar with sea farming,” says Emily Whitmore of the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center, which has received WWF funding. The goal? Make kelp buoys just as iconic to Maine's brand as lobster buoys.
MAINE PUBLIC • April 30, 2025
The Trump administration is developing an offshore oil and gas leasing plan that could include waters in the Gulf of Maine. The Natural Resources Council of Maine warns there are no economically recoverable fossil fuels in the region and that drilling risks environmental and economic harm. "Offshore oil and gas exploration would directly threaten our marine ecosystems, risk devastation to our vibrant tourist economy, and harm our heritage fishing industry," the council's climate and clean energy director Jack Shapiro said in a statement.
MAINE PUBLIC • April 30, 2025
The president of MDI Biological Lab joined a panel of biomedical researchers on Wednesday who warned members of Congress that the Trump administration's cost-cutting measures could have long-lasting impacts on scientific research and public health. "The lives we save tomorrow depend on the decisions we make today," Hermann Haller, president of MDI Bio Lab in Bar Harbor, told the Senate Appropriations Committee. Since taking office, the Trump administration has eliminated thousands of jobs at agencies like the National Institutes of Health and paused or threatened to cancel billions of dollars in federal research grants to universities and laboratories. A preliminary budget document circulating within the Trump administration proposes cutting more than $47 billion — or roughly 40% of funding — from NIH.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 30, 2025
Maine may start charging owners of electric vehicles a $250 annual registration surcharge if a bipartisan proposal before lawmakers gets approved. The proposal is aimed at raising revenues for the state highway fund and making up for gas tax revenue that is lost with the increasing popularity of electric vehicles that don’t rely on gas. But it is also facing opposition from environmental groups that say the $250 charge is too high and runs counter to efforts to encourage people to buy electric vehicles and help the state meet its climate goals.
MAINE PUBLIC • April 30, 2025
Canada-based Acadian Seaplants has closed its Maine operations in Jonesboro, citing the exchange rate, transportation costs, and tariffs as the drivers of the decision. Company president and CEO Jean Pierre DeVeaux said tariffs will cost his business millions of dollars on an annual basis. He said if 25% tariffs continue it could drive Canada into a recession. Six staff members and 30 independent contractors are affected by the Jonesboro closure. The Maine Rockweed Council estimates 17 million pounds are removed each year along Maine's coast with a value of about $1 million.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 30, 2025
Businesses that offer rentals of floating houses moored off their docks or in front of their companies were the only ones who opposed a bill that would ban floating camps on Maine’s waters during a legislative hearing Wednesday. They suggested adding a grandfather clause to protect the businesses like them, including floating restaurants. The bill, L.D. 1763, An Act to Regulate Nonwater-dependent Floating Structures on Maine’s Waters, presented by Rep. Allison Hepler, D-Woolwich, would ban floating camps.
MAINE PUBLIC • April 30, 2025
Maine activists are at the helm of the newly-formed Coalition for Sludge-Free Land launched Wednesday. Maine was the first state to ban land application of sludge in 2022 after the discovery of widespread PFAS contamination of farms. Representative Bill Pluecker, who chairs the legislature's Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee, said this coalition will allow Maine to advocate for changes across the country.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 30, 2025
When I think about all that’s wrong, I feel an acute sense of powerlessness. It’s not totally hopeless, though. We must integrate action across many scales to bolster awareness, implement comprehensive policies and build efficient structures for widespread change. While individual action may seem more attainable, scholars hope for it to spill over into the collective realm. By demonstrating that everyone has the ability to demand action from leaders, we can make meaningful change. Alone, we can only carry so much, but together we can make our home hospitable for generations to come. ~ Noa Nasoff, first-year student, Bowdoin College
MAINE MONITOR • April 30, 2025
Forgoing a moratorium on new artificial turf fields, lawmakers are recommending the state still study the effects they could have on public health and the environment. The members of the Legislature’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee who were present for a work session Wednesday afternoon unanimously endorsed an amended version of LD 1177. The bill will next go to the Maine House of Representatives and Senate for approval. However, the amended bill backed by the committee nixed the moratorium and narrowed the study to look at how synthetic turf affects ambient air, groundwater and surrounding organisms, as well as disposal options once the fields reach the end of their life. The study would also evaluate any release of microplastics from the fields and the effect of that on the surrounding environment and human health.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 30, 2025
A Maine railroad operator is resuming freight service between Brunswick and Rockland after it was stopped in June of last year in the wake of a Thomaston cement plant closing its manufacturing. Dragon Cement, which was recently acquired by Heidelberg Materials, will begin using the freight line again. Maine Switching Services has also proposed reopening a rail corridor between Brunswick and Augusta. This comes as state lawmakers votes on LD 29, which would remove the Lower Road to allow for its replacement with bicycle and pedestrian trails.
MAINE MONITOR • April 30, 2025
Energy policy has moved quickly in the past few years as Maine has sought to achieve climate and affordability goals with deadlines that are not so far off. Rep. Gerry Runte (D-York) suspects there hasn’t been sufficient time to take a 50,000-foot view to see how all the pieces of energy supply and demand could plan and work together. He’s hoping the bipartisan bill he introduced during a public hearing Tuesday afternoon will formalize and increase collaboration between agencies involved in grid planning.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 30, 2025
The Sipayik Community Clam Garden — a project that began in 2022 in Half Moon Cove and has since become the largest soft-shell clam garden in the world — is nearing its first harvest, according to steward Erik S. Francis. All of the clams from the harvest will be distributed to tribal members at no cost. “It’s a really good project for future generations,” Francis said. “We are trying to build the clam population back to where it used to be, even though we are dealing with green crab struggles.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 30, 2025
Ice-out on Maine’s largest lake was declared at 5 p.m. Tuesday. Currier’s Flying Service made the traditional ice-out declaration, making it official for the Moosehead Lake region.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 30, 2025
Officials within the Trump administration have advocated the removal of NOAA’s scientific research division, including programs related to climate, education and research grants, because they are “misaligned with the president’s agenda.” This is shortsighted and reckless. NOAA has already been the subject of mass layoffs by the Trump administration, which were reversed by the Supreme Court and reimposed by the administration. Last summer, I conducted research on the impacts extreme winter storm events had on Lincoln County. There was clear consensus that the most important parts of coastal resilience were warning before the storms and collaboration in recovery efforts. The budget cuts are detrimental to every American. The work NOAA does is critical for maintaining up-to-date climate records, which help farmers and fishermen across the country feed our nation. Maine’s fishermen, economy, coastal communities, students and future are all at risk. ~ Kyle Pellerin, Bowdoin College student
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 30, 2025
The canceled $35 million grant to Wolfe’s Neck Center for Agriculture and Environmental would have been wasted anyway since we’ve known for decades that the primary cause of climate change and environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity, food insecurity and the rise in degenerative, zoonotic and environmental disease is raising animals as products. We have a garden, why eat from the slaughterhouse? Stop this addiction to “research” and make the long overdue urgent changes in the concept of agriculture needed for the survival of this planet. ~ Laura Slitt, Bartlett, N.H.
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
