The Ecology School in Saco launches statewide program to bring learning outside

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 23, 2025

The Outdoor School for All Maine Students program launched last week at The Ecology School in Saco, hosting seventh-grade students from Sanford Middle School for a three-day outdoor learning program. Drew Dumsch, president and CEO of The Ecology School, said the school’s goal is to provide outdoor learning to 14,000 students a year. “Our goal is that every kid in Maine gets to come to an outdoor school program,” Dumsch said. Outdoor School for All Maine Students is an initiative that allows Maine schools to send their students to overnight programs at outdoor schools across Maine.

Large data center could come to Wiscasset

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 23, 2025

Wiscasset officials are considering whether to allow the construction of a large data center near a shuttered nuclear energy plant. A site assessor approached the town about the possibility of building a center on town-owned property next to the former Maine Yankee Atomic Energy Plant, but the idea is in “its earliest stages,” the town said Tuesday. The town has not named the assessor or the company behind the potential development.

4 Kennebec River dams to be sold to Nature Conservancy

CENTRAL MAINE • September 23, 2025

The Nature Conservancy has announced plans to buy four Kennebec River dams from Brookfield Renewable Energy in a move that could reshape the ecology and economy of one of the state’s largest watersheds. The environmental group and international energy heavyweight announced Tuesday they signed sale agreement Sept. 15, totaling $168 million. The Nature Conservancy has already raised $138 million for the sale and plans to collect the remaining funds to close the sale within the next 10 to 12 months. The Nature Conservancy plans to form a nonprofit, the Kennebec River Restoration Trust, to administer the dams and oversee their decommissioning and removal over the next several years, in partnership with local leaders. TNC plans to restore the Kennebec River to its pre-dam state.

Trump Cancels Trail, Bike-Lane Grants Deemed ‘Hostile’ to Cars

BLOOMBERG • September 22, 2025

The Trump administration canceled grants for street safety measures, pedestrian trails and bike lanes in communities around the country this month, each time offering a simple rationale for yanking back federal aid: the projects aren’t designed for cars. President Donald Trump has made no secret of his quest to undo the policies of Joe Biden, including rescinding funding for projects involving electric vehicle charging and clean energy. But the wave of cancellations issued Sept. 9 by the DOT demonstrates just how determined the administration is to promote the use of single-occupancy vehicles in cities and towns – and to thwart local governments’ attempts to develop other ways for residents to get around.

UMF continues to help grow Maine outdoor recreation economy and workforce

RANGELEY HIGHLANDER • September 23, 2025

The University of Maine at Farmington, in partnership with Maine Outdoor Brands, is inviting members of the public to an afternoon of free outdoor recreation career information and networking opportunities. The UMF “Ascend to Your Career Summit” events will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 1, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., in The Landing in the UMF Olsen Student Center. Students and members of the public will be able to speak directly with representatives of Maine’s four-season outdoor recreation employers.

Before loss of federal incentives, Maine regulators greenlight new hydro, solar energy projects

MAINE MORNING STAR • September 23, 2025

Amid federal efforts to scale-back clean energy incentives, utility regulators in Maine approved five new renewable energy projects. Details about the projects, including the name of the bidder, will be announced in the coming weeks after contracts are finalized, the commission said.

Letter: Maine’s farmers’ markets should put farmers first

CENTRAL MAINE • September 23, 2025

I recently applied to participate in the Brunswick winter farmers market. To my surprise, I was denied entry — not because my farm products failed to meet any quality standards, but because decisions were made based on personal popularity rather than agricultural contribution. A bakery was selected over a working farm, and it became clear that farmers were not being prioritized at a farmers market. If we want to preserve family farms, protect farmland and ensure the next generation has access to real, local food, we need to make sure farmers markets put farmers first. Otherwise, we risk turning them into little more than weekend social clubs, while those of us in the fields and barns continue to struggle unseen. ~ Amie Flesh, Brickhouse Farm, Buckfield

Maine guide cleans up tires dumped in river for fish habitat

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 23, 2025

Brandon Bichrest, a Maine guide with a passion for conservation, has spent the past few months pulling tires out of the Androscoggin River — tires that were dumped decades ago in the misguided belief they’d help create fish habitat. He’s already removed more than 200, but estimates over 10,000 remain. This isn’t just a cosmetic issue — it’s an environmental crisis hiding in plain sight. Brandon has taken the first step, but he can’t solve it alone. The scale of the problem is far bigger than one person can handle. So the question is — what more can be done?

'Dependent on Mother Nature': Drought dries up wells across Maine

WGME-TV13 • September 22, 2025

Tuesday marks the start of fall, but it was a very dry summer. According to the National Weather Service, 2025 was the sixth driest summer on record in Maine history. The severe drought conditions are drying up wells statewide. The Maine Emergency Management Agency created a dry well dashboard for people to report dry wells in the state. Their data shows there are 236 dry wells in Maine. The vast majority of them are in Oxford County.

UNE maps loss of Maine beach dunes from 2024 winter storms

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 22, 2025

Southern Maine lost more than a quarter of its coastal sand dunes in the historic 2024 winter storms that caused an estimated $70 million in damage from record-setting high water levels, according to a new study from the University of New England. Less than half of the dunes at four beaches in Biddeford, Kennebunkport and Saco had come back at the end of last year’s seasonal growth cycle, when dunes are at their highest, according to research published Monday in Geomorphica, an earth sciences-based science journal.

Crooked River property owner to pay Norway for code violations at Airbnb cabin

SUN JOURNAL • September 22, 2025

Norway Selectmen voted Thursday to accept a consent agreement negotiated between attorneys for the town and a property owner cited last May for six code violations at 33 Old Pulp Mill Road. Attorney Sam Hamilton presented the agreement to Norway’s Select Board on behalf of his client, Jonathan Shilalis, who owns the property on the Crooked River he rents out through Airbnb. The consent agreement calls for Shilalis to undo much of the excavation and luxury additions he installed on the property in violation of Resource Protection setbacks. Those include improper removal of vegetation and trees from the riverbank and adding luxuries,

Crooked River property owner to pay Norway for code violations at Airbnb cabin

SUN JOURNAL • September 22, 2025

Selectmen voted Thursday to accept a consent agreement negotiated between attorneys for the town and a property owner cited last May for six code violations at 33 Old Pulp Mill Road. Jonathan Shilalis owns the property on the Crooked River he rents out through Airbnb. The consent agreement calls for Shilalis to undo much of the excavation and luxury additions he installed on the property in violation of Resource Protection setbacks. The Crooked River is a major tributary of Sebago Lake, which provides the drinking water for the greater Portland area in southern Maine. The river section that travels through Norway is also considered to be critical spawning grounds for wild salmon and brook trout. The 33 Old Pulp Mill parcel has been intermittently listed for sale for more than a year. It currently appears on real estate sales platforms as being on the market for the last six months, at the price of $1,000,000.

Rumford Community Forest celebrated as ‘symbol of Rumford’s resurgence’

SUN JOURNAL • September 22, 2025

Close to a hundred people gathered Saturday to inaugurate the 446-acre Rumford Community Forest at 161 Isthmus Road, celebrating years of effort to protect forested lands and provide a recreation area available to people of all abilities. “After decades of doubt over the future of mill towns, like this area, it’s only fitting that we’re here today to celebrate another symbol of Rumford’s resurgence,” Gov. Janet Mills said. “Developing this particular parcel of land would have threatened local water supplies and wildlife habitat, while worsening future flooding events in Rumford and Mexico. Instead, using funding from the state of Maine’s Land for Maine’s Future and the U.S. Forest Service Community Forest, the town of Rumford has been able to complete this conservation project and create the Rumford Community Forest in less than a year,” she said.

Leader of Gray’s Resiliency Committee outlines watershed management plan

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 22, 2025

Sandy Carder, chair of Gray’s Resiliency Committee, discussed the town’s watershed management plan, developed in conjunction with several town- and county-level water protection associations. Carder said that after the state government came out with its Maine Won’t Wait climate action plan in 2020, Gray went through the process of joining the state Community Resilience Partnership. This allowed the town to apply for a $49,960 grant from the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future in 2024. Carder said the process of becoming a Community Resilience Partner included surveys and outreach, and that one of the priorities that kept coming up the most was water quality, leading to the Resiliency Committee coming up with the idea of the watershed management plan to address.

Late-night earthquake shakes Maine town

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 22, 2025

An earthquake rattled Limington on Sunday night. The magnitude 1.9 temblor shook the ground at a depth of 6.6 miles just about 4.3 miles southeast of the York County town about 9:18 p.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Since 1997, there have been more than 150 recorded earthquakes in the state.

Crispy blueberries, flash drought: Maine farmers seek support with extreme growing conditions

MAINE MORNING STAR • September 22, 2025

Although farmers and growers have historically been able to rely on even rainfall throughout the growing season in Maine, the agricultural community has been forced to deal with more moisture extremes. The 2020 growing season marked the driest in state history, while the wettest growing season on record came just three years later. Coping with these conditions has become a challenge for farms whose income hinges on precipitation levels and could even have larger economic effects as wild blueberries alone contribute more than $350 million annually to the state economy. Many farmers don’t have the money or expertise to plan and install irrigation infrastructure on their land, so they are hoping state support can fill those gaps.

7 Maine foliage treks with an antique twist

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 22, 2025

Don’t just take a foliage drive this year. Take a vintage adventure. Maine has brilliant and breathtaking foliage most years. But the state’s small towns are also filled with antique shops and vintage stores, where you can spend blissful hours browsing all sorts of historic gems or charming clutter. Happily, just like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, it’s easy to combine two great things into one. Here are suggestions for seven foliage/antique destinations around the state. 

Column: Cheaper ways to see Bar Harbor, one of the priciest U.S. travel spots

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 22, 2025

 A couple flying into Maine and staying three nights at a hotel in Bar Harbor, eating meals out and having a few beers, would ending up spending $2,294 over their visit, according to personal finance website GoBankingRates, which in June ranked the Mount Desert Island town No. 4 on its list of America’s Most Expensive Tourist Destinations. But for Mainers living in driving distance, maybe even close enough for a day trip, visiting Bar Harbor doesn’t have to break the bank, especially with the help of some insider tips that will keep costs down without sacrificing any fun. ~ Leslie Bridgers

Soaring taxes threaten longtime residents of Maine’s Unorganized Territory

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 22, 2025

A recent surge in taxes on long-held generational lands and camps in the state’s unorganized territory threaten Mainers’ ability to hold on to cherished properties. Some of the hardest hit residents have been those in vacation destinations such as along Moosehead Lake and near resort areas such as Sugarloaf ski mountain. For some landowners in these real estate hot spots, their property valuations have recently doubled or tripled.