2025 Measures of Growth Report

MAINE DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION • November 19, 2025

Each year, the Maine Development Foundation works with the nonpartisan Maine Economic Growth Council to develop the Measures of Growth Report. The indicators included collectively support the idea that Maine’s quality of life depends upon a vibrant and sustainable economy, thriving communities, and a healthy environment. The indicators for the environment:
• In 2024, there were 27 moderately unhealthy days, 12 fewer than in 2023.
• In 2024, Maine maintained its excellent water quality rating.
• In 2023, the ten-year growth-to-removal ratio rose 3% to 1.55 and remained above the sustainability goal.
• From 2020 to 2021, greenhouse gas emissions rose 1.4%.

Maine electric prices to hit highest level in three years

MAINE PUBLIC • November 19, 2025

Mainers' power bills will go up again in 2026 after the Maine Public Utilities Commission approves new annual contracts to supply electricity to the state's investor-owned transmission and distribution utilities. Commissioners said increasing costs were linked to rising prices of natural gas across the country. About half of the power used in New England is generated by power plants that burn natural gas. The PUC said electric rates for Central Maine Power Customers and Versant's Bangor Hydro District customers would go up about $11 a month, or $132 a year. Versant's Maine Public District in far northern Aroostook County will see bills go up $16 a month, almost $200 a year.

Electricity rates for some Mainers will rise in January

MAINE PUBLIC • November 19, 2025

Some Mainers will see higher electric bills starting Jan. 1, 2026, when a new standard-offer rate takes effect. State regulators on Wednesday approved the new standard-offer supply rates for residential and business customers in Versant Power’s Maine Public District, which covers much of Aroostook County, and Central Maine Power. In northern Maine, the average monthly bill for residential and small-business customers using about 550 kilowatt hours a month will go up $16, while users in central and southern Maine will see a monthly hike of about $11.

Ten million rare and endangered New England seeds banked

MAINE PUBLIC • November 19, 2025

The New England-based Native Plant Trust has reached a milestone in an effort to bank 10 million seeds. The trust is the oldest plant conservation organization in the country, and focuses specifically on rare and endangered plant species that are native to New England. It also works on education, teaching homeowners to grow native plants in their lawns and gardens. Tim Johnson, the organization's CEO, said that seed banks aren't just a scientific endeavor - they're an insurance policy for the future. "Biodiversity, that variation in species and subspecies, that's what gives our ecosystems their functionality," he said. "It's what protects them from disturbances and when bad things happen, it's what allows them to bounce back."

Ice has started forming on northern Maine rivers

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 19, 2025

It’s a week away from Thanksgiving, and Maine’s brief fall is quickly giving way to wintery conditions. The state saw its first significant snowfall of the year last weekend, with up to 10 inches of snow falling in some towns in Aroostook County, and more than a half a foot of accumulation across much of the region. Temperatures overnight have consistently dropped below freezing, and ice formation has started in some water bodies.

Letter: America is fighting a losing battle on renewable energy

SUN JOURNAL • November 19, 2025

In 2024, energy from renewable sources became cheaper than oil, gas and even coal. President Trump’s backwardness in this area has conceded U.S. defeat in this critical energy transition. He is in service to the old oil, coal and gas businesses and their investors who paid his corrupt demand for $1 billion in campaign funds. They now own him, and no one in government is fighting for the right of U.S. citizens to have clean, cheap energy from renewable energy sources. As always with Trump, when he announces his facts, one never can tell whether he is deliberately lying or if his aging mind is simply spouting information he learned in the 1980s. His pronouncement that wind energy is the most expensive energy in the world is factually wrong. ~ Judy McGeorge, Ellsworth

Settlement would bring fish passage to Auburn’s upper Barker Mill Dam

SUN JOURNAL • November 18, 2025

A proposed settlement for the upper Barker Mill Dam project would aid fish migration and recreation along the Little Androscoggin River, officials said this week. The proposal, which requires fish-passage upgrades and other measures, is under federal review, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The upgrades are designed to help migratory fish navigate riverways by reconnecting upstream and downstream habitat for spawning and rearing. Improved passages on Maine’s rivers in the past have helped species such as Atlantic salmon and American eel while supporting the overall river health and ecosystem.

Biddeford halts UNE pier permitting process

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 18, 2025

Biddeford City Council voted unanimously on Nov. 6 to halt the permitting process for the proposed University of New England pier and consult the Maine Attorney General’s office. The council passed a resolution to “withhold further permitting or authorization” related to the project, which has received backlash from community members over the past year. At the heart of the debate is the location of the proposed pier, which would be located in the Saco River adjacent to the Arthur P. Girard Marine Science Center on the UNE campus. The pier would be 80 feet long, and according to residents, would displace dozens of boats moored in the river.

Regulators dismiss CMP’s controversial 5-year rate increase

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 18, 2025

Regulators dismissed Central Maine Power Co.’s proposal to increase rates over a 5-year period Tuesday and are calling on the utility to file a new plan early next year. Rates will still likely go up, but the structure and timeline of CMP’s controversial plan to fund millions worth of infrastructure improvements and new hires could change significantly.

Women’s walking group takes to trails together

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 18, 2025

On a recent Saturday morning, nine women gathered at Blue Point Preserve for the land trust’s women’s walking group. The Scarborough Land Trust has been hosting these gatherings for the past couple of years, encouraging women to explore the preserves together. Diane Neal, a board member and leader of this month’s walk, said that many women are intimidated to walk alone on the trails. “Scarborough seems safe,” said Christine Labaree, president of the Scarborough Land Trust’s board. “It’s less about it feeling unsafe and more about encouraging women to get out and use the trails.” The trails can be difficult to navigate, especially during fall when fallen leaves obscure the paths.

Help Wanted: Maine Conservation Voters & Maine Conservation Alliance Political Director

MAINE CONSERVATION VOTERS • November 18, 2025

Looking to hire: A Political Director to design and drive winning political and electoral strategies that expand our influence and advance our policy goals at a pivotal moment for Maine's environmental future. 

Does hunting deer in Maine actually save you money?

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 18, 2025

A processed deer often works out to roughly $3 per pound of meat — far less than grocery store beef. [Not counting the cost of equipment, time, travel, etc.] For most hunters, whether it saves money is of little consequence. Hunting is what we love to do because it’s in our blood, and any money saved or lost is secondary.

One year in, how is ‘microtransit’ faring in Falmouth?

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 17, 2025

Greater Portland Metro launched Metro Connect in Falmouth at the start of December 2024, piloting its first microtransit program. To use the on-demand shuttle service, riders can summon the Metro Connect vehicle to their location through the Greater Portland Metro website, an app, or by calling Greater Portland Metro. Riders can then select where they are dropped off within the service area, which has expanded to reach most of Falmouth since the service’s launch. The overall ridership of Metro Connect in Falmouth has been moderate. Circling Falmouth seven days a week, the van picks up an average one rider per hour. Mike Tremblay, director of transit development at Greater Portland Metro, said the transportation company is shooting for the vans to hit two rides per hour by the end of this year.

EPA moves to limit scope of clean water law to reduce amount of wetlands it covers

ASSOCIATED PRESS • November 17, 2025

The Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday it is redefining the scope of the nation’s bedrock clean water law to limit the wetlands it covers, building on a Supreme Court decision two years ago that removed federal protections for significant areas. The new rule will help accelerate economic prosperity, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said. Zeldin is a former Republican congressman who has pushed to rollback dozens of environmental regulations. Environmentalists slammed the proposal as a giveaway to industry..

75 gallons of heating oil spills into Kenduskeag Stream in downtown Bangor

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 17, 2025

Roughly 75 gallons of heating oil spilled into the Kenduskeag Stream in downtown Bangor on Monday morning, according to a Maine Department of Environmental Protection employee. Oil slicks were visible on the stream and the smell of the spilled oil was noticeable Monday as crews worked to clean the spill. An oil company was delivering fuel to a building between Franklin and Central streets around 5 a.m., Monday, said Bob Shannon, Maine DEP oil and hazardous materials responder. The truck driver hit a concrete abutment and damaged the oil release, causing the oil to spill into the Kenduskeag Stream. a small amount of oil can affect a large amount of water, and oil spills have cumulative effects on the environment, said Dwayne Shaw, executive director of the Downeast Salmon Federation.

Bridgton-area land trust screens select shorts from World Trails Film Festival

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 17, 2025

“Trails weave through our lives in many ways, from spiritual pathways to recreational or everyday transit. They are political, transformational, and connect us to nature, reveal history, fight climate change, bring healing, and bridge communities.” This is the mission statement of the World Trails Film Festival, as read by Loon Echo Land Trust Executive Director Matt Markot to the 140 people who gathered at the Magic Lantern Theater in Bridgton Nov. 13 to watch a selection of nine short films centered around the role of natural trails as a phenomenon connecting people around the world. The screening was a collaboration between Loon Echo and two other land trusts: the Greater Lovell Land Trust, and the Upper Saco Valley Land Trust.

Maine man cultivates hundreds of small, flat fruit trees

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 16, 2025

When Claus Hamann goes out to his Orland orchard, he always brings his clippers. That’s because he has a lot of pruning to do: his fruit trees are kept short and trained to grow flat along cables. Hamann, a retired physician, started the first of his three orchard plots after inheriting some old apple trees upon moving in a decade ago. Now he has around 250 two-dimensional trees, including apples, pears, peaches, quince and elderberry. Called “espalier,” the ancient method he uses to train them lets him grow numerous varieties of fruit close together in a small space, keeps them easy to maintain, makes harvesting simple and is ergonomic to work with as he ages.

Column: New trail offers longer hike in Cobscook Bay neighborhood

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 15, 2025

Great South Bay Trails is part of Cobscook Shores, a network of 20 waterfront parklands in the far Downeast region owned and managed by Butler Parklands. The private non-profit conservation organization was founded by Gilbert Butler, who has close ties to Maine dating back many decades. Butler Parklands’ work spans the Western Hemisphere from Maine, New York and South Carolina to Chile, Argentina and Uruguay. On a beautiful afternoon a while back, I join Matt Ells of Parklands for Butler Parklands for a pleasant 3/4-mile walk to the shore of South Bay. Ells is eager to showcase the preserve, a union of three properties, and their new trail, a roughly 4-mile lollipop loop that was built in response to the public’s desire for longer hikes in the Cobscook Bay neighborhood. ~ Carey Kish

Mystery Fuels Unease in Maine Woods: Who Bought Burnt Jacket Mountain?

NEW YORK TIMES • November 15, 2025

In the wilderness of northern Maine, a long tradition of allowing public access, even on privately owned lands, has shaped the region’s culture and identity since the 1800s. So when “No Trespassing” signs showed up around Burnt Jacket Mountain, at the edge of Moosehead Lake, this summer, it did not go unnoticed. Neither did the new surveillance cameras and locked gates in the woods, nor the crews cutting a new road up the mountain. In the Moosehead region, the anonymous incursion stoked unease, and a fixation: Who was the mountain’s new owner? A woman who used to work in Greenville’s town office posted on Facebook: The new owner of the mountain was Mark Zuckerberg, the billionaire founder of Facebook. “Mark and Priscilla do not own any property in Maine, including the Burnt Jacket property,” a spokesman for the family said. The denial would not convince everyone. Nor did it ease hurt feelings as the mystery endured.