The most comprehensive online source of conservation news and events in Maine and beyond, edited by Jym St. Pierre
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 12, 2025
Heart of Biddeford’s annual Fringe Fest is coming to downtown Biddeford this Friday, kicking off River Jam weekend. Taking place on Washington Street, Fringe Fest is a vibrant celebration of experimental, original performances and exhibitions, elevating those on the edges of the Biddeford community.
TIMES RECORD • August 12, 2025
An abandoned boat that sat in the Sasanoa River since February was finally removed last month through the efforts of Arrowsic and several businesses. The wreck of the Hook, Line and Sinker was removed from the northern shore near the Max L. Wilder Memorial Bridge in Arrowsic on Monday, July 31, with crews patching holes in the boat before hauling it off for deconstruction. The towing cost the town approximately $8,175, with Bath Iron Works, Reed and Reed, Inc., and two anonymous donors helping the town with the cost of removal. “The owner of the boat has no resources for us to go after.”
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 12, 2025
Movies like “Jaws” — the 1975 hit starring a villainous (fictional) great white — have fueled a perception that fishermen are at risk while they work with bloody bait and submerge their arms into the water to haul traps and buoys. But experts say fishermen — and swimmers — are largely safe from the apex predators off the Maine coast. Fishermen here seem mostly fascinated by the creatures.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 8, 2025
There’s no such thing as a bad view in Acadia National Park. With more than 120 miles of hiking trails and 26 mountains to summit within the park, there are countless places to soak in the sights of Mount Desert Island, the Atlantic Ocean and the surrounding Maine coast. And you don’t even have to go in summer to get the best views. In fact, sometimes the bare trees in winter give way to spectacular sights you may otherwise have missed.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 11, 2025
Jim Campbell is the $2,000 winner of the 2025 Fort Kent International Muskie Derby. His fish was 42 ⅝ inches and 21.05 pounds. Emma Castonguay won $500 in the youth category, catching a muskie 42 ⅝ inches and 18.12 pounds. The St. John River was once renowned nationwide for its native brook trout fishery, with fish reaching five pounds. In 1980, Quebec stocked muskie in Lac-Frontière at the headwaters of the Northwest Branch without installing barriers or notifying Maine agencies. Muskie quickly spread throughout the system. The invasive predators devastated the brook trout population.
MAINE PUBLIC • August 11, 2025
Maine fishermen and scientists are collaborating on a new tool to help study a warmer water fish species and assess its potential as a future commercial fishery in the rapidly warming Gulf of Maine. Anecdotally, Maine fishermen say they've seen more and more black sea bass in their traps and nets for at least a decade. But "we don't have any real data that is showing us that," says Ben Martens, executive director of the Maine Coast Fishermen's Association. This summer, that's starting to change, because the association and the science nonprofit Manomet have teamed up with local fishermen to launch a new app. Martens says, all they're asking of fishermen is: "if they see a black sea bass, to take a picture of it." That way scientists and managers can find out more about what's actually happening with black sea bass in the Gulf of Maine — and whether it could be an emerging commercial fishery.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 11, 2025
This summer, 16 University of New England students took their classroom knowledge of policy, marine science, mapping and farming into Southern Maine communities through the UNE Sustainability Fellowship program. Launched last summer with six fellows, the program grew significantly this year, as the university partnered with more local municipalities, nonprofits and businesses to host fellows for 10-week projects, the cost of which is shared between the school and partner organization.
TIMES RECORD • August 11, 2025
We recently took our annual trip to Monhegan Island, a treasured tradition for over 40 years. A blue-sky Maine day enhanced the experience. The calm waters made for a smooth ride to the island with Hardy Boat Tours out of New Harbor. We chatted with three Bowdoin College students during the ride. They were planning to spend the day working on their summer research project on the island, which involves determining the ages of various trees. ~ David Treadwell
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 11, 2025
A second bald eagle has died after a Wednesday fight with a younger eagle in Bar Harbor. The eagle was fighting with another bald eagle when their talons became tangled and came down on Bar Harbor Road, according to Acadia Wildlife Center. The fight happened after the younger eagle, who was about 4 years old, tested his limits when he encroached on a mated pair at Leland Point, possibly in a territorial or mating dispute.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 11, 2025
It’s not just the Maine coastline that draws locals and visitors alike. People can find welcome relief from rising temperatures by exploring the natural beauty of the state’s many coastal and lake islands. The state boasts thousands of them, each one offering a slightly different vibe — from rocky shorelines to sandy beaches, and quiet forests to bustling harbors. Although we can’t cover all of them, we have a list of 22 islands worth visiting in southern and Midcoast Maine.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 11, 2025
In Maine we face a creeping, quiet natural disaster: the ongoing epidemic of Lyme disease and associated tick-borne illnesses. In 2024, Maine reported its highest number of Lyme cases to date, and the trend shows no sign of slowing in 2025. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 476,000 Americans are diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease annually. Yet, calls for comprehensive prevention and education too often go unanswered or receive only half-hearted attention. We must invest in prevention, infrastructure, robust scientific research and public awareness. We must ensure that every Mainer knows how to protect themselves and their family from Lyme and associated diseases — and that our public health system is ready to respond with urgency and compassion. ~ Barb and Bob Maurais
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 11, 2025
On July 26, 2016, I sent a letter objecting to the tree harvest at Jamie’s Pond Wildlife Management Area. After, I met with the commissioner for Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. He told me the logging operation would proceed. There was not the political will or public interest to stop it. It wasn’t an important issue. I was assured I did not understand forestry principles. After the logging, large swaths of the forest were left bare. These filled in with small, dense beech trees that are now dying. The logging operation left the forest in perfect condition for beech leaf disease. Given our current political climate, especially federally—without regard to the future, denial of climate change, decrease in funding for research and environmental protections—what will be next? ~ Scott Schiff-Slater, Hallowell
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 10, 2025
Where the Saco River drifts into the Saco Bay sits Camp Ellis, a shoreside neighborhood with a rich history as a working waterfront. As both the memory of its robust fishing culture grows more distant and the shoreline itself is threatened by erosion, a festival on the pier Sunday showed the lively persistence of the community and its commitment to preserving Camp Ellis.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 10, 2025
Game wardens pulled the bodies of two anglers out of Grand Falls Flowage in Baileyville. On Friday, a volunteer found the body of Charlotte Evans, 67, of Cibolo, Texas, approximately 100 yards from shore. On Saturday, warden divers found the body of Douglass Bass, 67, of Agawam, Massachusetts. Neither of the victims were wearing life jackets. The deaths are not considered suspicious.
CENTRAL MAINE • August 10, 2025
June Roullard and Joe Baltar donated a 56-acre lot, now named the Eaton Mountain Conservation Area, to the Kennebec Land Trust in March. An official dedication of Roullard’s 74 Kimball Pond Road property and optional guided hike will kick off the Land Trust’s annual celebration Monday. Members of the public are welcome; the Kennebec Land Trust’s 8,191 acres are preserved not just for wildlife habitat but for public access. Two other properties will also be a part of the two-day celebration: a 56-acre lot along Parker Pond in Mount Vernon and a 56-acre conservation easement in South Gardiner. Another soon-to-be donated property, an 86-acre farm on Sturtevant Hill Road in Readfield, will host an event at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • August 10, 2025
I was delighted to read the Aug. 3 article on the work that is being done on the Pine Ridge Trail system after the damage caused by the installation of the solar farm. I was disappointed, though, that the Kennebec Messalonskee Trails group was barely mentioned. John Gardner, maintenance director for our group, contributed greatly to the Recreational Trails Program grant that helped fund this effort, and that same group are often the people removing trees after storms, fixing washouts and redirecting existing trails. ~ Barbara Bowling, Kennebec Messalonskee Trails Organization, Oakland
MAINE MONITOR • August 9, 2025
A University of Maine initiative exploring ways to bring renewable energy to Indigenous and rural communities was gaining momentum this spring when the Trump administration abruptly cancelled its $1 million federal grant. The Environmental Protection Agency award is one of dozens of federal grants to Maine research institutions that have been cancelled or paused as the Trump administration cracks down on what it sees as wasteful spending. This includes cuts targeting environmental justice initiatives and climate change research. The UMaine project, which was in its second year of a Science to Achieve Results award, had pulled together more than 100 people from the Wabanaki Nations and rural communities throughout Maine to discuss local renewable energy goals and pathways to reach them.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 9, 2025
All snakes, most lizards and some politicians shed their skins. Actually, all humans shed their skin, including the political subspecies. In fact, we shed about 30,000-40,000 skin cells per minute, totaling over eight pounds per year. Our skin completely renews itself every 28 days. Replacing our outer covering is straightforward and routine for humans. However, this isn’t the case for birds. Replacing feathers is complicated, varying widely by species and sex. Some bird species molt in summer before migrating, so they’ll have brand-new feathers for the long journey. Others molt after migration, so they can spend the winter foraging with fresh plumage. ~ Bob Duchesne
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 9, 2025
Each day brings another outrageous executive order, false accusation or blatant lie from Donald Trump. A newly minted outrage involves Trump’s EPA chief, Lee Zeldin, who is attempting to rewrite science by discrediting the fact that carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. As though Trump’s efforts to halt offshore wind farms, open up federal lands to fracking and expand natural gas exports were not contributing enough to the climate crisis. We, in Maine, can do our part by urging our representatives in Congress to block Trump’s anti-environment agenda; switching to renewable technologies, particularly electric vehicles and heat pumps; altering our lifestyles to reduce energy consumption; and never giving up hope. ~ Joe Hardy, Wells
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 8, 2025
Massive data centers needed for generative artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT require enormous amounts of electricity, putting new strain on power grids. While that’s driving up the cost of electricity in some parts of the country, regulators say Maine has yet to feel that pressure.
