Skyline Farm celebrates 25 years of conservation, carriages and community

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 18, 2025

North Yarmouth residents did not want the beloved pastures and woods of Skyline Farm to turn into the proposed 15 housing lots. The 54-acre parcel near Walnut Hill had belonged to Horace “Ken” Sowles, and his death in 1997 left questions of its future, as his wife intended to sell it. Purchasing Skyline Farm in 1970, Sowles had owned the farm buildings, horses and indoor horse riding arena that was built in 1959, the first of its kind in Maine. So a group of North Yarmouth residents raised the approximately $75,000 needed to purchase the property, with $25,000 approved for the purchase at the annual town meeting, smaller gifts from the community and $30,000 from a wealthy private donor in Virginia who never visited the property but had a passion for horses. In the summer of 2000, the newly formed Skyline Farm nonprofit and the Sowles family agreed to a purchase of the property with a conservation easement by the Royal River Conservation Trust.

Extreme drought grips parts of Maine as lengthy dry spell worsens

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 18, 2025

More than 5% of Maine is now in extreme drought conditions, and 58% of the state is now classified as being in an severe drought, which is one level below extreme. That includes all of southern, central and Down East Maine — including the state’s entire coastline, from Kittery to Eastport.

Maine’s forests, yards and lakes under siege by invasive species

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 18, 2025

“Every invasive species we track comes with its own set of problems, and the list is only getting longer,” said Chad Hammer, invasive plant biologist with Maine’s Natural Areas Program. “Maine has all the ingredients invasives need: wetlands, forests, disturbed soil, and a changing climate. Once something gets introduced, the conditions are right for it to spread.” Climate change, in other words, amplifies the pressures brought with nonnative species by further destabilizing ecosystems, tipping the balance in favor of invasives. Japanese knotweed crowds riverbanks with bamboo-like walls that choke out nearly all native plants. Glossy buckthorn ahas infiltrated wetlands and forests with the help of birds that carry its seeds far from yards. Purple loosestrife has transformed wetlands across the state into monocultures: areas where the invasive establishes itself exclusive to other plants. It isn’t just plants crowding out their neighbors. Insects and diseases like the emerald ash borer and hemlock woolly adelgid contribute to the elimination of tree species as forests change composition over time. 

Towns stick with Orrington trash plant through closure and legal threats

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 17, 2025

Some communities with contracts to the waste-to-energy incinerator in Orrington are unbothered; others are uncertain about when the Orrington plant will reopen and whether they could be drawn into a lawsuit a previous owner has filed against the current one. Despite all that, towns are largely still standing by the facility given contracts they have to send their waste there when it reopens.

High Peaks Alliance secures $234,000 grant to protect the Mosher Hill falls

DAILY BULLDOG • September 17, 2025

The High Peaks Alliance has been awarded a $234,000 grant to accelerate efforts to conserve the 210-acre Mosher Hill Falls in Farmington. This federal funding comes from the US Forest Service’s Community Forest Program and was the only project chosen in the state. This latest funding raises the total amount secured to $470,000, bringing the Alliance within $60,000 of its $530,000 goal. Funds will support the acquisition of the land, development of safe parking and sustainable trails, installation of educational signage, and stewardship programs for visitors of all ages.

Maine companies partner to conserve 257 acres in Biddeford

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 16, 2025

A partnership between Maine Water Co. and Maine Coast Heritage Trust will permanently conserve 257 acres of forest and open space in Biddeford. Located on the southwest side of South Street in Biddeford, the protected area includes a large area of forest and wetlands, including a red maple swamp and a rare oak-hickory forest, both of which provide vital habitat to Maine species. The protected area is also adjacent to Maine Water Co.’s new Saco River Drinking Water Resource Center, which delivers drinking water to Biddeford, Saco, Old Orchard Beach and Pine Point.

New England’s shrimp industry is struggling, with fishermen catching few in 2025

ASSOCIATED PRESS • September 16, 2025

PORTLAND — There’s an effort underway to bring New England shrimp back to seafood customers — but fishermen have found few of the crustaceans, and the fishing industry that harvests them may face an even longer shutdown. Fishermen have been under a moratorium on catching shrimp for more than a decade because of low population levels that scientists have attributed to climate change and warming oceans. The harvesters were allowed to catch a small number of shrimp this past winter as part of an industry-funded sampling and data collection program.

Penobscot Nation to reclaim 1,700 acres in rural Maine as tribe grows land holdings

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 16, 2025

A 1,700-acre parcel of wetlands and forest, striated by former logging roads, was transferred to the Appalachian Mountain Club on Tuesday as part of a larger acquisition. And in short order, the AMC will hand the land back to the Penobscot Nation. It’s a small but nonetheless important step, Loring says, in the slow repatriation of land to the Penobscot Nation.

New England hydropower generation slows amid drought

MAINE PUBLIC • September 15, 2025

Northern New England's hydro dams are struggling to generate power because of drought conditions. Regional Grid operator ISO-New England spokesperson Mary Kate Colapietro said environmental conditions can affect electricity production. "That could be a variety of factors, from things like the weather, if there are say drought conditions that could perhaps impact what generators are making decisions on," Colapietro said. But there might be other reasons dam owners could also be holding back from bidding to sell energy into the grid, Colapietro added.

We’re standing up for Maine’s ‘right to food’ amendment

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 15, 2025

My family is standing up for the right to keep chickens and provide our family healthy protein. We hope that our challenge to our city’s ordinance will ensure that the right to food isn’t chipped away to nothing with heavy-handed rules. We started raising chickens after close friends left for another state and gave us their birds. It turned out to be a life-changing decision. Today, we keep 19 chickens and every day they give us fresh eggs and occasionally we cull a bird for meat. We’re now suing Calais. We love Calais. We didn’t rush to file a lawsuit. For months, we worked with city officials to see whether there might be a variance or exemption that would let us keep our chickens. But the answer was no. We believe the right to food is too important to leave hanging. ~ Kamiwan Oliver, Calais

Opinion: Maine must keep moving forward on clean energy, climate change

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 13, 2025

Just a short two years ago, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) proved that tackling climate change and growing the economy are not mutually exclusive. The law unleashed a clean energy boom nationwide, creating thousands of good-paying union jobs, lowering household energy costs, and giving communities the tools to protect themselves from extreme weather. Now, Congress is working to undo that progress. Lawmakers passed, and President Donald Trump signed, the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill.” More like the “Big Ugly Bill,” instead of lowering costs like clean energy does, this bill drives them up. It’s nothing more than a Republican rate hike on everyday people. This legislation guts the very programs that made the IRA such a success. The result will be higher home energy bills, lost jobs, and weaker competitiveness for Maine businesses, all while handing out tax breaks to billionaires and polluting oil and gas companies. ~ Nicholas Janzen, Maine Conservation Voters, and Francis Eanes, Maine Labor Climate Council

How does Maine’s forest carbon credit market work?

MAINE MONITOR • September 12, 2025

Forest carbon credits are gaining traction in Maine. Yet as the voluntary carbon market picks up, some in the industry are worried about access for small family forest landowners with fewer resources than corporations who manage bigger plots of land. In order to participate in the market where carbon credits are bought and sold, a forest landowner first needs to understand exactly how much carbon their trees are capable of storing. The market hinges on precise carbon sequestration calculations.

Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority settles with federal regulators over PFAS spill

MAINE PUBLIC • September 12, 2025

The Brunswick executive airport will eliminate toxic PFAS chemicals from fire suppression systems under a federal settlement to resolve violations from a massive firefighting foam spill last year. In an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority will file a plan by the end of the year to cleanse or replace fire suppression systems in its aircraft hangers. MRRA Executive Director Dan Stevenson said that all the Aqueous Film Forming Foam previously used to smother fires has been removed from the airport. The foam is laden with PFAS chemicals that have been linked to health effects such as low birth weight and certain cancers. The agency is considering options to eliminate foam remnants in equipment at the former U.S. Navy Base.

Flash drought brings hay shortage for Maine dairy, livestock farmers

MAINE PUBLIC • September 12, 2025

While some parts of Maine saw rain over the weekend, drought conditions are still in effect. They're affecting all types of crops — from apples to potatoes to wild blueberries. But the biggest challenge may be for farmers who grow hay to feed their livestock. Young cows rest in the shade at Milkhouse Farms in Monmouth on Sept. 8, 2025. In typical summer, inland Maine sees between 6 and 12 inches of rain. The coastal areas see about 6-10 inches. This year, all regions, with exception to some of Aroostook County, saw less than half of normal rainfall. Average temperatures were about two degrees higher too, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. These combined factors put Maine in what experts call a flash drought.

Bacteria found at Willard Beach is confirmed to come from humans

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 15, 2025

The South Portland Water Resource Protection department determined that the source of the bacteria enterococcus at Willard Beach is human, not canine. This finding, shared in a presentation before the City Council, indicates that the water quality issues at Willard Beach are likely the result of sewage leaking into stormwater rather than dog waste, according to Tracy Krueger, with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

Baxter State Park seeks public’s help after Katahdin summit sign is vandalized

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 11, 2025

Baxter State Park is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the individual or individuals who carved initials into the sign at the summit of Mount Katahdin. Park officials reported the “act of vandalism” in a social media post Thursday. The letters “H.M.” and “J.M” were carved into the middle of the Baxter Peak sign on Katahdin, which marks the 5,268-foot summit of Baxter Peak and the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. According to photos posted by summiters in a Baxter State Park Facebook group, the initials were carved into the sign on or before Aug. 28.

These Maine birds will tell you when winter is near

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 11, 2025

Migrations are now tracked with powerful tools at our fingertips: The BirdCast Migration Dashboard uses radar to show in real time how many birds are flying overhead at night. eBird bar charts give a detailed record of when specific species usually depart, drawn from thousands of Maine birders submitting their sightings. The Motus Wildlife Tracking Network, supported locally by Maine Audubon, adds another layer — following individual radio-tagged birds across the continent. And the Bird Migration Explorer connects the dots between Maine birds and their wintering grounds in Central and South America. Together, these resources give us a clearer picture of when our birds come and go. Yet even with all the data, bird migration remains deeply personal. Perhaps the secret is to notice both ends of the migration journey — the joy of first arrivals and the bittersweet silence of final departures. ~ Bob Duchesne

Letter: Canadians aren’t coming to Maine because they’re angry

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 11, 2025

You want to know why Canadians aren’t visiting Maine anymore? We’re done pretending that what’s happening south of our border is just politics. That we can separate “friendly neighbors” from the hostile rhetorWe’re not interested in being recruited, absorbed, or “saved.” We’re proud of our country.ic coming out of your leadership. When your president brags about taking over Canada by sabotaging our economy, that’s not just tough talk — it’s economic aggression. And then came the letter. A smug, condescending invitation from one of your own state senators, Joseph Martin, R-Rumford. He mocked our bilingualism, dismissed our parliamentary democracy, and treated our national identity like a failed experiment. We’re angry. We’re insulted. And we’re staying home. ~ Nicola Stefaniuk, Toronto, Ontario

Calais family sues city over chicken coop restrictions

MAINE PUBLIC • September 10, 2025

Paul and Kamiwan Oliver live with their three kids in a single-story home on about a quarter acre of land in the city of Calais. The family has a flock of 19 hens they raise for eggs and meat. The chickens live in a coop on the side of the house made out of a repurposed shed. Kamiwan said it's the family's "attempt to have a small amount of responsibility" in sourcing their own food. But in June of 2024, Calais passed an ordinance on domestic livestock that restricts what chicken coops are built out of, where they're positioned and the number of chickens a household can own. The Olivers say it's effectively a ban on backyard chickens. They filed a lawsuit in Washington County this week that alleges the ordinance violates the "Right to Food" amendment of the Maine Constitution that was ratified in 2021.

New landowners couldn’t cut public access to Belfast’s waterfront walkway

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 10, 2025

For more than a week, rumors have been circulating among Belfast residents that a major waterfront business, Front Street Shipyard, could be sold. The possibility of new owners taking over it and other nearby properties has renewed longstanding questions about the public’s right to access the shoreline in the midcoast city. Could any new owners of those private properties revoke the public’s access to the waterfront Belfast walking path? They likely could not, according to public records and a longtime former local official. That’s because the city has worked to secure permanent agreements guaranteeing the public’s ability to walk along designated sections of those private properties.