Not feeling the sting: In Jackman, Canadian tourists and trucks still rolling through

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 22, 2025

About 312,000 fewer travelers crossed the border into Maine from June through August compared to the same months in 2024, data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows. That represents a drop of about 29%. This year’s drop in traffic has coincided with President Donald Trump’s tariff policy and threats to make Canada the United States’ 51st state. At the Jackman port of entry, from June through August, about 57,000 fewer travelers crossed there than in 2024, a decrease of about 33%. In town, however, many people said they have not felt any significant impact from the dip in traffic. 

Building a museum brought former Bucksport mill workers back together

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 22, 2025

When Bucksport’s paper mill shut down almost 11 years ago, it didn’t just take hundreds of jobs and more than 40 percent of the tax base with it; the closure also left a void in the life of the town and the workers that spent decades making paper. Now, a new museum has opened in its former gatehouse to honor those workers and suppliers. The yearslong process bringing it to life has reunited some of them for a new purpose with a sense of community they missed.

Coast Guard will not remove buoys from northeastern waters

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 21, 2025

The U.S. Coast Guard will not remove over 300 navigational aids from northeastern waters, the military branch announced Monday night. The Coast Guard District Northeast announced in April its plan to modernize its system of navigational aids — many of which were deployed before modern GPS systems became seaworthy. Nearly 150 of the aids that were to be removed are located off Maine’s coast. Maritime stakeholders criticized the plan and over 3,200 comments were submitted. Instead, the northeast branch of the Coast Guard will conduct further analysis of its plan to modernize its system.

Monday’s rain had minimal impact on Maine’s ongoing drought

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 21, 2025

From 4 inches of rain in the Rangeley area to under an inch in the Midcoast and southern regions of the state, the range of precipitation totals across Maine on Monday is having varying impacts on the ongoing drought. Western Maine saw the highest precipitation totals, with 3 inches or more in much of Oxford and Franklin counties. That is enough to put a dent in the drought in that region. However, the low totals on Monday across the rest of the state leave those areas in a “status quo” when it comes to the drought.

Trump Wants To Fire At Least ~300 More National Park Service Staff

NATIONAL PARKS TRAVELER • October 21, 2025

Court documents filed Monday by the Trump administration in a bid to fire more federal employees indicate the National Park Service could lose more than 270 employees, including from the Park Service's Northeast regional office, which oversees Acadia. Overall, the administration wants to fire 2,050 union-represented Interior Department employees. At the National Parks Conservation Association, President and CEO Theresa Pierno said the court filings "offer a glimpse of what’s ahead, with only a small portion of the planned layoffs disclosed so far...[Interior] Secretary [Doug] Burgum’s actions are making it impossible for the Park Service to protect the very places and resources Americans hold dear. Under Secretary Burgum’s watch, the Park Service has already lost more than a quarter of its permanent staff.”

Howland is infested with rats

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 21, 2025

Another Maine town is grappling with a rat invasion. The rat infestation in Howland became an issue beginning in 2023 after a convenience store was torn down. At the time, contractors reported seeing a wave of rats fleeing from the demolished structure. Camden and Trenton in the past year have grappled with containing and reducing the population of rats in their communities. Before that Caribou in Aroostook County and Milford and Old Town in Penobscot County dealt with an abundance of rats.

Future foresters forged in Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 21, 2025

Houlton’s Region Two School of Applied Technology serves students in grades 9-12 from East Grand, Hodgdon, Houlton, Katahdin, and Southern Aroostook. The program offers real-world experience and best management practices to ensure that logging is done safely and sustainably. Students who complete the program are eligible for an apprenticeship through the Certified Logging Program (CLP) and credits through the University of Maine at Fort Kent. The school received a $480,000 John Deere forwarder alongside the two simulators in December 2024, thanks to a Maine Department of Education grant. Houlton’s Region Two School of Applied Technology is just one of several educational institutions that are training the next generation of foresters. The University of Maine has the most extended continuously accredited professional Forestry Program in the United States.

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.