What happens in Maine during a government shutdown, from Acadia to the VA

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 30, 2025

The federal government is once again on the verge of a government shutdown with President Trump and Senate Democrats at odds on a spending plan ahead of a Wednesday deadline. The state stands to face consequences under a shutdown. Maine has more than 12,000 federal workers who would be affected. Workers deemed essential will continue their jobs without pay. Trump’s budget chief, Russ Vought, instructed federal agencies to prepare for mass firings during a shutdown to drastically cut the size of the government. It is not clear what the Trump administration will do with national parks. A group of former national park superintendents has urged that national parks be closed if the federal government does shut down arguing that continued public access amid park employees getting furloughed or laid off could put property and visitors at risk of harm. Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument Superintendent Neal Labrie said the Trump administration has not yet provided more instructions on what may happen there.

Column: The mystery of ruby-throated hummingbirds’ migration

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 29, 2025

The more I learn about ruby-throated hummingbirds, the less I understand. For instance, there are more than 325 hummingbird species in the New World. A couple dozen visit the western United States, and half of them nest there. But the ruby-throat is the only hummingbird to nest east of the Great Plains, and I don’t know why. Perhaps one reason no other hummingbird lives in the east is because none can accomplish the ruby-throat’s migratory route. To reach its wintering grounds in Central America, it flies across the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean, making the 500-mile jump in a single flight lasting 20 hours. That requires a lot of stored energy, and tiny hummingbirds have little room for storage. ~ Bob Duchesne

Bethel man carried on 11 generations of logging legacy in Maine

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 29, 2025

Bob Chadbourne, who died Sept. 17 at age 84, continued a family tradition of logging that stretched back 11 generations, helping shape the woods and economy of western Maine. The Chadbourne family’s roots in the lumber business trace to 1634, when William Chadbourne arrived from Devonshire, England, on a King’s grant to harvest masts for the Royal Navy. He built what is believed to be the first sawmill in America in South Berwick. In the 1930s, Bob’s father, Philip Henry Chadbourne, established a logging operation in Bethel. After his father’s death in 1986, Bob bought out his siblings and took over the sawmill and timberland management. He emphasized sustainable forestry practices. Chadbourne’s wife, Nancy, and daughter Nancy Stearns and her family continue the family legacy, now managing 4,000 acres in the Bethel area.

Andover residents challenge ‘eyesore’ solar expansion

BETHEL CITIZEN • September 29, 2025

An effort by Andover residents seeking a rewrite of the solar moratorium ordinance has gained momentum in recent weeks. Select Board member Justin Thacker, who attended two recent meetings, said residents at the Sept. 16 meeting complained that the solar farms are an “eyesore” and clash with the natural beauty of Andover and its surrounding mountains. He said there are two solar farms in operation, with two more “in the pipeline.” At the annual town meeting in June, voters approved a 180-day moratorium on utility-scale solar projects. Following the initial 180-day moratorium, the board has the authority to extend it for another 180 days, which would carry it through to the next annual town meeting in June 2026.

Here’s the latest on the Kennebec River dams sale announced last week

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 29, 2025

A week after The Nature Conservancy announced it plans to purchase and remove four Kennebec River dams owned by Brookfield Renewable Energy, initial fears about flooding, immediate layoffs, recreation and environmental harm have subsided. But questions remain about the impacts of one of the largest river restoration efforts in the country. The Nature Conservancy — which hopes to remove the four dams to restore sea-run fish passage— has repeatedly expressed its commitment to finding a solution that keeps the Sappi’s Somerset paper mill open. The conservation organization also has a stake in the forestry products industry, being one of the state’s largest forest landowners and using paper manufactured at the mill to print 3 million copies of its magazine each year. And it’s unlikely that the dams being removed would have a serious impact on floods. The dams are run-of-river dams that use the natural flow of the river to generate electricity.

In Sipayik, the Passamaquoddy are finding resilience in a half-acre of clams

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • September 28, 2025

For almost 1,000 pounds of invasive European green crabs each week, Erik Francis’ traps are the end of the line. He pulls one from the water. Armed with one beefy “crusher” claw and one finer “cutter” claw, the crustaceans are notoriously aggressive and insatiable predators. Francis is the steward of the Sipayik Community Clam Garden, an industrious mariculture project that sits yards offshore of his home community, the Passamaquoddy Reservation at Pleasant Point (Sipayik), population 600. Over 1 million soft-shell clams are growing there under Francis’ diligent watch. He is learning to foster them to size so the clams can feed his Indigenous community — and not the expatriate crustaceans that see his garden as a buffet.

Maine’s longer, hotter summers are reshaping our natural world

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • September 28, 2025

The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram spoke to two dozen experts this summer about the ways increasing heat is affecting Maine’s environment, ranging from the short-term impacts of heat waves on bats and birds to the long-term effects of warming lakes, forests and oceans. A state and federal research team that has spent two years documenting the Narraguagus River’s temperature and flow to explore how close, how big and how cold these spots must be for salmon to survive. The state’s iconic spruce and fir populations are declining and heat-tolerant hickories and oaks are taking their place. The rising heat is taking a direct toll on moose, endangered bats, rare turtles and various species of birds that fall from their nests or are hit by cars when roused from dormancy too early. Maine scientists believe that people can help the environment adapt to the changing climate.

Opinion: Maine is choking its future. It’s time to loosen the grip

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • September 28, 2025

Maine’s regulations are some of the tightest in the nation. Look at zoning, which jacks up housing costs, or environmental rules that, while well-meaning, make it near impossible to build anything new. When our renewable energy mandates drive up electricity bills and slow down development, we’re shooting ourselves in the foot. We’re stuck leaning on lumber and seafood — great industries, but we’ve lost more than we’ve gained over the years. Why? Because it’s too damn hard to innovate here. Other states are building tech hubs and industrial parks while we’re tangled in permits and debates over lot sizes. We need to streamline permitting, cut back on zoning rules, offer tax breaks for small businesses. ~ Theo Daikh, Portland

9 hikes with the best fall foliage views in Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 27, 2025

The black flies and mosquitoes are gone, along with summer vacationers. The air is crisp and fresh; and leaves are turning magnificent hues of red, orange, gold and yellow. Autumn is the perfect time to hike in Maine. So, wrap yourself in hunter’s orange (just to be safe). Pack some extra layers of clothing and a thermos of hot cider. And check out some of these particularly beautiful trails this fall. ~ Aislinn Sarnacki
• Tumbledown Mountain, Weld
• Walden-Parke Preserve, Bangor
• Blue Hill Mountain, Blue Hill
• Ferry Beach State Park, Saco
• Schoodic Mountain, near Sullivan
• Sanders Hill, Rome
• Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park, Freeport
• Green Lake Nature Trails, Ellsworth
• Precipice Trail, Acadia National Park

2 tons of wood pellets fall on man at Strong manufacturing plant

SUN JOURNAL • September 26, 2025

A man was injured late Thursday night when about two tons of wood fuel pellets fell on him at Lignetics of Maine at 30 Norton Hill Road in Strong. He was taken by ambulance to a Farmington hospital. The Lignetics plant can produce 93,000 tons of wood fuel pellets a year,

Fayette taking action against invasive plant threat

LIVERMORE FALLS ADVERTISER • September 26, 2025

Local officials have been working with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and the 30 Mile River Watershed Association to prevent invasive swollen bladderwort from spreading from Tilton Pond to other lakes and ponds in the region. Swollen bladderwort (Utricularia inflata) forms dense floating mats, crowds out native species and has been spreading in Maine’s lakes and ponds.

Acadia National Park removes educational signs about climate change, Indigenous history

MAINE PUBLIC • September 25, 2025

Educational signs at Maine's Acadia National Park containing information on climate change, ecology and Native American history have been removed. The information had asked hikers to help protect the fragile ecosystem by staying on trails and not picking berries, detailed how rising seas and intense storms due to climate change impact the park, and encouraged visitors to help avoid emissions by using the park's Island Explorer bus. Others explained the cultural and spiritual significance of Cadillac Mountain for the Wabanaki people. When reached for comment, Interior Department Deputy Press Secretary Aubrie Spady called the removed signage "brainless fear-mongering rhetoric used to steal taxpayer dollars."

Column: Purchase of Kennebec dams is worth celebrating

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 25, 2025

News that The Nature Conservancy will purchase four Kennebec River dams to restore free-flowing water and Atlantic salmon habitat is certainly historic. Whether it merits celebration depends on variables not yet known. The $168 million deal with the dams’ owner, Brookfield Renewable, announced Tuesday, is complex and, due to myriad federal regulations on decommissioning and numerous concerns about how dam removal will actually proceed, will not be consummated for years. It’s a breathtaking prospect, to be sure. Even with doubts and question marks, the initiative is worth at least two cheers. It represents hope for a better future, something in extremely short supply just now. And it’s part of a great Maine tradition to live off the land, but to live with it as well. ~ Douglas Rooks

Letter: Maine’s leaders need to put people ahead of polluters

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 25, 2025

Here in Maine, our most common climate disasters will be heavy rain, stormwater and coastal flooding, and increased electricity and fuel costs for heating and cooling. Families are also facing higher insurance premiums, soaring food costs and mounting health bills. Meanwhile, the fossil fuel companies driving this crisis are raking in record profits — without paying a dime toward the damage they have caused. It doesn’t have to be this way. The Polluters Pay Climate Fund Act in Congress would require Big Oil to contribute just a small share of profits to a federal fund. That climate fund would help rebuild communities after disasters, protect frontline neighborhoods and invest in resilience so we’re better prepared for the next storm, flood or fire. ~ Kate Jackson, Portland

Governor's office launches Maine's new Department of Energy Resources

MAINE PUBLIC • September 24, 2025

Wednesday marks the official creation of Maine's new Department of Energy Resources. Maine joins over 40 other states across the nation with a department specifically dedicated to energy planning and sourcing. The new cabinet-level department will be a permanent continuation of the work done by the Governor's Energy Office. Current office director Dan Burgess will lead the department as Acting Commissioner. Supporters of the move say this new authority will help the state move faster to pursue clean, cost-effective energy sources.

5 takeaways on the Kennebec River dam sale

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 24, 2025

While the Nature Conservancy and Brookfield Renewable Energy agreed to a sale earlier this month, it’s not expected to be finalized for 10 to 12 months. The Nature Conservancy still needs to raise about $30 million to fund the purchase price, transaction fees and the establishment of a new nonprofit, the Kennebec River Restoration Trust, to administer the decommissioning and removal of the four dams. The Nature Conservancy is buying the four dams to decommission and remove them, with the aim of restoring those sea-running fish populations. The Nature Conservancy said it was “100% committed to developing a solution with Sappi that fully addresses the Somerset Mill’s long-term water system needs,” and that any dam removal scenario would protect the mill’s future. A day after The Nature Conservancy’s announcement, much remains unclear about the sale and its wide-reaching impacts.

This midcoast preserve is a fantastic fall foliage hike

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 23, 2025

The forest at the Richard S. Hodson Preserve and Rheault Trail in Camden is filled with red oaks, bigtooth aspens and sugar maples. But what makes it a truly great foliage spot is the trail that travels through blueberry barrens to the top of Howe Hill. Blueberry plants turn bright red in the fall. And the hilltop offers open views of nearby Bald and Hatchet mountains, as well as Camden Hills State Park. The property is owned and managed by Coastal Mountains Land Trust.

Who’s responsible for maintaining the road to Tumbledown Mountain?

SUN JOURNAL • September 23, 2025

Questions still linger over who is going to maintain Byron Road in Township 6 north of Weld, which is the gateway to Tumbledown Mountain, a popular hiking area in Franklin County. The road, which local officials say features a large and expanding hole, is in the unorganized territory but responsibility to fix it has fallen to Franklin County. However, the county does not have a single taxpayer living on the road, so commissioners have asked the Bureau of Parks and Lands to help maintain it.

Historic sale of dams clears the way for salmon to return to the Kennebec River

MAINE MONITOR • September 23, 2025

The Nature Conservancy on Tuesday announced a landmark investment worth $168 million to purchase and oversee Brookfield Renewable’s four hydroelectric dams on the lower Kennebec River, paving the way for their eventual removal. The sale all but guarantees unfettered access for endangered Atlantic salmon and other seagoing fish from the Gulf of Maine to their historic spawning grounds upstream on the Sandy River for the first time since the Kennebec River was permanently dammed more than a century ago. The four dams are located in and between Waterville and Skowhegan and are the last impediments between the mouth of the Kennebec River and its confluence with the Sandy River near Norridgewock. 

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.