The most comprehensive online source of conservation news and events in Maine and beyond, edited by Jym St. Pierre
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 15, 2025
Efficiency Maine, an independent and quasi-state agency that plans and implements energy efficiency programs, provides rebates and loans to make some home updates more affordable across all income levels. Federal tax credits for all 19 programs will end Dec. 31, 2025. To learn more about incentives for heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, weatherization and more, go to efficiencymaine.com/at-home.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 15, 2025
A mix of satisfaction and discontent by homeowners matches what installers and policymakers describe. Advancements are one factor, with more recent models generally offering the greatest efficiency. “Today’s heat pumps have no problem with Maine’s cold winters,” said Scott Libby, owner of Royal River Heat Pumps in Freeport. “The newest models provide 100% of their rated capacity at minus-10 degrees Fahrenheit and have guaranteed output at minus-22 degrees.” He advises customers to “set it and forget it” when temperatures drop, instead of turning down the thermostat at night as homeowners have been taught to do. “Weatherize first, then design the system based upon the new heat load of the home.” Rebates, he said, can “effectively cut the payback time in half” for some low-income households. The push for heat pumps appears to be serving both the state’s climate goals and Maine residents’ pocketbooks.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 15, 2025
Maine experts say doing these things will maximize your heat pump’s efficiency.
Keep it clear. Brush snow and ice away after storms or when drifts build up. Outdoor units need about 18 inches of clearance on all side for good airflow.
Check drainage. Condensation lines should be kept clear so winter meltwater and summer condensation can drain away.
Keep your system maintained. Regularly clean or replace air filters. Schedule a professional tuneup once a year to check refrigerant levels and coils.
Use your heat source backups strategically. Homeowners with older oil or propane systems should only use them as backups during extreme cold events to maximize heat pump efficiency.
“Set it and forget it.” Heat pumps work best when the thermostat is set at a steady and comfortable temperature rather than turning the unit down or shutting it off at night and back up in the morning.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 15, 2025
The first point when it comes to identifying birds quickly is this: size matters. The shape of every bird is largely determined by its diet. Probably the biggest secret is that color should always be treated with suspicion. ~ Bob Duchesne
MAINE MONITOR • November 14, 2025
Alexa McGovern has long been interested in seaweed farming, and in 2023 she founded Dirigo Sea Farm, a company that uses Maine kelp to produce bioplastic. Now, as the company identifies its first potential customers for a substitute for the plastic wrapping around dishwasher and laundry detergent pods, McGovern said she’s focused on how seaweed can be an economic driver for communities. She joins a growing group of entrepreneurs and researchers along Maine’s coast who see big potential for bioplastics derived from seaweed.
MAINE PUBLIC • November 14, 2025
Since taking power earlier this year, President Trump has made good on campaign threats to halt American offshore wind projects. His anti-wind agenda has stifled clean energy growth in Maine and the rest of New England where ocean wind is regarded as crucial for meeting long-term electricity demands, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and boosting economic development. Now some in the industry have turned their attention north, to the Canadian province of Nova Scotia where that country's first ocean wind development is gaining speed. Nova Scotia is eyeing the northeast U.S. as a potential customer.
CENTRAL MAINE • November 14, 2025
Now in its 11th year, the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens’ signature winter program includes new soundscapes, 3D-printed critters and a greater focus on education related to this year’s theme: “Nature in Motion.” the gardens are dotted with sculptures of wildlife that live in Maine throughout the year, from crawling caterpillars to flying waterfowl, and signs that explain their place in the state’s landscape. Ostherr, CEO of the botanical gardens, said she expects more than 110,000 attendees this year. The dazzling display is powered by more than 750,000 LED lights, which are about 15 times more efficient than traditional incandescent bulbs. All told, the lights cost about $100 a day to run, with 100% of the power sourced from renewable sources.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 14, 2025
Before he passed away four years ago, George Smith was arguably the state’s foremost champion for hunting and fishing. He served as Executive Director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine for 18 years, and mastered all media as a tireless advocate for traditional outdoor sports. George was also a birder, although he didn’t start out that way. He didn’t even realize he was becoming a birder, until it was almost too late. As he told me later, he’d sit in a tree stand, at eye level with the birds. Once the birds got used to his presence, they would go about their business right under his nose. He’d forget about the deer he was supposedly hunting. ~ Bob Duchesne
THE GUARDIAN • November 14, 2025
Americans should “raise hell” to protect US national parks through the “nightmare” of Donald Trump’s presidency, according to Jonathan Jarvis, who led the NPS from 2009 to 2017. He claimed the agency was now in the hands of a “bunch of ideologues” who would have no issue watching it “go down in flames.” Doug Burgum, the interior secretary, was warned by more than 40 former national park superintendents in September that parks were “in jeopardy” during a shutdown. Over the past month, hundreds of NPS veterans have watched aghast as most of the agency’s workers were furloughed. A fire at Joshua Tree national park burned 72 acres. Yosemite faced a wave of illegal Base jumping. Yellowstone grappled with bear jams. Vandalism included graffiti in Arches national park. Trash accumulated. Now that the shutdown is over, after 42 days, Jarvis said service staff will “bust their butts” to clean up US national parks. But he remains concerned about the lasting impacts. The agency remains without a permanent director, and did not have one for the duration of Trump’s first term.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 14, 2025
A decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to kill tens of thousands of protected forest owls will be the largest-ever raptor killing program. Barred owls, not native to the area, have expanded their range, competing for habitat with their native cousins the Northern and California spotted owl. The two species require healthy and abundant old growth forests to thrive. More aggressive, the barred owl has made inroads, however, they may also inhabit nearby younger forests and are more adaptable to alternative habitats. Does killing tens of thousands of one species of owls in the deep forest ensure the survival of another? Kent Livezey, a former USFWS biologist and author of 14 peer-reviewed papers on barred and spotted owls, said: “I do not believe that spending more than 1 billion dollars to kill almost one-half million barred owls is worth the carnage, expense, precedents and distraction from what is the more important issue: protection of biodiverse old-growth forests.” ~ Gina Garey, Maine state director, Animal Wellness Action
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 14, 2025
Hunters generally are allowed to pursue and shoot game on your property in Maine, whether you granted permission or not. Simply put, hunters, hikers and explorers are typically allowed access to woodlands that aren’t marked with “No Trespassing” or “Access by Permission Only” signs or other markings. “If it isn’t visibly posted, you do not need landowner permission to access it,” Cpl. John MacDonald of the Maine Warden Service said. “It’s different for all-terrain vehicles. You do need permission to ride on the land.” A law in Maine protects landowners from liability in the case that recreational users injure themselves on land the landowner has chosen to allow access on. Those landowners are not required to warn against hazardous conditions, unless failure to guard or warn against those conditions is ruled willful or malicious.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 13, 2025
New England winters are warming. And that warming is happening faster here than in most of the rest of the nation, according to new data from Climate Central. Presque Isle, a small city of 8,700 on Maine’s eastern border with Canada, is at the forefront of that winter warming trend. The average temperature in Presque Isle from December through February is about 6.5 degrees warmer now than it was in 1970. Also monitored were Portland and Bangor, which have temperature increases of 5.5 and 4.1 degrees, respectively. The national average is 3.9 degrees. Our coldest days aren’t as cold and our deep freezes aren’t lasting as long, said Sean Birkel, Maine state climatologist. The state’s climate plan spells out the consequences: strained water supplies, impassable logging roads and a decline in the snowfall that drives the region’s winter tourism. “Winter is starting to lose its cool,” aid Climate Central meteorologist Shel Winkley.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 13, 2025
Hundreds of trails criss-cross the landscape, visiting mountains, hills, waterfalls, peat bogs, meadows and ocean cliffs. I haven’t come close to exploring all of these footpaths, though this autumn, I did hike a few new-to-me trails that I’d recommend you try. First up: Mosquito Mountain in The Forks. Next: Blueberry Mountain just north of Weld. The next peak I explored this fall? Pleasant Mountain in the towns of Bridgton and Denmark. Lastly, I hiked Number 5 Mountain, which is located southwest of Jackman in Number 5 Township. This winter, I’ll try hiking at least four more “new” trails — in addition to returning to some of my old favorites. Any suggestions?
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 12, 2025
Muscongus Bay in the Midcoast area offers some of the most challenging and intriguing sea kayaking on the Maine coast. A significant attraction is a myriad of islands that populate the bay. Located in the west central sector of the bay, remote Thief Island is one of the most interesting and scenic. Campers and visitors are welcome on Thief Island, where there are two authorized Maine Island Trail Association campsites. ~ Ron Chase
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 12, 2025
Though the federal shutdown could soon end, operations at Acadia National Park are expected to continue to wind down for the winter. The U.S. House of Representatives was expected to meet Wednesday to vote on ending the 43-day long shutdown, but winter weather has trumped the potential reopening of Maine’s only national park. The snow on Veterans Day led the park to close Summit Road on Cadillac Mountain, according to the park’s website. Acadia doesn’t require reservations for driving up the summit starting in November, but how late in the season the road remains open depends on conditions. The road may be reopened before the end of the month, if warmer weather melts away the ice and snow, but it is typically closed for the winter each Dec. 1.
SUN JOURNAL • November 12, 2025
A plan for overhauling Simard-Payne Memorial Park is complete, and officials are now faced with funding and implementing the changes in a riverfront area deemed ripe for growth. The final plan shared with city officials last month includes major improvements to the amphitheater and riverfront areas, along with a new all-season pavilion for performances and other events that could also be used as an ice rink in the winter. Other amenities called for include a new playground space with a splash pad and climbing wall, a dog park, expanded use of the “Red Shop” building, canal enhancements and improved pedestrian access and circulation.
BOOTHBAY REGISTER • November 12, 2025
“A Peace of Forest” — the first feature-length wildlife film shot entirely in Maine — returns to Lincoln Theater for a special encore screening on Sunday, Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. The film premiered at Lincoln Theater in June 2024, and now its cinematographers and producers, Lee Ann and Thomas Mark Szelog, are expressing their gratitude for the community’s enthusiastic support by donating 100% of the proceeds from this encore screening to Lincoln Theater’s 150th Birthday celebration. Tickets: $20 adult, $15 LT member, and $5 youth and are available online at Lincolntheater.org.
MAINE PUBLIC • November 12, 2025
A Belfast conservation group has purchased the site of the proposed Nordic Aquafarms salmon farm, according to a press release. Penobscot Bay Waterkeeper, formerly known as Upstream Watch, spearheaded opposition to the project. The group raised $1.5 million this year to fund the purchase, and will conserve the 54-acre property. Nordic Aquafarms dropped its bid to build the on-shore aquaculture facility in January, after several legal challenges.
MAINE MORNING STAR • November 12, 2025
For 35 years, Charles and Linda Gill have run a family farm in Bowdoinham. While initially focused on cut flowers and herbs, they shifted to growing hemp after regulated production was legalized. “We are not in the business of these intoxicating hemp products on the market, which are the ones that are screwing it up for everybody,” Charles Gill said. “They’re abusing the system.” Charles Gill is referring to companies exploiting a loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill that legalized hemp production, which he thinks should be closed, as do many other hemp farmers in Maine. But they say the way the federal government has proposed to do so would would decimate the industry. A provision tucked into the deal to reopen the federal government would drastically lower the allowable threshold for legal THC products. After passing the U.S. Senate on Monday, it awaits the approval of the U.S. House of Representatives. President Donald Trump supports the language.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 12, 2025
A woman shared a video of a bald eagle that her husband had taken with his cell phone while fishing. In the video, a bald eagle flew down to the water’s surface, snatched up a fish, then flew off. “My husband found [a feather from the eagle] and gave it to our son as a present,” she said. I knew that it was illegal to possess a bald eagle feather without a federal permit. It is a federal Class A misdemeanor with a $100,000 fine. The parents left the decision to the boy about what to do with the feather. He decided to turn it over to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Service. I know the boy was sad to turn over the feather, but I noticed that both the dad and the boy seemed to stand a little taller as they walked away, with the father’s hand on his son’s shoulder. ~ Richard Spinney
