Lawsuit seeks to stop logging project in New Hampshire’s White Mountains

MAINE MORNING STAR • July 6, 2025

A group of environmentalists have launched a legal battle to stop a logging project in the Sandwich Range of New Hampshire’s White Mountain National Forest. The project will allow 638 acres to be logged by private companies, reconstruct 16 miles of roads and authorize prescribed burns on 306 acres. The Forest Service has said that the project will help provide a sustainable supply of timber diversify vegetation and wildlife. In a lawsuit, Standing Trees, Inc. and attorneys with the Environmental Advocacy Clinic (EAC) allege the Forest Service didn’t sufficiently prove logging was necessary in the area or go through the proper steps for environmental review and public input. “At the presidential level and at the top of the agency, there’s a real imperative to get these logging projects going,” said Christophe Courchesne, an attorney with the EAC. “And there’s a real set of commands, through executive orders and other directives, to put more of these national forest lands on the chopping block.”

How being ‘Vacationland’ affects Maine’s population, traffic and income every summer

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • July 6, 2025

7.7 million people visited Maine in summer 2024, spending more than $9.2 billion, with over half coming from just the summer. But tourism traffic backups often annoy locals.

Oxford Hills bids farewell to historic preservation icon Andrea Burns

ADVERTISER DEMOCRAT • July 5, 2025

A thankful community is gathering Tuesday to remember one of western Maine’s most steadfast preservationists, Andrea Burns passed away June 23. She taught for 25 years in South Paris. Her retirement in 1996 came at an opportune time for McLaughlin Garden, a Paris landmark that could have been lost. Burns was critical to preserving the McLaughlin homestead. She then began a mission to save the Norway Opera House block, lobbying to have it be included on Maine Preservations list of most threatened buildings. When three properties of the Higgins-Crooker Trust were endangered, Burns once again organized a rescue. And when perhaps the most fabled landmark on Main Street, The Gingerbread House, was in danger of being demolished, Burns and others founded the Norway Landmarks Preservation Society, raising the money to purchase and move the three-story building to a new site in 2011.

York County launches mobile alert system at 5 beaches

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 5, 2025

A brand-new mobile alert system is available at five southern Maine beaches. Created by the York County Emergency Management Agency, the system will send mobile alerts to beachgoers in Kennebunk, Ogunquit, Old Orchard Beach, Wells and York. The emergency alerts include severe weather, missing children and surf advisories. Beachgoers can sign up for alerts at all five beaches by texting the corresponding keyword to 226787:
Kennebunk: KBK
Old Orchard Beach: OOB
Ogunquit: OGT
Wells: WELLS
York: YORKME

Canadian efforts intensify to shield North Atlantic right whales

NEWS CENTER MAINE • July 4, 2025

The Canadian government says it is taking steps this summer to protect a vanishing species of whale from lethal collisions with ships in its waters. The whale is the North Atlantic right whale, which numbers only about 370. The whales give birth off the southeastern U.S. in the winter and spring and migrate north to New England and Canada to feed. Along the way, the whales face dangers including ship strikes and entanglement in commercial fishing gear. Environmental groups have long faulted the U.S. and Canadian governments for not doing enough to protect the critically endangered animals. Canada is enforcing mandatory protection measures for the whale this summer. All vessels of 42.7 feet in length or more must comply with speed restrictions in designated areas of the ocean to avoid whale strikes. It is also requesting voluntary slowdowns in other parts of the ocean.

EPA says Trump’s big bill should help in its fight to take back billions in green bank funds

ASSOCIATED PRESS • July 4, 2025

The sprawling tax and policy bill that passed Congress repeals a multibillion-dollar green bank for financing climate-friendly projects, and the Trump administration should be allowed to freeze its funding and cancel related contracts with nonprofits, federal officials said in a court filing. The program was created by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. But the bill that passed Congress on Thursday would repeal the part of the 2022 law that established the green bank and rescind money that hadn’t already been obligated to its recipients. “Our funds have already been obligated and disbursed. Any effort to claim otherwise is simply a lie to justify illegal attempts to claw back funds intended to benefit communities across the country,” said Climate United Fund CEO Beth Bafford.

Column: Here are some bird sounds to listen for in July

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 5, 2025

To me, birds arrived in the spring and left in the fall. During the time in between, they were just here, hanging around, waiting for my casual identification. Then I started guiding. Everything is different when you absolutely have to find a bird. I came to dread July, a month of doldrums. In spring, it’s easy. Birds are singing. They’re establishing territories and seeking mates. They’re argumentative. By July, they’re mostly quiet. If they have kids, they avoid attention. If they don’t have kids, they just don’t care. The woods are full of birds whose only purpose in life is to ignore you. Belatedly, I’ve been dragged into a better understanding of how the woods change weekly. We’re in that period now when birds are singing less, but talking more. ~ Bob Duchesne

Developers cut back their plans for Bucksport’s long-delayed fish farm

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 5, 2025

After years of delays and long periods of silence, the developers of a land-based Atlantic salmon farm in Bucksport that was once celebrated for its potential to help redevelop the former mill town now say they plan to move ahead with a project that’s a fraction of the original size. Local officials are still enthusiastic about the potential of the fish farm, which they say would grow the tax base and possibly even open up new opportunities at a smaller size. But Bucksport residents are more skeptical now about what the project could do for a community that’s been working to recover from the closure of its biggest employer, the Verso Paper mill, for a decade. In June, Whole Oceans made a proposal to investors for a 3,000-metric-ton project, which was just 15 percent of the original size.

Opinion: Media got it wrong when it comes to Maine’s pulp and paper mills

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 5, 2025

Biomass is part of the natural carbon cycle, which is why both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Maine Department of Environmental Protection consider it carbon neutral when it comes from sustainably managed forests. As new trees grow, they absorb the carbon released when wood is used as fuel, unlike fossil fuels, which add carbon that had been stored underground for millions of years. Some, like the Environmental Integrity Project, disagree. Their recent report criticizes mills for using forestry leftovers and other fuel [coal, tires and black liquor, a byproduct of the chemical papermaking process] that they claim “can be dirtier than coal.” This is an attack on our heritage. Companies are good stewards of our environment. ~ Krysta West, Maine Forest Products Council

The dream of owning a rustic Maine waterfront camp is dead

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 4, 2025

While the number of homes for sale in Maine is growing, real estate agents from across the state aren’t seeing that trend extend to rustic waterfront camps. Redfin reports housing inventory in Maine is on the upswing, with more than 7,300 listings in May, that’s 31 percent more than in May 2024. However, the costs of those properties remain high. The average price of a Maine home was roughly $403,000 in May 2025, according to Redfin, which is 2.5 percent higher than a year ago. “It used to be if you were heading up to Greenville or Jackman you could find something for around $250,000,” said Kara Bickford, a realtor. “You can’t find that anymore.” What many consider to be traditional Maine camps are no longer available or affordable to the average person.

Tekakapimək Contact Station at Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument opens to the public

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 4, 2025

The visitors center at Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument is now open to the public.

The Tekakapimək Contact Station was built by the Elliotsville Foundation, with coordination from the Wabanaki Nations. The station features exhibits with Wabanaki history and stories of the area. Neal Labrie, superintendent for the national monument, said the building represents the National Park Services' efforts to work with indigenous tribes. "When we look ahead to what the monument can be in the future, this is a tremendous jumping off point for showcasing how a National Park Service site can be part of the various communities of where it exists," he said. The contact station will be open Friday through Sunday for the summer season.

Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ is bad news for Maine clean energy

MAINE MONITOR • July 4, 2025

On Tuesday morning, hundreds of thousands of Mainers woke up to higher electricity bills. Central Maine Power’s rate hike, its second in as many years, was largely driven by the utility’s need to recover costs from severe storms in the last few years — the type of extreme weather events that are becoming more frequent and severe due to global climate change. The average household’s monthly bill is expected to jump by about $5, or 3.3 percent, one year after a roughly $10 monthly increase. As Mainers prepared to reach deeper into their bank accounts to help bankroll the mounting impacts of fossil fuel-driven climate change on energy infrastructure, Republicans in Congress advanced a massive budget bill that is likely to further drive up energy costs and deliver a blow to renewable energy projects, energy efficiency programs and climate action in Maine and across the country. 

How Maine’s U-pick farms are navigating changing needs

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 4, 2025

Longtime U-pick farm owners say that in recent years, they have seen their core customer base shift from people gathering large quantities of berries to families and tourists leaving with fewer berries in their baskets but plenty of memories. But while there might now be more people in the fields, growing popularity is a double-edged sword. And some farms are finding the change isn’t worth it.

Park officials suspect human activity behind new Acadia fire

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 3, 2025

A small fire in Acadia National Park on Wednesday was likely human-caused according to park officials. “An individual was reported being seen in the area just before smoke was observed, but park rangers were unable to locate the person,” Management Assistant John T. Kelly said. A string of fires in 18 months in 2023 and 2024 on St. Sauveur Mountain, also within the park, have been linked to a Trenton man.

Acadia National Park urges caution after responding to 2 deadly incidents within days

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 3, 2025

Acadia National Park is reminding visitors to use caution after park rangers responded to three emergencies, including two fatalities, in the days leading up to a Fourth of July holiday weekend that’s expected to be busy. Thursday afternoon, Acadia spokesperson Amanda Pollock detailed the three incidents and recommended that park visitors take safety precautions when they visit. On June 23, a 20-year-old man fell about 20 feet off the south wall of the Champlain Mountain climbing area and was injured. Two days later, park rangers and emergency services responded to a report of a man who had collapsed and hit his head near the summit of Cedar Swamp Mountain. Park rangers also assisted Maine Marine Patrol officers early Monday morning after a sailboat ran aground on Isle au Haut, where the body of a Canadian man was recovered on shore.

Rooftop solar strengthens electric grid during recent heat wave

MAINE PUBLIC • July 3, 2025

Experts say that roof mounted solar panels moderated electric demand and prices on the New England electric grid during the recent heat wave. Jamie Dickerson with Acadia Center, an energy nonprofit, said so-called ‘behind the meter’ solar sent to homes and businesses reduces the overall need for electricity at peak periods. During intense heat on June 24, generation from homes and businesses helped keep the grid running even as operator ISO New England was forced to fire up reserve energy resources after it fell short of requirements. "Clean energy in fact saved consumers millions of dollars in wholesale electricity market costs and played a vital role in keeping the light on and the air conditioning running," Dickerson said.

Body found in Maine pond while officials search for missing paddleboarder

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 3, 2025

Officials found a woman’s body in a Union pond on Thursday while searching for a missing paddleboarder and are investigating the death as suspicious. Maine game wardens joined the search just after 1 a.m Searchers located the body of a woman a few hours later. Game wardens requested help from the state police Major Crimes Unit “based on the circumstances surrounding the discovery.” State police then began an investigation, which Moss described as “active and ongoing,” into the death.

Maine set to launch state energy department

MAINE PUBLIC • July 3, 2025

Maine is poised to get a new state department tasked with managing energy programs. The Department of Energy Resources, authorized by lawmakers this session, will replace the Governor's Energy Office. Establishing a new department with additional authority reflects the importance of energy in the state and puts Maine in a better position to accomplish its objectives, said current energy office director Dan Burgess.

Maine Calling: Noise Pollution

MAINE PUBLIC • July 3, 2025

Noise pollution is bad for humans. In addition to hearing loss, loud noises can also affect cardiovascular health, mental health, learning capabilities, sleep and more. It's not just major cities trying to grapple with noise pollution, the problem affects rural areas, too. We'll learn about the causes of noise pollution and how it affects our health. Panelists: Dr. Michael Osborne, cardiologist, Massachusetts General Hospital, and board member, Quiet Communities; Les Blomberg, Noise Pollution Clearinghouse; Jamie L. Banks, Quiet Communities. VIP Caller: Karen Akins, "The Quietest Year;" Rebecca Graham, Maine Municipal Association.

Fact brief: Are many lupine plants in Maine considered invasive species?

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 3, 2025

The vast majority of lupine plants seen in Maine — known for their tall spikes of bright purple, pink or white flowers — aren’t native to the state and are considered invasive by many botanists. Maine’s only native lupine species, the sundial lupine (Lupinus perennis), once supported native pollinators such as the endangered Karner blue butterfly, but it is now believed to be largely extirpated — meaning locally extinct in the wild. The bigleaf lupine, which is native to the West Coast, has primarily taken its place. Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens recommends that Mainers remove bigleaf lupines from their gardens and replace them with sundial lupines, which can still be purchased from many nurseries and online seed sellers.