Arnold Expedition Historical Society to celebrate 250th anniversary of Benedict Arnold’s march to Quebec

DAILY BULLDOG • July 31, 2025

This year commemorates the 250th anniversary of Benedict Arnold’s march through the Maine wilderness to capture Quebec. To honor this daring journey, the Arnold Expedition Historical Society (AEHS) is offering three guided hikes along a section of the Arnold Trail to Quebec, known as the “Great Carrying Place Portage Trail,” retracing the steps of Arnold’s 1,000-man army. Arnold and Native Americans before him used the portage trail to travel between the Kennebec River and the Dead River, avoiding 18 miles of dangerous white water and several days of travel. The same hike will be offered on Saturday, August 16; Saturday, September 27; and Saturday, October 18, 2025.Each hike is limited to 20 participants on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration ends 08/13/2025.

Main-Land Development Consultants, Inc. now employee owned

DAILY BULLDOG • July 31, 2025

Robert (Bob) L. Berry III, P.E., has sold a majority stake of Main-Land Development Consultants, Inc., to the employees of the company. In 2023, Main-Land formed an Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP), an entity owned collaboratively by the company employees. In June 2025, the ESOP closed on the purchase of a controlling quantity of Main-Land shares. Main-Land is now owned and operated by the staff. Darryl N. Brown formed the company in 1974. In 2011, Bob Berry purchased the company. Since then, the company as grown to include offices in Livermore Falls, Falmouth, and Newport, Maine. Main-Land provides friendly land consulting services, including civil engineering, land surveying, and environmental sciences.

Another change to deer hunting licensing system gives hunters an edge

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 31, 2025

In 2022, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife changed its licensing system to allow deer hunters to apply for a doe tag in addition to their buck-only big game hunting license. This meant that I could shoot a doe and continue to hunt for a buck instead of having a one-and-done deer season. Deer hunters under the age of 16 are allowed to take a doe or buck during the youth deer hunt (Oct. 24-25 this fall). If a young hunter harvests a deer no matter if it is a buck or a doe, they are done for the rest of the season unless they have a doe tag and can continue to hunt for a doe to fill that tag. For the rest of us, this year things are changing again. Hunters in Wildlife Management Districts (WMDs) 21-25 and 29 will be able to take either a buck or a doe with their hunting license, not both. If a hunter in WMDs 21-25 and 29 wants to take both, they will still need a hunting license and an antlerless deer permit. These six districts cover a large portion of the state.

New downtown Portland ambassador program aims to address growing safety, cleanliness concerns

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 31, 2025

In the wake of increased complaints from business owners, a nonprofit organization is dispatching a team to help clean up needles, graffiti and waste, and to respond to calls about loitering and drug use. Portland Downtown is a nonprofit that aims to create a thriving downtown neighborhood.

Biddeford faces a smokestack dilemma as it moves past its ‘Trash Town USA’ rep

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 31, 2025

More than a decade ago, Biddeford tore down the widely despised trash-burning plant that had dominated and degraded its downtown for 25 years. Now, city officials are considering whether the plant’s 240-foot-tall smokestack — a municipal moneymaker that still stands on Lincoln Street — should be transformed into public art and celebrate a remarkable downtown rebound that has occurred in the years since the trash incinerator closed. But while some seem eager to beautify the stack and emphasize its historic role in the city’s development, others loathe that it still towers over downtown as a regrettable remnant of its “Trash Town U.S.A.” reputation. They say it would be a mistake to decorate it.

Farmington boy, stepfather to conquer last of Maine’s 4,000-foot mountains Friday

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 31, 2025

Griffin Chouinard, 10, of Farmington, and his stepfather, Terry Storer, were on their way to Baxter State Park, north of Millinocket, on Thursday morning to hike the last of the state’s 4,000-foot and higher mountains in Maine. They and their dog, Rosie, a walker coonhound, plan to hike North Brother Mountain, a 4,151-footer Friday. Chouinard started hiking the tallest mountains in Maine last year when he was 8. They have documented each hike with photos.

ESPN returns to Maine for Lobster Festival ‘SportsCenter’ segment

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 31, 2025

ESPN will be making its second trip to Maine in little over a month, spotlighting the Maine Lobster Festival in Rockland as part of its “50 states in 50 days” tour that began in Washington, D.C., on June 27. The sports television giant was also in Newport when Cooper Flagg was drafted by the Mavericks on June 25.

Rangeley Scenic Byway Ambassador program boosted by grant supporting businesses, conservation

SUN JOURNAL • July 31, 2025

Rangeley Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce was recently awarded a $303,150 grant to support the chamber’s Scenic Byway Ambassador Program and other community initiatives over three years. The grant from the Northern Border Regional Commission Catalyst Program was established to strengthen communities and support local businesses. Ambassadors meet and greet visitors at three of the region’s scenic overlooks: Height of Land on Route 17 in Rangeley Plantation, Whip Willow on Route 4 in Rangeley, and on Quill Hill in Dallas Plantation.

A Walk in the Maine Woods

SAIL MAGAZINE • July 30, 2025

We’d been hiking for an hour in Seal Bay on the east side of Vinalhaven. A blaze mark had led us to a 2-mile trail that climbed a steep hillside through firs and birches. It had been a lovely leg stretch—just what we needed as a little break from our Sabre 30, Ora Kali—but when we descended, a wide mudflat devoid of puddles stretched between our dinghy, open water, and our boat resting peacefully at anchor some 400 yards away. We waited an hour and a half for the tide to return. By the time the sun was descending towards the trees across the way and the air was starting to lose its heat, a rill of water finally reached the plank we laid across the mud to bridge the last gap, and we got home in time to watch the full moon rise. Such are the risks one encounters when trying to take advantage of the many hiking trails and paths that Maine’s islands have to offer. They’re more than worth it. 

Friends of Merrymeeting Bay to host walk-and-talk on ‘Insects & Other Natural Wonders’

TIMES RECORD • July 30, 2025

Friends of Merrymeeting Bay will host ecologist Kathy Claerr for a walk-and-talk from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 5, in Bowdoinham on the topic of “Insects & Other Natural Wonders.” Nonnative invasive insects harm forests through “piercing-sucking,” defoliating, wood boring and disease spreading. For directions and to pre-register, which is necessary, contact Kathy Claerr at 666-3551.

Column: How bucket stockers are destroying Maine’s cold-water fishery

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 30, 2025

There is a monster loose upon the lands and waters of Maine: the Bucket Stocker. Why would any person willfully introduce crappies or bass into a classic Maine trout or salmon fishery? Is it a revenge crime? Do these individuals, in a moment of deluded thinking, fancy themselves as some kind of fishing activists hell-bent on transforming Maine into their own fantasy concept of a diverse fishery? These bucket stockers are a disaster for Maine’s nationally known and priceless cold-water sport fishery. Because of Maine’s vast network of drainages and interconnected waterways, a fish that is invasive — and illegally introduced — can wind up almost anywhere. This is happening in spades. Bass are increasingly being found in formerly pristine trout waters. In Maine, illegal stocking is a Class E crime, with fines ranging from $1,000 to $10,000, and a mandatory suspension or revocation of fishing licenses for one to five years. ~ V. Paul Reynolds

Opinion: Maine’s updated ‘bottle bill’ is bad for consumers

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 30, 2025

Maine has long been a national leader in environmental stewardship, and our bottle bill, first enacted in 1976, has been one of our proudest accomplishments. It’s helped reduce litter, encourage recycling and set a strong precedent for responsible policy. But even the best-intended laws can have unintended consequences. We’re seeing that play out in real time now. The latest revision to Maine’s bottle bill, which took effect July 1, 2025, expands redemption requirements to include all direct-to-consumer (DTC) wine shipments. In just the past month, all three small wineries where we hold memberships have stopped shipping to Maine. These are small, family-run vineyards that rely heavily on DTC sales to stay afloat. They also happen to be among the most environmentally responsible producers I’ve encountered. We’ve created a system that punishes the very producers who are often the most environmentally conscious. ~ Paul Richardson, Yarmouth

Trump EPA moves to repeal finding that allows climate regulation

ASSOCIATED PRESS • July 27, 2025

President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday proposed revoking a scientific finding that has long been the central basis for U.S. action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fight climate change. The proposed Environmental Protection Agency rule would rescind a 2009 declaration that determined that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare. The “endangerment finding” is the legal underpinning of a host of climate regulations under the Clean Air Act for motor vehicles, power plants and other pollution sources that are heating the planet.

Sappi finishes Skowhegan mill’s $500 million paper machine overhaul

MORNING SENTINEL • July 29, 2025

The multiyear, $500 million effort to convert and expand a paper machine at the Somerset Mill in Skowhegan is complete, Sappi North America announced Tuesday. Sappi, a Boston-headquartered subsidiary of a large international company based in South Africa, said it is now delivering customers commercial product manufactured on Paper Machine No. 2 at the Skowhegan mill on Waterville Road. Production is expected to ramp up to volume in 2026. The effort to overhaul the machine, which was announced in 2022 and dubbed Project Elevate, doubled its production capacity and made the Skowhegan facility a top production site of high-performance solid bleached sulfate paperboard, which is used for packaging across several industries.

Penobscot elder ‘Butch’ Phillips dies at 85

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 29, 2025

Reuben Elliot “Butch” Phillips, a Penobscot elder, artist, culture-bearer and the former lieutenant governor of the tribe, died Sunday at the age of 85. In the 1970s, Philips was one of the Penobscot representatives on the team that negotiated the Maine Indian Land Claims Settlement of 1980. The legislation was viewed by many as the only way for tribes to secure limited compensation for stolen land. It also subjected tribal nations to state government control and excepted them from the sovereignty all other federally recognized tribes have. Its impacts have shaped the work of Maulian Bryant, who served as Penobscot tribal ambassador before she became executive director of the Wabanaki Alliance in January. Bryant’s work today is largely dedicated to unraveling many of the restrictions imposed by the settlement act. Conversations with her great-uncle caused her to shift her thinking. “I never wanted those tribal leaders to feel ashamed or that they did a bad thing, because it was a historic thing and there were good things for the tribe and they were between a rock and a hard place,” she said.

Maine lakes, ponds at risk as invasive bladderwort plant moves in

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 28, 2025

An invasive aquatic plant first identified in southern Maine two years ago is now confirmed across southern and western parts of the state, and officials and local groups are taking steps to keep it from spreading farther. Swollen bladderwort, which forms dense mats on the water’s surface and can change ecosystems and hinder recreation, has been found on eight Maine waterbodies, including Tilton Pond in Fayette, where it was discovered two years ago and has since worsened, making it harder to swim and boat. aAboater using Tilton Pond’s now-closed public launch was likely to blame for the infestation. Keeping the plant from hurting more waterbodies in Maine will take diligence.

Paddlers in birch bark canoes honor Wabanaki culture on Moosehead Lake

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 29, 2025

It was with uncanny ease that the first few birch bark canoes glided into view, cutting the wind-riffled surface of Moosehead Lake. Their paddlers directed the boats in loose courses around one another with short, confident strokes as the fleet grew from three to 10. Soon, a flotilla of 15 boats had gathered about 50 feet offshore. To observe a gathering of 15 birch bark canoes, like that one that took place at the Greenville Junction Wharf as part of the Thoreau-Wabanaki Trail Festival, is exceedingly rare.

Canadian wildfire smoke is lingering in Maine. Here’s what you should know before heading outside.

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 28, 2025

More smoke from Canadian wildfires is expected to make its way through Maine this week, keeping air quality down across the state. Maine could hover in that “moderate” category for much of this week. When air quality levels are in the “moderate” range, people sensitive to the effects — such as older adults, young children or people with asthma — are advised to limit prolonged or heavy exertion outside. The number of wildfires in the U.S. so far this year is higher than normal — nearly 40,000 as of July 28 — but the amount of land those fires are covering is below the 10-year average to this point, with just over 3 million acres burned so far. Canada, on the other hand, has seen worse wildfires than usual — much worse. More than 3,300 Canadian wildfires have burned through nearly 14.5 million acres of land this year as of July 23. That’s over double the 10-year average.

Ellsworth hires 1st head of new parks and rec department

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 28, 2025

Ellsworth has hired its first-ever parks and rec director who will oversee the city’s parks and public lands, facilities and planned events. Roddy Ehrlenbach, a local high school graduate who has worked for Sugarloaf ski resort in western Maine for more than 20 years, is expected to start his new position with the city Monday, Aug. 4.

Scarborough piece of the Eastern Trail project breaks ground

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 29, 2025

Past and present leaders of the Eastern Trail Alliance and Eastern Trail Management District as well as town officials joined a much-awaited ground breaking ceremony Monday for the Close the Gap project of the Eastern Trail. Three weeks ago, construction began on the 1.6-mile section between Wainwright Athletic Complex and the Nonesuch River crossing, a $7 million project more than two decades in the making. Once completed, the trail will allow 16 miles of uninterrupted, off-road passage between downtown Saco and Bug Light Park in South Portland. Ryan Sommer, president of the ETMD, said, “It transforms how we move, how we connect and how we experience Maine’s natural beauty.”