New buyers express interest in Hermon ski mountain

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 16, 2025

New buyers have expressed interest in scooping up Hermon’s ski mountain. The identities of the interested buyers haven’t been disclosed, but Hermon Mountain Ski Area said Tuesday that they have “strong local ties.” The group is under contract to buy the ski area. The sale hasn’t closed yet, but “momentum is strong and the outlook is encouraging,” according to the owners. “Most importantly, this group is committed to keeping Hermon Mountain a ski area and honoring its long-standing role in the community,” the owners said.

Brunswick approves new plan to guide growth

TIMES RECORD • December 16, 2025

The Brunswick Town Council on Monday night approved a sweeping plan that will guide the town’s land use and growth over the next decade. The plan, crafted over six years by the Comprehensive Plan Update Steering Committee, serves as the legal basis for the town’s zoning and land use and provides guidance on future investments and development, building on the previous plan from 2008. Titled “One Brunswick, Beautifully Balanced,” the 2025 plan designates areas for growth, limited growth and rural protection, and serves as an outline for protecting natural resources, investing in infrastructure and maintaining town character. Notably, the plan reduces the designated growth area and discourages development in rural parts of town.

Opinion: How to make electric power affordable for Maine

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 16, 2025

Affordability of energy costs and especially electricity were discussed recently by a panel of the Maine Legislature. One statement stood out as questionable: “…a wave of solar development…created a multimillion dollar burden for electric customers.” I do not see a charge on my electric bill attributable to solar development. What has changed is the cost of “delivery” or transmission of electricity to the rate-paying customer. The Public Utilities Commission approved utilities to recover storm damage costs suffered during the winter 2022 storms. Despite that these were considered “100- year storms,” we are paying off the damage in two to three years. The way to improve the affordability of Maine electric power is 1) to mitigate the infrastructure damage done by coastal and winter storms, and 2) to produce as much power as possible locally, to limit our dependence on transmission lines, which represent the most expensive part of our power bills. It may even be worth consideration of public ownership of the delivery infrastructure. Sustainable energy sources contribute to both goals, unlike fossil fuels. ~ Thom Moore, former NASA scientist, Scarborough

Letter: Landfill expansion does not benefit local residents

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 16, 2025

On Nov. 21, Casella Waste Systems submitted a permit application to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection for the proposed expansion of Juniper Ridge Landfill. This application was made despite a two-hour meeting on Sept. 29, in which Casella and staff from Maine’s Bureau of General Services heard directly from JRL’s immediate neighbors, the Penobscot Nation, and Old Town residents about JRL’s ongoing assault on health and quality of life. It appears that sacrificing our health and environment is considered acceptable if Maine can continue to avoid responsible waste management for the next 11 years. ~ Daisy Goodman, Old Town

Maine’s frozen waterways come alive on skates

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 16, 2025

I saw movement under the ice. I knelt and peered into the depths to figure out what had caused the movement. There it was: a turtle swimming through the reeds beneath the ice. I was about ten years old and will never forget that moment. It’s not just the fun and speed of ice skating that makes it my favorite winter activity. It’s the scientific wonder and wildlife observations that skating on wild ponds, lakes, rivers and streams keeps me coming back for more. To skate outdoors, you have to take safety seriously. I have never fallen through the ice and don’t plan to. I always bring a hatchet and chop a small hole all the way through, no matter how thick the ice. This lets me measure the thickness accurately. Ice skating keeps me observant, aware and most importantly, filled with the same childlike glee about the wonders of nature that has no age limit. ~ Hazel Stark

2025 Maine Environmental Scorecard

MAINE CONSERVATION VOTERS • December 15, 2025

Holding our elected officials accountable for the votes they take each year is a cornerstone of the work of Maine Conservation Voters. Today, MCV released the new 2025 Environmental Scorecard, which tells the story of what happened in 2025 – the first half of the 132nd session of the Maine Legislature. Check out the scorecard to see how your lawmakers voted this year on key environmental and democracy bills.

If the right whales return this winter, southern Maine lobstermen have a plan

MAINE PUBLIC • December 15, 2025

A group of Maine lobstermen have worked out a plan to respond to endangered North Atlantic right whales in federal waters. In January 2025, an unusually large number of whales surprised fishermen and scientists when they showed up in the southern Gulf of Maine. Maine lobstermen who fish in those waters want to be better prepared if it happens again. About two dozen lobstermen turned up at the American Legion Hall in Kennebunkport on December 10. Fishermen in Lobster Zone Council G, which stretches from Eliot to Cape Elizabeth, decided their best option was to reduce the number of vertical ropes in the water, by removing one of two endlines attached to their trawl — a move which is usually against regulation. But in this case, enforcement officials made an exception.

Column: Maine hunters turning attention from deer to wily coyotes

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 15, 2025

Snow is piling up and the air stays cold, even during the height of day. Herbaceous vegetation has long died off and acorns are far scarcer than just a few weeks ago. Survival becomes more challenging for deer, and though the two-legged hunters have yielded the field, four-legged ones are keeping the deer on their cloven-hoofed toes. With the end of expanded archery and muzzleloader seasons, most deer hunters will hang up their gear and call it a year. A few, however, will simply shift gear(s) and set their sights on another species. Coyote season is open year-round, but night hunting season begins as soon as the two-legged deer hunters are done. ~ Bob Humphrey

Attempts to Weaken the Endangered Species Act Put Birds at Risk

AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY • December 15, 2025

The federal government has announced four proposed rules that would weaken the Endangered Species Act, one of the most effective laws ever enacted to prevent extinctions. Described as a means to increase resource development and economic growth, the proposed rules erode keystone sections of the ESA. Many of our bird populations are in decline. Without strong protections, some of today's threatened species may face extinction.

More loons are filling Maine’s lakes with their ghostlike calls

ASSOCIATED PRESS • December 15, 2025

Loons are on the mend in Maine, filling more of the state’s lakes and ponds with their haunting calls, although conservationists say the birds aren’t out of the woods yet. Maine is home to a few thousand of the distinctive black-and-white waterbirds — the East Coast’s largest loon population — and conservationists said efforts to protect them from threats helped grow the population. An annual count of common loons found more adults and chicks this year than last, Maine Audubon said. It’s still too early to know if Maine’s loons are on a sustainable path to recovery, and the success of the state’s breeding loons is critical to the population at large.

Opinion: We must mitigate the spread of PFAS on Brunswick Landing

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 15, 2025

The dangerous lack of oversight by the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority (MRRA) that led to the 2024 release of firefighting foam continues to cast its dark shadow over health, safety and new development at Brunswick Landing. The Brunswick Area Citizens for a Safe Environment (BACSE) group was established in 1990 to represent the local community in the long, continuing remediation and redevelopment of the former Naval Air Station at its Superfund (CERCLA) site. All construction on the Landing should be paused until current hydrogeological mapping has revealed the extent of PFAS and other poisons. Many citizens are asking Brunswick planners, the state, the Navy and MRRA, to comply with BACSE’s recommendations and the full, updated CERCLA permitting process now. ~ Bruce Kantner, Brunswick, organic farmer and community advocate, and retired environmental science/sustainability teacher

Letter: Op-ed on climate change offered hope

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 15, 2025

I was encouraged by Prof. Tom Bateman’s Dec. 9 op-ed, “The window of opportunity for productive climate action is still open.” As Bateman says, we have the technology to deal with the climate situation and need only the will to think long-term. Our government is the organization that should be leading us, not holding us back. Let’s move to clean energy, which is available now, and stop pumping more pollution and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Let’s upgrade our electric grids so we can use all that carbon-free energy. Let’s keep our health and that of our planet on the right track for future generations. ~ Maggie Wineburgh-Freed, Los Angeles, Calif.

How a Maine woodsman’s invention paved the way for snowmobiles and tanks

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 15, 2025

Maine ingenuity has brought the world everything from earmuffs, invented in the 1870s by Farmington resident Chester Greenwood, to life-saving medicine like insulin, discovered in the 1920s by a team that included Pembroke native Charles Best. It also helped spur the creation of a machine made to improve the ability of Maine woodsmen to move logs through the forest — the direct precursor to everything from military tanks to the snowmobiles that zoom down Maine trails today. The Lombard steam log hauler, first patented in 1901, was the work of Alvin Orlando Lombard, who was born in the Penobscot County town of Springfield in 1856.

Katahdin nonprofit to expand public trails

MAINE PUBLIC • December 14, 2025

A Katahdin nonprofit plans to expand public trails in Millinocket and Patten, and create a new trail system in Island Falls. Outdoor Sport Institute Executive Director Michael Smith said trail systems are a key support for the region's growing outdoor recreation industry. "Outdoor recreation is clearly part of the economic fabric of this region," he said. "I think there was some question about that as the region transitioned from paper making, but clearly outdoor rec is here and here to stay." Smith said the design work is already complete, and the next step is permitting with the goal of starting construction next year. He said the trails boost the local economy, because when a community is a great place to live, it becomes a great place to visit.

Maine rolls out 'scorecards' for lake health

MAINE PUBLIC • December 14, 2025

Maine's lakes and ponds are a treasured cultural and economic resource. And now for the first time, the state has issued online "scorecards" that show individual water bodies' environmental conditions. Monitors have been collecting data on water quality and other issues for decades, but the information may not be easy for many people to access or interpret, said Jeremy Deeds, with the lakes assessment program at Maine Department of Environmental Protection. Instead, the scorecard indicates how well, or poorly, lakes are faring on issues such as shoreline conditions, water quality, invasive plants and runoff pollution. "What we wanted to do is summarize all these different aspects of lake condition and efficiently convey a picture of lake health," Deeds said. The state has scorecards for about 1,200 Maine lakes and ponds that have the best monitoring data.

How to keep bad bugs from hitchhiking on holiday decorations

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 14, 2025

The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry is stressing to Christmas tree growers and wreath-makers the importance of preventing the movement of pests into and out of Maine on holiday decorations that contain plant material. “Invasive insects, diseases and plants can easily be moved long distances on Christmas trees and wreaths,” said Gary Fish, state horticulturist. “All of these pests can end up emerging on old wreaths or trees that are left out in the yard after the holidays.”

Maine loggers are used to hard times. Then came the tariffs.

MAINE MONITOR • December 14, 2025

From loggers to the woodlot owners who open their land to timber harvests, almost every link of New England’s forest products supply chain has been hit hard by a perfect storm of tariffs and falling market values, loggers, researchers and industry officials say. Maine’s forest products sector provides more than 29,000 direct jobs. Although the sector has been in overall decline, there is hope among industry players that investments in more specialized paper product manufacturing and innovation will keep businesses across Maine humming. But tariffs hamper domestic forest products manufacturing, contrary to the Trump administration’s stated purpose.

After devastating flood, Jay leads the way on climate change preparation

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • December 14, 2025

When torrential rainstorms washed out sections of roads and trails and sent debris cascading through stream crossings and across roads in the summer of 2023, town officials saw more than a damaged roadway. They saw a warning. Jay officials enrolled in Maine’s Community Resilience Partnership, which helps communities identify where they are vulnerable, and provides grants to help build resiliency and lower carbon emissions. The partnership is a core part of Maine’s climate-preparedness strategy as climate change brings the likelihood of more powerful and more frequent storms, with hundreds of communities now participating.

Walking group in Orono wins award for fighting senior loneliness

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 14, 2025

The “Geezers in sneakers getting coffee” group is what it sounds like – senior citizens who meet every Monday and Friday morning for a 30-minute walk. Members stroll down numerous routes at differing speeds and meet back at the library for coffee for an hour. Dave Yarborough of Old Town said, “When you get to being a codger, socialization and exercise are the keys to longevity.” The group’s work combating loneliness in partnership with the library earned them an international award in November.

South Portland’s Long Creek Trail will soon be more accessible

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 12, 2025

South Portland’s Long Creek Trail will soon receive a makeover that will make the nearly 20-year-old trail more accessible for visitors. The South Portland Land Trust was awarded a $139,000 grant to renovate the trail. The work will begin next spring, and the trail is expected to reopen by the end of 2026, according to the Land Trust President Tex Haeuser. The improvements — funded through the first round of the Maine Trails Program — will include widening the trail, reducing the grade, adding handrails and benches, and replacing the bridge. The land trust will install trailhead signage, an orientation kiosk and educational signs along the trail so visitors can learn as they walk.