New nonprofit buys Nordic Heritage Outdoor Center in Presque Isle

MAINE PUBLIC • December 8, 2025

A local non-profit has purchased the Nordic Heritage Outdoor Center in Presque Isle. The newly formed Northern Maine Community Trails purchased the center for $1 million, from the Libra Foundation and Pineland Farms. Chris Condon, president of the nonprofit, said the group hopes to get the community involved in running the center. "We want to find all kinds of ways to get the entire community out there and make it anything but a select group," he said. "We want a real broad swipe of the community out there enjoying it." The Center was closed last year because of financial issues. The property is 750 acres and includes a 7,000 square foot lodge and trails for mountain biking, cross-country skiing and hiking.

2 alleged night hunters arrested in Brunswick

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 8, 2025

Brunswick police arrested two men early Monday morning for allegedly hunting deer at night. Lee Holbrook, 36, of Durham, was charged with operating after suspension, having a loaded crossbow inside a motor vehicle, night hunting, illegal possession of wild animals, hunting without a license, unlawful discharge of archery equipment, and unlawful use of artificial lights. Robert Little, 36, of Lewiston, was charged with night hunting, and unlawful discharge of archery equipment. Two illegally harvested deer were provided to the Maine Warden Service to be given to local food pantries.

L.L.Bean grants to land trusts will stretch from York to Grand Lake Stream

MAINEBIZ • December 8, 2025

Land trusts across Maine were awarded a total of $65,000 through the L.L.Bean Maine Land Trust Grant Program, which Maine Coast Heritage Trust administers. The program is designed to support public access, habitat protection and outdoor recreation. Total funding since 2004 is $558,750 for 129 projects. The latest grants support projects from York to Belgrade to Grand Lake Stream, to provide new recreational access, expand ADA-accessible trails, improve ecological resilience and enhance local connections to the outdoors. Land trusts care for nearly 3 million acres — close to 15% of the state, according to the 2025 Census Report from the Maine Land Trust Network.

Hancock County, Maine: A Leader in Eco-Tourism and Sustainable Travel

TRAVEL AND TOUR WORLD • December 8, 2025

Hancock County, located in Maine, has positioned itself as a leader in sustainable travel. The county’s emphasis on conservation, wildlife protection, and eco-tourism has made it a top destination for travelers who care about the environment. From Bar Harbor to the Acadia National Park, Hancock County is home to some of the most stunning natural landscapes in the U.S. The county offers a variety of eco-friendly activities, including kayaking, wildlife viewing, and sustainable hiking. Hancock County also supports green accommodations and local businesses that prioritise sustainability, ensuring that visitors can enjoy a vacation that aligns with their environmental values.

Help Wanted: NRCM seeks an Executive Director

NATURAL RESOURCES COUNCIL OF MAINE • December 8, 2025

The Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) seeks an Executive Director to lead one of Maine’s most effective and trusted environmental organizations. This leader will guide a dedicated and experienced staff, partner closely with an engaged Board, and serve as NRCM’s primary public voice building strong relationships across communities, policymakers, and supporters. The ideal candidate brings strategic insight, inclusive leadership, and a deep commitment to protecting the nature of Maine.

How Piscataquis County became the state’s most popular housing market

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 8, 2025

Maine’s most rural county is set to see the most homes sold per capita in the state for the third straight year. Meanwhile, the most populated counties have the most home purchases, but the fewest per capita. Piscataquis’ relative popularity is surprising given how rural the county is. But that’s part of what’s driving interest in the area, as well as its amenities, low cost and availability of seasonal homes. People “from away” moved to Piscataquis County in the wake of the pandemic, which forced many to work from home. The average home in Piscataquis County costs roughly $218,500. That’s about half the median price of a home in Maine. Piscataquis County offers lakes, state parks and the state’s tallest mountain, Katahdin. 

Grant awarded to improve Maine backcountry airstrip

GENERAL AVIATION NEWS • December 7, 2025

The Recreational Aviation Foundation has bestowed a grant to improve Ragmuff Airport (ME26), which is in the heart of the North Maine Woods on private forest land. The airstrip had been closed for decades when RAF Maine Liaisons Andy Rowe and Steve Mason recognized its recreational value. They worked with the landowner to get it reopened and charted with the FAA identifier ME26 in 2023, according to RAF officials. “The west branch of the Penobscot River is just a mile and a half hike and offers good fishing for brook trout and landlocked salmon,” says Rowe. “Fall is the premier time to be there — colors turn, it becomes bug-free, and partridge and fishing seasons overlap.”

Franklin County land conserved with climate, recreation in mind

RANGELEY HIGHLANDER • December 7, 2025

A new conservation project in Dallas Plantation in Franklin County will support a wide range of outdoor recreation activities and sustainable forestry while protecting older forests and sensitive habitats. The South Branch Forest, an ecologically diverse, 3,586-acre parcel at the headwaters of the Kennebec River watershed, has been permanently protected, the Trust for Public Land announced Wednesday. The property serves a conservation corridor in western Maine and Canada, a “critical ecological connector” linking over 200,000 acres of conserved lands, officials said. The land will be managed to support multiple goals, including “guaranteeing public access for residents and visitors; enhancing experiences along the Northern Forest Canoe Trail; and supporting Maine Won’t Wait, the state’s climate action plan, through carbon sequestration, carbon storage and nurturing a mature forested environment.”

Homesteading’s evolution: The Nearings’ influence endures

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 7, 2025

The small farm in Brooksville where homesteading icons Helen and Scott Nearing lived has drawn thousands of people, inspired by their model of “living sanely and simply in a troubled world,” even decades after their deaths. Jordan Humphrey and Lucy Marcus, who started work as traveling farmsitters during the pandemic, were hired to serve as its stewards this year. They were initially drawn to the job by the Nearing example of responding to troubled times by working hard, growing food and building, along with their principles of pacifism, vegetarianism and self-reliance. But in recent years, the politics of homesteading has expanded to the right to include more libertarian and conservative views. A new presidential administration has embraced a politically charged approach to healthy living that’s challenged the stereotype of the lifestyle as a mostly left-leaning pursuit.

What Superfund cuts and PFAS cleanup delays could mean for Maine

MAINE MONITOR • December 5, 2025

During its first term and again this year, the Trump administration has repeatedly emphasized its commitment to cleaning up America’s toxic waste sites and addressing harmful “forever chemicals.” However, the Department of Defense has quietly pushed back the timeline to mitigate “forever chemicals” at more than 100 military installations, including the former Loring Air Force Base and the former Brunswick Naval Air Station.

Column: The fish Maine anglers wait all year to chase

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 7, 2025

Even as December chills the air, Maine anglers can’t stop thinking about landlocked salmon. Though the fish may be deep in the lake, their presence drives dreams of the next season and the thrill of trolling a streamer across a glassy surface. Most years, ice-out on Aziscohos Lake doesn’t happen until early May. My wife, Trish, and I head to our cabin soon after word spreads that the lake is clear. Weather conditions vary drastically. Sometimes we arrive under bright blue skies, with temperatures climbing into the fifties. More often, overcast skies, rain squalls, or even a stray snowflake greet us — the type of harsh conditions favored by landlocked salmon and brook trout. After a long winter of inactivity, these fish are ravenous, often chasing schools of smelt across the lake. ~ Bob Romano

Maine schools explore nature-based playgrounds

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • December 7, 2025

At least three dozen schools in Maine, from South Portland to Skowhegan have embraced outdoor play and learning areas that use natural elements like boulders, logs, plants and water to encourage exploration, problem solving and an affinity for the environment. In these spaces, students study bees in the pollinator gardens. They hop from stump to stump, compost cafeteria food, build forts, splash in drainage ditches and streams, burrow in tunnels, and grow beans, tomatoes and flowers. Advocates claim green schoolyards have educational and environmental benefits that traditional playgrounds, which are dominated by athletic fields and prefabricated equipment, do not have. But not all districts are on board.

Column: Why birds ignore your feeder until the 1st snow

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 7, 2025

Birds do not rely on feeders. They treat feeders as a supplemental food source. When there is plenty of natural food around, they may not visit feeders at all. Now that autumn lasts longer, feeders often hang limp until the first snow. Two climate surprises help explain why. Global warming is not happening evenly across the planet. Northern areas are warming faster. And winters are warming faster than summers. Many people watch the birds but miss what’s really going on. Casts change and the plot thickens. It’s almost like watching Netflix. But cheaper. ~ Bob Duchesne

Obituary: Mark Sullivan

MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • December 6, 2025

Mark Sullivan, of Hallowell, died on December 5, 2025. He served from 1997 to 2009 as communications director and senior policy advisor to former U.S. Representative Tom Allen. He had extensive experience in state government from 1982 to 1987, including serving as deputy commissioner of the Maine Department of Conservation from 1985 to 1987,. Sullivan worked with non-profit public interest groups, as editor of Maine Environment for the Natural Resources Council of Maine from 1979 to 1983, and as executive director of the Western Mountains Alliance from 1988 to 1990. In 2010, he joined the Maine Center for Economic Policy as its communications director. He also served as a member of the boards of the Natural Resources Council of Maine, and the Maine Association of Conservation Commissions.

Trump administration replaces MLK Day, Juneteenth on National Park Fee-Free Day calendar with Trump’s birthday

THE GRIO • Dec 6, 2025

In an effort to emphasize its stance on diversity, equity, and inclusion, and to focus on America’s upcoming 250th anniversary, the Trump administration has removed Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth from the fee-free days calendar at National Parks for 2026. In their place are days honoring past presidents, like Theodore Roosevelt, and Flag Day, which coincidentally would be President Trump’s 80th birthday.

This former vegetarian anti-hunter just shot her 1st Maine buck

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 5, 2025

For most of her life, the idea of shooting a deer was unthinkable to Amy Rush. An animal lover who once believed hunting was cruel, she grew up watching her uncle bring home “beautiful, free animals” and couldn’t understand why anyone would kill a deer instead of buying meat at the store. Her perspective began to shift when she got her hunting license so she could join her son, Jenek, in the woods and provide food for her family. “I cannot say enough about what hunting is to me now,” Rush said. “Crazy, since I was so against it in the past.”

Obituary: John Henry Cashwell III

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 6, 2025

John Henry Cashwell, III, died on November 24, 2025. Born in 1947 into two farming families in New Hampshire, in 1966, soon after graduating high school, he enlisted in the Army, was deployed to Vietnam, and become a gunship pilot. He returned to New Hampshire, where he became a jack-of-all-trades: carpenter, waiter, bartender, bus driver, even a one-time stint posing nude for art students. John graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Forestry in 1979 and began looking for a helicopter job. He was hired by Georgia Pacific based out of Woodland, Maine. In 1981, John was elected to Calais City Council and soon became mayor. In 1987, he became director of the Maine Forest Service and in 1993 the head of Seven Islands Land Company in Bangor. John played a key role in helping to create the largest conservation easement in the country, working with the New England Forestry Foundation. He also served as chairman of Maine Woods Company, director of Portage Wood Products, president of Black River LLC and most recently, as a consultant to BBC Land LLC. In 2009, thew Maine Forest Products Council presented John with the prestigious Albert D. Nutting Award.

Opinion: Portland stands out as a climate-ready community

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 6, 2025

The Gulf of Maine is warming faster than nearly any ocean region on Earth. Sea levels rise. Waters warm. Marine ecosystems shift. These changes are reshaping our coast, our economy and our way of life. Portland, Maine, has decided to meet this moment head-on. The Wright’s Wharf bulkhead project has stabilized a critical piece of working waterfront. GMRI opened 10 public electric vehicle charging stations on Commercial Street. We’ve installed a marine charging station on our renovated bulkhead to provide critical infrastructure to electric boat operators in Casco Bay. New signs across the city transform climate infrastructure from invisible to inspirational, linking to detailed information about Portland’s climate adaptation efforts. Other coastal communities facing similar challenges should take note. ~ Glenn Prickett, CEO and president, Gulf of Maine Research Institute

Presence of invasive sea squirts increasing as Gulf of Maine warms

MAINE PUBLIC • December 5, 2025

Squishy, blobby and alien-looking, some varieties of sea squirts — so called because they squirt water when they’re disturbed — have been in Maine for hundreds of years. But with the Gulf of Maine warming rapidly due to climate change, it has created a more hospitable habitat for new hangers-on from elsewhere: invasive sea squirts. For those who work in aquaculture, these invaders can be a constant source of annoyance and stress throughout the fishing and growing season. And some years, they can be a major hindrance to doing business.

Those ‘nests’ you see in trees in winter probably belong to squirrels

SUN JOURNAL • December 5, 2025

With all the leaves off the deciduous trees, except for beeches and maybe some persistent oaks, you may be noticing various nests around that were otherwise obscured all summer. Typically, a bird nest is only used for raising young. Squirrels, on the other hand, will use their dreys throughout the year, so we can think of them as more like a house than just a nursery room. Squirrels will often have several dreys, three or more in an area, which you can think of as different rooms of their house. Most tree squirrels don’t store food in dreys, but I’ve seen them carry acorns in for eating, so it’s perhaps more of a dining room than a pantry. These dreys are used throughout the year and require maintenance. ~ Maine Audubon Staff Naturalist Doug Hitchcox