What Maine hunters and anglers should know about the ‘Big Brother Bill’

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 26, 2025

A new Senate bill, nicknamed the “Big Brother Bill,” could change how Mainers experience some of the state’s most treasured public lands — and that’s why hunters, anglers, hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts should pay attention. Senate Bill 2967, formally titled the Border Lands Conservation Act, was introduced by Sen. Mike Lee, R‑Utah, on Oct. 2. The bill gives the Department of Homeland Security and federal land management agencies authority to install roads, barriers and surveillance equipment on federal lands that directly share a boundary with the U.S. border. It also allows the use of motor vehicles, aircraft and other tactical means on wilderness lands along the border to enforce border security. Federal lands that physically touch the international boundary could fall under the bill’s provisions. In Maine, that includes portions of Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge that directly abut the line. The American Hunters & Anglers Action Network said the bill would “weaponize” federal lands and allow federal agents to secretly monitor law-abiding hunters and anglers.

Updating Nash Stream Forest management plan will get underway next year

BERLIN (NH) SUN • November 25, 2025

Updating the forest management plan for the 40,000-acre Nash Stream State Forest will get underway next year. Nash Stream Citizens Committee member Jamie Sayen said revising the plan will require looking at the current plan to see what has worked, what has changed, new data, and potential issues that may not have been addressed. “I’m certainly going to make a big pitch that climate change is so much bigger than it was 10 years ago,” Sayen said. The environmental activist said the region is seeing a lot of extreme weather events and precipitation events and needs to pull in outside research. Sayen said there are about 330 new species and the guide, "Good Forestry in the Granite State" is being updated. Sayen said if some on the committee cannot make the time commitment, he recommended other members of the public be brought in to fill out the gaps. He said the state technical team should play a major role in shaping the revision but they should not be writing the plan.

Falmouth Land Trust asks town to pay for half of 42-acre property

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 24, 2025

The Falmouth Land Trust asked the town Monday to contribute $192,000 to help the trust purchase 42 acres of a 77-acre property near Highland Lake called Babbidge Woods. Falmouth last helped the land trust purchase property a decade ago, when it acquired Hurricane Valley Farm. The 42 acres come with $384,000 price tag, with the Falmouth Land Trust proposing to split the cost down the middle with the town. The organization already has raised or been promised $142,000 toward the property purchase from the Casco Bay Estuary Partnership, Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund and other organizations and individual donors.

Trump EPA moves to abandon rule that sets tough standards for deadly soot pollution

ASSOCIATED PRESS • November 24, 2025

The Trump administration is seeking to abandon a rule that sets tough standards for deadly soot pollution, arguing that the Biden administration did not have authority to set the tighter standard on pollution from tailpipes, smokestacks and other industrial sources. The action follows moves by the administration last week to weaken federal rules protecting millions of acres of wetlands and streams and roll back protections for imperiled species and the places they live. In a separate action, the Interior Department proposed new oil drilling off the California and Florida coasts for the first time in decades, advancing a project that critics say could harm coastal communities and ecosystems.

Rangeley to purchase .35-acre property despite environmental concerns

RANGELEY HIGHLANDER • November 25, 2025

The Rangeley Board of Selectmen is moving forward with purchasing a parcel of property that could have a potential environmental issue due to a spill from a turned over oil tank on the property in 2023. The board voted 4-1 Monday after residents Nov. 5 voted in favor, 309-186, of acquiring the .35-acre property at 50 Pleasant St. for $99,500. The property is next to the Town Office and Rangeley Fire Rescue parcel, and abuts the town lot at 3 School St. If the property is not able to be built on, then it could be used as a green space or parking lot.

Colby College buys site of midcoast general store that burned down

MIDCOAST VILLAGER • November 24, 2025

Colby College’s new Center for Resilience and Economic Impact has purchased considerable property and buildings in the center of the village “to help revitalize the community’s historic waterfront and create a home” for its new center. The transaction includes the purchase of the Seaside Inn, The Barn, the Squid Ink building and the site of the beloved Port Clyde General Store, which was destroyed by the fire in September 2023. The acquisition of the historic waterfront properties was made possible by a generous donation to the College from longtime Port Clyde residents Dan and Sheryl Tishman. The sale price for the properties totaled $3,325,000.

Four lives lost in ten days. This Must End Now.

BICYCLE COALITION OF MAINE • November 25, 2025

In the last ten days, four people have been killed while walking in their own communities. A 74-year-old woman in Waterville. An 85-year-old man checking his mail in Durham. A 74-year-old woman jogging in Portland. And a 12-year-old boy getting off his school bus in Rockland. Four lives lost in less than two weeks. Four families forever changed. Four communities mourning. These tragedies are not isolated events. So far in 2025, Maine has seen nearly 30 bicycle and pedestrian fatalities, and more than 400 crashes involving people walking or biking. We are just entering the time of year when these crashes become even more frequent. This is a public health crisis.

Someone has been poaching deer in Down East Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 24, 2025

Several deer have been poached in the Cherryfield area since September. All the deer were killed and left to waste, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. That includes a four-point buck killed in Harrington in September; a six-point buck killed in Deblois in early October; a doe killed in Township 18 MD BPP in October; a fawn button buck in Cherryfield this month; and a large buck, which was shot and left with its antlers cut off, in Deblois this month, the department said Tuesday. “There is no place in Maine for night hunting, exceeding your bag limit, deer baiting, or false registration,” the department said. A $1,000 reward is being offered for any information leading to a conviction in these cases.

Maine’s Climate Action Plan: A Guide

MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • November 25, 2025

Curious about climate solutions in Maine? Check out this easy-to-read, visual guide to Maine Won’t Wait. Perfect for students, educators, and anyone new to climate action, it shows how you can get involved and help build a more resilient Maine. Free educator resources included!

Casco adds improvements to Pleasant Lake Beach

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 24, 2025

Casco is in the midst of adding renovations to Pleasant Lake Beach that will protect the beach and lake from stormwater, as well as increase accessibility for disabled residents. The project dates to 2021, when the Select Board approved the initial plan for Pleasant Lake Beach. The process has gone through nearly two years of review from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

A weather phenomenon is unfolding above the North Pole. What could it mean for Maine?

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 24, 2025

December could bring extra cold weather to Maine thanks to sudden stratospheric warming above the North Pole that could disturb the polar vortex. When the polar vortex is displaced or elongated, it can cause very cold air to spill southward into the United States. Long-range forecasts for this winter predict below-average temperatures across much of the northern parts of the country. Sudden warming in the stratosphere, the second layer in Earth’s atmosphere, is uncommon in November — it happened once in the 1950s — and its occurrence this week could become the earliest instance on record.

Letter: The economics of building housing in Maine

CENTRAL MAINE • November 25, 2025

Zoning reform has become Augusta’s favorite response to Maine’s housing crisis. It’s tidy, inexpensive and gives the comforting appearance of action. But in the places where the shortage is most severe — coastal towns, service-center cities and tourism-driven regions — zoning was never the real barrier. Making it the centerpiece of state housing policy has stalled the one conversation that could actually move the needle: the economics of building housing in Maine. Maine has strong tools for deeply affordable housing, but almost nothing for the middle of the market. Without infrastructure funding, a workforce-housing finance program, predevelopment support or risk-mitigation tools, zoning reform only rearranges possibilities on paper. ~ Audra Caler, Camden

Trump’s nominee for BLM director is a long-time supporter of privatizing public lands

CENTER FOR WESTERN PROORITIES • November 24, 2025

Former U.S. Representative Steve Pearce, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management, is an avowed advocate of selling public lands, and his nomination is a clear endorsement of the plan to privatize and sell America’s public lands to the highest bidder. Pearce’s history reveals an extreme ideology focused on reducing public ownership and privatizing land for the benefit of developers and extractive industries over the American people. Here are seven times Steve Pearce attempted to dispose of or undermine the management of America’s public lands:

Portland Water District approves largest rate increase in 10 years

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 24, 2025

The Portland Water District will increase its rates by about 7% in January. The district will use that money to replace aging water mains, install new treatment equipment and help replace the more than 55,000 meters in its system. The Portland Water District is Maine’s largest public water utility, serving more than 57,000 customers, including over 50,000 residential and 3,900 commercial customers. Its system includes more than 1,000 miles of water mains and supplies water for more than 5,000 fire hydrants.

Maine community solar companies sue over changes to net energy billing laws

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 24, 2025

Community solar companies across Maine sued the Public Utilities Commission Monday, attempting to block the implementation of a new law designed to reduce the impact of solar development subsidies on the state’s electricity customers. A group of 11 companies are claiming the law, which modifies Maine’s long-fought-over net energy billing program, violates their constitutional rights. The law, passed earlier this year, restructured the program. But the solar companies claim it would cause “immediate and irreparable harm” to their businesses and are asking for a preliminary injunction before Jan. 1, when the new law takes effect. The Maine Office of the Public Advocate forecast the law would save electricity customers about $1.2 billion over the next 16 years.

Former midcoast dairy to become housing and conserved farmland

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • November 24, 2025

A former Rockport dairy farm will be repurposed for farmland conservation and mid-market housing. Erickson Fields Preserve, a still-working farm on Route 90, has been conserved by Maine Coast Heritage Trust since 2009. Last year, the trust acquired 6 acres across the road that was once the farm’s family homestead; on Friday, it donated an acre of that land along with an 1850s farmhouse and old dairy barns to the Midcoast Regional Housing Trust, which plans to renovate the existing building and build new units. The remaining 5 acres of the homestead property will be added to the Erickson preserve.

NOAA Fisheries report shows large whale entanglements nationwide up in 2024; 3 occurred in Maine

MAINE PUBLIC • November 24, 2025

According to a new annual report from NOAA Fisheries, there were 95 total confirmed large whale entanglements nationwide last year. In the Northeast Atlantic, the majority of entanglements were reported in Massachusetts Bay and Cape Cod Bay. Three occurred off the coast of Maine. NOAA spokesperson Andrea Gomez says that two of those three whales were humpbacks, and one was a minke.

Feds declare Maine’s drought a natural disaster, unlocking relief for farmers

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 24, 2025

Maine farmers impacted by the state’s monthslong drought can now apply for emergency loans from the federal government. The Maine Emergency Management Agency announced Monday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has declared the drought a natural disaster. All 16 of the state’s counties are included in the disaster declaration. “Almost every sector of Maine agriculture has suffered losses from this year’s drought,” said Tom Gordon, soil and water conservation program coordinator at the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry. “These emergency federal programs will provide some economic relief for farmers as they prepare for 2026.”