Riding the rivers of history

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 21, 2025

A former log driver and man of many talents has found his niche on the shores of two lakes in the Millinocket region. Ambajejus and Chesuncook lakes both share the waters of the West Branch of the Penobscot River, which once served as a transportation corridor to move wood from the northern forests to Maine saw mills. Chuck Harris worked supporting the log drive in the last years of its existence. That era ended in 1971. But he remained an outdoorsman, working for the Woods Department of Great Northern Paper (GNP).  “I stayed on the water to clean up the booms,” he said. That experience eventually blossomed into a quest to preserve the history of Maine log drivers. “The log drivers were cowboys from the World War II era and they couldn’t tell their stories, so hopefully the museums do,” said Harris as he gave a tour of the Chesuncook Museum where he is in the process of sharing that history.

Northeast (NE) Professional Logger Program

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 21, 2025

The purpose of the the Professional Logging Contractors of the Northeast (PLC) is to educate and promote logging as a profession to the public, and to serve our members as they provide professional logging services to landowners and the forest products industry. Logging contractors join the PLC because they recognize value in the work we do on their behalf — advocacy, promotion, and support. Safety and risk management have always been a focus of the PLC to ensure its members remain profitable by reducing losses.

PLC of the Northeast holds 30th Anniversary annual meeting

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 21, 2025

The Professional Logging Contractors of the Northeast 30th Anniversary Annual Meeting raised a record $165,386 for Log A Load For Kids. Awards were presented to businesses and individuals from across Maine and Vermont for their contributions to the logging industry. This was the second annual meeting of the PLC since its expansion in 2023 from a Maine organization to a regional one serving loggers and forest truckers across the Northeast.

Column: Horseshoe crabs play an important role in human vaccines

TIMES RECORD • October 21, 2025

I am fascinated by the science behind vaccines. Horseshoe crabs are essentially prehistoric creatures that are somehow still surviving in today’s marine environment. Perhaps their survival is part of why they are helpful in getting us through the oncoming winter. One of the components of their blood is used in vaccines we rely upon to keep us healthy. Horseshoe crab blood has a unique ability to form a clot around harmful bacteria and isolate it so that it doesn’t cause an infection. The process of harvesting the blood of horseshoe crabs is not simple. The industry is regulated so as not to overfish the resource. In spring, horseshoe crabs come up onto beaches to mate and lay their eggs. If you see this, you’ll have a new appreciation for how special these creatures are and how they may help make you a little healthier. ~ Susan Olcott

Scarborough gets a new bus route

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 21, 2025

The Greater Portland Metro is expanding into Scarborough. The new route will provide service centered along the Route 1 corridor seven days a week, reducing traffic congestion and expanding transportation options in southern Maine, officials said. As Scarborough’s population continues to grow, residents have expressed concerns about an influx of traffic and congestion. The town of Scarborough recently completed a town-wide transportation study. Town Manager Tom Hall said, “Expanded public transportation is a critical component of our vision for Scarborough’s traffic and transportation goals.”

Endangered right whale numbers up slightly

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 21, 2025

The number of North Atlantic right whales increased slightly last year, continuing a four-year trend of slow growth that indicates the critically endangered species is heading in the right direction. The estimated population increased from 376 in 2023 to 384 in 2024, based on a yearly update announced Tuesday by the scientists, regulators, and shipping and fishing representatives who make up the consortium. The slight increase leaves consortium chair Heather Pettis, who runs the right whale research program at New England Aquarium, cautiously optimistic even though the right whale remains the most endangered whale species on the planet.

Waldoboro eel operation for sale as part of bankruptcy reorganization

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 21, 2025

American Unagi, the Waldoboro company that grows baby eels to size and supports a lucrative fishery in Maine, is for sale. The company will remain in operation as it’s reorganized and sold over the next six weeks, according to documents filed in federal bankruptcy court. The sale is expected to close by Dec. 5. Founder and CEO Sara Rademaker declined to answer questions about what challenges the company faces. American Unagi has secured a half-million dollar loan to fund operations during the reorganization.

Maine hunter sets new state record with female black bear

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 21, 2025

A Howland hunter has set a new Maine state record for the largest female black bear ever harvested. On Sept. 16, Zach LaFreniere tagged a massive sow while hunting in Corinth with a .35 Whelen rifle. The bear had a dressed weight of 358 pounds and an estimated live weight of 429.6 pounds.

Bigfoot enthusiasts talk legends and close encounters at festival in Eustis

CENTRAL MAINE • October 20, 2025

The allure of the legendary Bigfoot drew hundreds of people from across the state and beyond to Maine’s Bigfoot Festival on Saturday in Eustis. Most attendees dressed in attire that announced their belief in the elusive creature, filling the sidewalks, vendor booths and businesses of the small north Franklin County town. Throughout the day, speakers from the Maine Bigfoot Foundation and the International Cryptozoology Museum shared their knowledge during workshops at the Eustis Community Center. Maine Bigfoot Foundation co-founder Mike Vachon said a team of investigators recently logged three Bigfoot encounters at a site on Long Falls Dam Road in the Lexington area.

Penobscot River Restoration: A Look at History, Dams and Ownership, Oct 30

MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • October 20, 2025

Panel discussion on the Penobscot River Restoration: A Look at History, Dams and Ownership. The final event of a three-part speaker series called Conservation, Climate Change and Community. At Patagonia, Freeport, October 30, 6:30-8 pm. Sponsored by Appalachian Mountain Club Maine Chapter.

Save Our Signs releases its database of signs from national parks. Let’s hope we don’t need it.

MAINE MORNING STAR • October 20, 2025

Save Our Signs is a nationwide effort to document and preserve the signs at sites operated by the National Park Service, activism against the Trump administration’s censorship, which both looms and grows. After the Trump administration threatened to scrub language on signs at national historic sites, the organizers of Save Our Signs nudged a phalanx of photographers to submit images. Consider the federal employees who spent days and weeks of their professional lives creating these historical displays. You’ll find even more patriotism if you join me in appreciating the folks who created the Save Our Signs website. The dedication that they show to free speech and their opposition to censorship hold up the First Amendment. Add to that their commitment to telling America’s full story, an honest effort pointing our nation in a virtuous direction, rather than the Trump administration’s threats to tamp down historical truths. Staring in the face of all that patriotism — the federal employees, the amateur photographers, the website creators — is the grim possibility that these signs might begin to disappear. ~ Eric Thomas teaches visual journalism

Mechanic Falls man pedals state in support of resurrected Pine Tree Trail

SUN JOURNAL • October 20, 2025

The Pine Tree Trail, originally designed for vehicles, has been resurrected by a grassroots group hoping to persuade people on motorcycles and electric and peddle bicycles to explore and traverse much of what Maine has to offer. The trail was originally designed in the mid-1930s after the Great Depression. Maine felt it would help to promote tourism. Soon after, war broke out and the trail lost traction. Signs faded and fell, and the route was all but forgotten. Then, in 2012, Nathan Nipula found an old sign. Nipula and his fiancé, Robbie McKay, eventually started looking into the origins and began contacting former and current state officials. Eventually, the secretary of state at the time, Matt Dunlap, got things moving. Since then, there have been signs erected and a robust Facebook page has been established. Communities along the route have jumped on board and begun promoting what they all hope will help local economies by bringing more than cars along the route.

Rabid raccoon found in Deer Isle

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 20, 2025

A rabid raccoon has been found in Deer Isle. The Hancock County town announced over the weekend that there also have been several other unconfirmed cases in raccoons. It described those reports as “widespread.” Deer Isle urged residents to exercise caution and ensure their pets are vaccinated against the virus and registered. Residents also should keep their trash covered to avoid attracting the attention of any infected wildlife.

A Visit to Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument

THE WILDLIFE NEWS • October 20, 2025

In 1992, I joined with forest activists to establish RESTORE the North Woods. One of our first efforts was advocating the creation of Maine Woods National Park. Though I had visited Maine numerous times, I had not had seen the new National Monument since it opened. This fall, I finally had a chance to visit. In northern Maine, over 10 million acres are almost completely uninhabited. Creating a large public holding is easier here than in other areas because there are no towns to displace. In the late 1990s, a chance meeting between Jym St Pierre and Roxanne Quimby — then the owner of the Burt’s Bees company — led to a plan to acquire lands for a national park unit in Maine. There was initial opposition, but Roxanne, along with her son Lucas St. Clair, acquired 87,500 acres east of Baxter State Park from willing sellers. In 2016, she donated her land. President Barack Obama accepted it, and Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument was born. Given initial vocal opposition, it is encouraging that the state is now promoting the park. It as a work in progress. Over time, the forests will acquire old-growth characteristics. We can witness restoration happening right before our eyes. RESTORE hopes additional purchases or donations of land over time could eventually lead to a much larger national park unit in the Maine Woods.

What will it take to end Maine’s drought before winter?

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 20, 2025

Maine will need at least a foot of rain before the ground freezes to alleviate the monthslong drought that has been drying out all corners of the state. If that amount of rain doesn’t arrive soon, drought conditions will likely linger into the spring. Once soils freeze, precipitation can no longer effectively recharge aquifers, and drought conditions would persist until the snow melts in the spring. That could create problems for people whose wells are running low — or have already dried up — because precipitation that would normally replenish groundwater won’t soak in. So far this year, 410 dry wells have been reported across Maine. That’s more than the past four years combined.

Opinion: The eastern coyote is not a newcomer to Maine

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 20, 2025

The eastern coyote is often described as a newcomer. Yes and no. Some 60 million years ago, the order Carnivora first appeared in North America. Some diverged into doglike animals. Eventually, members of the dog family crossed the Bering land bridge to colonize Eurasia, Europe, and Africa. The gray wolf was such a species, spreading across the world, and then returning to North America. The coyote, on the other hand, never left North America. About 20,000 years ago, human hunters and their domesticated dogs arrived in North America. In the 15th century, domestic dogs were again introduced here, accompanied by Europeans. These breeds largely replaced those of the Native Americans. About 100 years ago, coyotes from Western North America entered the Great Lakes area and meet a decimated wolf population desperate for mates. Within a few decades, feral dogs were introduced into the mix. Today, we recognize the eastern coyote as having a genetic makeup of roughly 60% coyote, 30% wolf and 10% domestic dog. Coyotes have recently filled niches in the East once occupied by gray wolves and mountain lions. But they are not newcomers. They are native sons and daughters. ~ Sharman Apt Russell

Opinion: Falmouth is facing a real watershed moment

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 20, 2025

We are facing a watershed moment, literally and figuratively, in Falmouth and Greater Portland. After the Falmouth Town Council passed an ordinance to limit pesticide and fertilizer use, the ordinance faced pushback; a referendum to repeal it will be on the ballot in Falmouth this fall. It’s important for our communities, our pets and our waterways to keep the pesticide and fertilizer restrictions in place. I am a veterinarian and marine biologist who has studied water quality and its impacts on living things. I know that what we put in our yards makes its way to our pets, our waterways, our coastlines and ultimately our bodies and our children’s bodies. Although Rachel Carson and her writings faced pushback and controversy, her call to action prevailed and the banning of DDT is why we hear birdsong today. It’s not easy, but we can adapt. ~ Susan Hayhurst, MS, DVM, Falmouth

On Eastern Egg Rock, puffins get the last laugh

MAINE MONITOR • October 19, 2025

Crew members from the Audubon Seabird Institute worked to cull laughing gulls this spring and summer, part of an effort to protect breeding puffins and terns. This fight against the laughing gulls was the latest conservation challenge faced by Project Puffin, now officially the Audubon Seabird Institute. The project’s 1983 island report happily marked the discovery of three laughing gull nests after a 69-year absence, saying they “usually nest compatibly with terns and seldom elicit aggression.” Four decades later, aggression is a problem. The laughing gull population last year surged to a record 2,457 breeding pairs. The gulls are known for stealing food from other birds, eyeing  puffins with beak-loads of juicy hake, sand lance or haddock for chicks, and watching terns hover with glistening herring dangling down from their bills.

Maine electricity supply cost may rise in addition to rate increase sought by CMP

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 19, 2025

Most Maine homes receive their electricity supply through the state-run standard offer program. They’re likely to see an estimated 15% jump in rates in January. The supply rate hike would be separate from a controversial request by Central Maine Power to increase its distribution rates to upgrade its aging network of wires, poles and substations. That proposal has been met with strong opposition. Maine’s expected supply cost increase is tied largely to wholesale natural gas prices that are on track to keep rising in 2026. Prices are up in part because the United States is projected to double the volume of liquefied natural gas shipped overseas by 2030. LNG exports are part of President Donald Trump’s goal of unleashing a “Golden Era of American Energy Dominance.” But higher natural gas prices are bad for energy consumers in New England because half the region’s power is generated by plants that burn natural gas. The cost of gas in turn sets the marginal price for what other forms of generation are paid.

Brookfield withdraws application for lower Kennebec dams

CENTRAL MAINE • October 18, 2025

Brookfield White Pine Hydro, the owner of four dams on the lower Kennebec River, withdrew state-level applications for new water quality permits Thursday, saying new restrictions imposed by Maine regulators were too burdensome and complicated their pending sale to The Nature Conservancy. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection issued a draft approval of the permits earlier this month, but required extensive fish passage and water quality improvements to Brookfield Renewable Energy’s plans to upgrade the four dams between Skowhegan and Waterville. Brookfield said in a letter to the department Thursday those conditions were too restrictive. Environmental groups, meanwhile, said they found the restrictions didn’t go far enough and encouraged the state to deny the permits, instead of approving with extensive conditions.