New book details how Maine’s North Woods was protected

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 14, 2025

During the 20th century, a dozen or so corporations and family businesses owned roughly 12 million acres of northern Maine. It was a vast industrial woodlot. Then private owners began selling off their land. From 1990 to 2015 four million acres were entered into some kind of conservation. “Loving the North Woods” introduces the issues, participants and processes behind this transformation, then describes seven conservation agreements that protected some two and a quarter million acres. But the account, told entirely from the point of view of protection groups, glosses over limitations to what was actually achieved. The biggest issue is that the majority of these lands are protected by conservation easements rather than fee ownership. The easements prevent development. But they allow landowners to continue logging. And most of the big agreements involved payments of millions of dollars. A new paradigm may be emerging. In 2016 President Obama created the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. ~ John Alden

Opinion: On Wabanaki priorities, the Maine Legislature gets an incomplete grade

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 14, 2025

The first legislative session of the 132nd Legislature has wrapped up, leaving the Wabanaki Alliance with mixed results and uncertainty. We successfully defeated two legislative proposals that would have been detrimental to Wabanaki Nations’ interests. However, many of our proactive legislative efforts, aimed at advancing self-determination and economic opportunity, are still in various stages of progression. If we were to grade this session, “incomplete” would be the most accurate assessment. Many of our initiatives are still in limbo. ~ Osihkiyol Crofton-Macdonald and Maulian Bryant, Wabanki Alliance

Developer proposes 200 units of condos near downtown Belfast

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 13, 2025

A proposed condo development in Belfast would be one of the largest new housing projects in the region. It would bring 200 condominium units in duplex and quadplex buildings, according to information presented to the Planning Board on Wednesday. The developer, Benjamin Hooper, aims to build on 35 acres off Priscilla Lane, with additional access from Elementary Avenue. The site is located at the end of the lane and borders the Route 1 bypass, about a mile south of downtown.

Portland Land Bank Commission backs bid for North Deering land once eyed for condos

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 13, 2025

A large piece of land near the Presumpscot River Preserve has sat empty for years. Save for a couple of trails, the parcel is green and untouched. Members of the Portland Land Bank Commission are hoping it will stay that way. On Wednesday, the commission unanimously recommended spending up to $400,000 to help the nonprofit Trust for Public Land make an offer on the 13.3-acre parcel off Hope Avenue. The land is being auctioned after a plan to build 54 housing units fell through.

Acadia National Park sets all-time record for monthly visits

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 13, 2025

Though fewer international visitors are coming to Maine and the numbers of cruise ship passengers in Bar Harbor have dropped off sharply this summer, Acadia National Park had its busiest month ever in July. The reason, according to tourism industry officials, could be the dry weather Maine had last month. While visitation to the park has been historically high since the COVID pandemic, the record traffic through Acadia National Park comes at a time when economic and cultural factors such as threats of tariffs from the Trump administration and resulting soured relationships with traditional American allies have created economic uncertainty and slowed traffic across the border from Canada. The total estimated number of visits to the park in July was 797,000.

Wildfires are burning across Maine as dry spell adds to increasing danger

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 13, 2025

Amid a run of dry weather, the fire danger has grown across much of Maine as crews battle several wildfires, including a 30-acre blaze near the Canadian border and a stubborn underground fire in a wooded area of Biddeford. Fire officials are warning people to be extra careful because the dangerous conditions are unlikely to improve in the short term. There is no significant rainfall expected in the next week, and more than 35% of the state is considered to be abnormally dry. There have been 508 wildfires in Maine this year as of Wednesday, burning about 393 acres.

Rescue crews save man after fall at Screw Auger Falls

SUN JOURNAL • August 13, 2025

Maine game wardens and first responders from multiple agencies rescued a man who was seriously injured when he fell from a ledge in the area of Screw Auger Falls in Grafton Township Wednesday afternoon. Brexton Getchell, 21, of Unity, fell 25-30 feet and landed in the water, sustaining serious injuries.

Next Sustainable Brunswick lecture discusses the fight to save brook trout

TIMES RECORD • August 13, 2025

Join speakers from the Merrymeeting Bay Chapter of Trout Unlimited as they present “Pollution, Practices, Policy and Fighting to Save Brunswick’s Brook Trout” as part of the Sustainable Brunswick lecture series from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Curtis Memorial Library, 23 Pleasant St.

A fox in Waterville tested positive for rabies. Here’s how to stay safe.

CENTRAL MAINE • August 13, 2025

Officials are reminding people to take precautions around animals after a recent confirmed case of rabies in Waterville. On Tuesday, a letter from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said a gray fox in the city recently tested positive for the viral disease. The fox was found at the Quarry Road Trails, a year-round recreational area. State officials also warned in recent weeks that bats, a common carrier of rabies, are most active in Maine from the middle of the summer through early September. So far this year, 21 animals in Maine tested positive for rabies in 12 counties. Fourteen raccoons, three foxes, three skunks and one bat account for the cases. In the last 20 years, Maine has had anywhere from 28 to 127 rabies cases a year.

Maine farmers, lawmakers share PFAS lessons as Massachusetts eyes stricter regulations

MAINE PUBLIC • August 13, 2025

A group of Massachusetts lawmakers traveled to Maine on Tuesday to learn about the state's efforts to address PFAS pollution and to discuss possible regional collaboration on regulating the "forever chemicals." Maine has passed some of the most aggressive laws in the nation regulating PFAS ever since the industrial chemicals began showing up in tests of farm fields, wells and public drinking water systems across the state. As concern grows about contamination in Massachusetts, state lawmakers said Tuesday that they are looking to Maine for guidance when crafting their own regulations on the use of human sludge, or "biosolids," as fertilizer and phasing out PFAS in products.

Dixfield board hears plan for $1 billion ‘water battery’ in Oxford County

SUN JOURNAL • August 13, 2025

Representatives from a company developing a $1 billion pumped storage hydropower project in Oxford County met Monday with the Dixfield Select Board. “This is a long process…about four or five years. It’s going to be regulated by FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission),” said Tom Brennan, public affairs director with Western Maine Energy Storage, a company established in May 2024 and operating out of Cianbro Corp.’s Pittsfield headquarters. The project would be the first of its kind in Maine and among the largest in the Northeast, capable of generating about 500 megawatts of on-demand power. The project would use two 100-acre artificial reservoirs to store and release water for electricity generation during peak demand. The developer estimates annual energy output at 1 million megawatt hours; Maine uses a little more than 11 million megawatt hours of electricity a year.

Fires at Sappi’s Skowhegan paper mill blamed on dry, hot weather

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 13, 2025

It is not uncommon for firefighters to be called to Sappi’s Somerset Mill in Skowhegan a few times per year. The paper mill is a massive, industrial facility, with no shortage of combustible material on site. But a stretch of dry, hot weather has led to a recent uptick in fires at the mill on Waterville Road, according to company and fire officials, drawing in emergency resources from around the region to battle each blaze. In a typical year, the Skowhegan Fire Department is called to about three to five fires at the facility, Deputy Chief Ryan Johnston said. This year, the department has responded to nine or ten fires — with six or seven those in June, July and the first half of this month. “I attribute maybe 80% of it to the high heat and the lack of rain.”

People often make wrong climate choices, a study says. One surprise is owning a dog

ASSOCIATED PRESS • August 13, 2025

A study recently published by the National Academy of Sciences found that when asked to rank actions, such as swapping a car that uses gasoline for an electric one, carpooling or reducing food waste, participants weren’t very accurate when assessing how much those actions contributed to climate change. “People over-assign impact to actually pretty low-impact actions such as recycling, and underestimate the actual carbon impact of behaviors much more carbon intensive, like flying or eating meat,” said Madalina Vlasceanu, report co-author. The top three individual actions that help the climate, including avoiding plane flights, choosing not to get a dog and using renewable electricity, were also the three that participants underestimated the most. Dogs have a big climate impact. Dogs are big meat eaters, and meat is a significant contributor to climate change.

Portland chefs put the farmers market on the menu

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 13, 2025

Chefs at the farmers’ market are like kids in a candy store. “This time of year at the market, it’s so exciting, because every week it changes,” Chef Neil Zabriskie of Regards said. “You can’t beat the vegetables we have at the market right now. They’re just insane. It blows me away. I’ve cooked all over this country, and Maine’s produce and farmers — the work they’re doing to bring this to the public every week — it just gets better all the time.”

Letter: Amid budget cuts, we must protect Maine’s refuges and coastlines

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 13, 2025

Maine’s national parks, public lands and coastal programs are under threat. Acadia National Park, a cornerstone of Maine’s identity and economy, has lost essential year-round staff and canceled dozens of seasonal jobs due to federal cuts. That’s not just bad for the land — it’s bad for the communities and businesses that rely on it. Our National Wildlife Refuges — like Maine Coastal Islands and Moosehorn — have seen staffing and habitat restoration efforts slashed. Vital programs to protect puffins, marshlands and forest ecosystems are disappearing. A $9 million habitat restoration project was abruptly canceled. These cuts don’t just endanger wildlife and ecosystems — they put Maine people and livelihoods at risk. Public lands are our heritage, our economy and our responsibility to future generations. I urge our elected officials to fight for full funding of Acadia, protect Maine’s refuges and coastlines and reject the sale or privatization of any public lands. ~ Elizabeth Nitzel, Farmingdale

How to get the most out of hiking Maine’s Monhegan Island

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 13, 2025

Located 10 miles off the coast, Monhegan is a place that’s so picturesque it’s hard to believe it’s real. The island is as magical as Neverland, yet I can assure you that you don’t need fairy dust to reach it. Just a boat. Ferries serve the island daily, launching from Port Clyde, New Harbor and Boothbay Harbor. The crossing takes 70-90 minutes. The island itself is less than 2 miles long and about half a mile wide. The last population count, in 2020, recorded 64 residents. Yet this small community is well-prepared for visitors, offering everything from fine art to Monhegan-themed apparel. Many people visit Monhegan to hike and enjoy nature. In fact, the majority of the island is wilderness, explorable by a network of well-kept trails. Nearly 400 acres are owned by Monhegan Associated Inc., which is one of the first land trusts.

Letter: Without changes to lobstering, right whales face extinction

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 13, 2025

Rep. Jared Golden’s recent column claims that only one right whale death has been traced to Maine lobster gear over the last 30 years. But for decades, the lobster industry avoided sufficiently marking their fishing gear, so connecting their gear to whale deaths was virtually impossible. Since 90 percent of the lobster industry is in Maine and getting entangled in fishing gear is a primary killer of right whales, it stands to reason that Maine fishing gear has contributed to more than one premature death. Golden asserts that “fishermen need more time” before rules are put in place to protect the barely 370 right whales that remain on our planet. The government has considered right whales endangered since the Endangered Species Act passed more than 50 years ago. Right whales needed new regulations protecting them years ago, not a decade from now. ~ Erica Fuller, Conservation Law Foundation

A northern Maine sporting camp is for sale for $1.1M

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 13, 2025

A 6-acre sporting camp near Maine’s 100 Mile Wilderness with numerous cabins is for sale for $1.1 million. Established in 1895, the property, called Buckhorn Camps, sits on more than 6 acres and has 11 buildings on the property. This includes one main cabin, eight cabins of various sizes that the owners rent, an old dining hall called “the hangar,” and a workshop. The compound is on a peninsula of Jo-Mary Island in the North Maine Woods and is located in T4 Indian Purchase Township, an unorganized territory west of Millinocket. The property has 3,300 feet of lake frontage.

Opinion: US loses credibility for rejection of international declaration to protect our ocean

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 13, 2025

In early June, Nice, France, hosted a series of ocean-focused events. The One Ocean Science Congress (OOSC) — a high-level scientific meeting — drew more than 2,150 ocean scientists from 113 countries who addressed the priority of a healthy and sustainable global ocean that shows continuing evidence of decline. Following five days of debate, the UNOC3 delegates issued the Nice Declaration, incorporating recommendations. It was adopted by acclamation and presented to the United Nations General Assembly for formal endorsement. On June 30, the vote was 162 nations in favor, one against, and no abstentions. The one negative vote was cast by the United States. The lone dissenting vote was by a nation that, despite having marine scientists at the forefront of the research, did not send those experts to the international forum where such research was discussed and debated, and recommendations drafted for the UN General Assembly. ~ Malcolm Shick, emeritus professor, UMaine

Maine hunters go to extreme lengths to stop people from stealing their trail cameras

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 12, 2025

Wildlife monitoring technology has made huge strides. Remote cameras can not only record photos and color video, but track the date, time, temperature and even barometric pressure. The increased use of modern game cameras, some of which are quite valuable, also means they are tempting targets for thieves. While such theft is not an epidemic — the Maine Warden Service receives reports of several stolen trail cams each year. After making attempts to conceal a trail camera, the next line of defense is to attach it to a tree or other object using a cable or other mechanism with a lock. Hunters also say placing cameras where they are concealed by branches, while still providing a view of the area, helps keep them out of sight. Those who have experienced theft or vandalism say two cameras are better than one. While one is aimed at the target area, another is positioned to monitor the first.