Fake announcement misleads Maine anglers about northern pike regulations

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 30, 2025

A fake announcement about changes to northern pike regulations claiming to be from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife circulated among Maine’s fishing community Tuesday, including on a popular ice fishing Facebook page. The document, dated Dec. 30, 2025, claimed that northern pike would be reclassified from an “unregulated invasive designation” to a “protected and actively managed fishery resource,” complete with new daily bag limits. However, Mark Latti of MDIFW confirmed that this information is false.

Maine’s PFAS ban expands to consumer items on Jan. 1

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 30, 2025

In a sweeping update to the law, Maine’s 5-year-old ban on products made using toxic forever chemicals is about to expand to thousands of everyday household products, including children’s toys, cookware and cosmetics. On Jan. 1, the state will also require all cleaning fluids, dental floss, menstrual products, ski wax, textiles and upholstered furniture sold in Maine to be free of forever chemicals, or PFAS, a group of manmade chemicals that don’t break down easily in the environment or the body. The 2026 update expands on a law that Maine adopted in 2021 that called for phasing PFAS out of almost all products by 2030. The rollout was delayed after businesses said they needed time to test their products and find reasonable PFAS-free alternatives.

Letter: Plugging into solar can help reduce our electric bills

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 30, 2025

Electricity rates in Maine are among the highest in the nation, with prices forecast to continue to rise. The average Maine household pays nearly $140 per month to power their home. LD 1730 is a bill before the Maine Legislature that will allow for homeowners and renters to reduce their monthly bill by about $43 by purchasing up to 1,200 watts of solar capacity at a present cost of $3,000. The hearing for this bill is on Jan. 6, 2026. Call our legislators now. ~ Tom Mikulka, Cape Elizabeth

Maine's spruce budworm pesticide campaign enters second year

MAINE PUBLIC • December 29, 2025

Timberland owners and state officials hope to resume aerial treatment for spruce budworm next spring. Targeted aerial spraying across 240,000 acres in Aroostook County this spring helped bring the native pests under control and prevent a population surge that could threaten Maine's forest health and economy. Stakeholders plan to spray again this year. But some pockets of elevated budworm populations in Northern Maine are on land owned by small woodlot owners who declined to join the program. The campaign's objective is to prevent the repeat of a legendary budworm outbreak in the 1970s and 1980s that damaged millions of acres of Maine forest and reshaped the forestry industry and state clear cutting regulations.

Opinion: Utility reform will be key to confronting Maine’s high energy bills

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 29, 2025

It’s clear that as we power more of our lives with electricity, we’ll need to make investments in the state’s power grid to keep things affordable, reliable and clean. But we don’t have to stick to the old ways of doing things, including how we pay for the transmission and delivery of that electricity. There are proven tools and policies that can stabilize and even lower electricity bills, and now that CMP has been sent back to the drawing board, the utility has an opportunity to get it right. It must draft a new proposal that accounts for the reality of unaffordable, price-volatile electricity rates and the necessity of modernizing how we think about the electricity grid. This moment is also a crucial opportunity for the state’s other investor-owned utility, Versant, before filing its next request to the commission. ~ Phelps Turner, Conservation Law Foundation

Maine’s Pine Barrens, part 1

MAINE NATURAL HISTORY OBSERVATORY • December 28, 2025

In this episode, Logan introduces Maine’s rare pitch pine–scrub oak barrens, explaining how glacial sands, fire, and other disturbances shaped these unusual habitats and how development and fire suppression have contributed to their decline. He also reflects on how his nightjar research led him into these ecosystems, which support several rare species despite their limited extent.

New report says Maine's wood product manufacturing sales rose 45% between 2019 and 2024

MAINE PUBLIC • December 28, 2025

Maine's wood product manufacturing sales increased by 45% according to a report from the Maine Forest Products Council on the economic contribution of the state's forest products sector from 2019 to 2024. Executive director Krysta West says during that period, Maine saw a lot of investment in sawmills, both in the expansion of existing infrastructure and in new facilities that are able to process lower grade lumber that would have previously gone to pulp and paper. "It was a real boom time for that sector of the industry," West says. "Since then, interest rates and inflation have caught up, and it's slowed down significantly in that sector as well." During that same time period, the state's pulp and paper industry continued to contract, with paper manufacturing sales falling by 41%.

Maine expands PFAS products ban in 2026

MAINE PUBLIC • December 28, 2025

Maine's ban on consumer products with intentionally-added forever chemicals widens at the beginning of the New Year and will sweep in common household items such as cookware, cosmetics and cleaning products. State regulators expect manufacturers and retailers to comply with the new rules which prohibit selling goods containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. A good portion of the marketplace has moved away from using the potentially harmful substances in products, said Kerri Farris, safer chemicals program manager at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

Maine regulators issue warning letter for Belfast wetlands lapse

MAINE MONITOR • December 28, 2025

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection recently issued a letter of warning designed to recoup wetlands protections lost in a regulatory oversight more than 20 years ago. The lapse by state and federal regulators allowed a wetlands mitigation site in Belfast to be marketed for commercial development earlier this year. The mitigation deal emerged from the development of credit card giant MBNA’s sprawling campus in Belfast. In exchange for impacts to about seven acres of wetlands, the Maine DEP and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers agreed to let MBNA restore wetlands on a nearby 24-acre site, and protect it in perpetuity for conservation and public access. Bank of America acquired the wetlands parcel when it bought MBNA in 2006. It sold the 24 acres at auction this January, but the deed was unencumbered by a conservation easement, because it had never been filed. The new owner is now offering it for sale for commercial development.

Upper Machias Bay Master Plan moves forward nearly two years after destructive downtown flood

MAINE MONITOR • December 27, 2025

Downtown Machias has experienced nine floods at the 100-year level in the past seven years. Ben Edwards, a member of the Upper Machias Bay Master Plan Leadership Committee and vice chair of the Machias Select Board, shared the information during a community meeting earlier this month. Conditions are expected to become more challenging as climate change accelerates, polar ice caps melt, sea levels rise and storms grow more frequent and intense, according to Judy Colby-George, a member of the leadership committee. The meeting, part of a community series, drew about 80 people and was scheduled to focus on downtown flooding in Machias. The next meeting on the Upper Machias Bay Master Plan is scheduled for Jan. 12, and formal recommendations for how to proceed are to be presented to the leadership committee at a public meeting set for Feb. 23.

Nature Connects: Atlantic salmon hold the line in the Sheepscot

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 27, 2025

Maine is the only state in the U.S. that still has wild populations of Atlantic salmon. The Sheepscot — a modest, 58-mile-long coastal river — is one of a handful of rivers in Maine that still support naturally spawning Atlantic salmon. Despite its smaller size, the Sheepscot plays a vital role in the path to Atlantic salmon recovery in Maine. The Sheepscot is one of only seven U.S. rivers with a genetically distinct population of Atlantic salmon. These fish are uniquely adapted to the local conditions in the river. The survival of this population is critical to preserving the genetic diversity of the species, and therefore, its recovery. Midcoast Conservancy and its partners are working on land conservation and river restoration projects throughout the Sheepscot watershed to help recover this iconic and ecologically important species. This work not only benefits salmon, but other native species and the rich biodiversity of the ecosystem. ~ Melissa Cote, Sheepscot River watershed manager at Midcoast Conservancy

Column: 2026 birding resolutions: Bird naked or use every tool

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 27, 2025

I offer only two New Year’s Resolutions for birders in 2026, and they are completely opposite. For less experienced birders: resolve to use every tech tool available. Of course, the fastest and easiest way to get experience is to steal it from someone else. Going out with experts is the time-honored way to learn more quickly. For more experienced birders: resolve to use no tools at all. Bird naked once in a while. ~ Bob Duchesne

Here are the changes coming to UMaine’s campus next year

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 27, 2025

The University of Maine is working on 10 major capital projects on its campus that will be completed in 2026. The Sustainable Aquaculture Workforce Innovation Center will be a new space for one of the top marine science programs in the country. The space, which will be completed in time for the fall semester, will be used to research sustainable economic development, food security, and climate and community resilience. The building will have several 8-foot tanks and an area for lobster research. Other projects that will finish next year include renovating a PFAS laboratory, funding blueberry research in Jonesboro and building a sawmill training facility.

Watch a Maine man show how to escape after falling through ice

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 27, 2025

Every winter, there are harrowing examples of people in Maine and elsewhere who have broken through the ice, sometimes with deadly results. That’s why Josh Gerritsen, a Rockport-based documentary filmmaker and an avid ice skater on Maine ponds, recently took it upon himself to coach a small group of onlookers how to safely escape the water when it’s mostly frozen over, should they ever fall through. Assess the ice strength, depth and density; know how to identify weak points; and avoid going solo. Help a victim, including by shouting encouragement, extending an object such as a rope or ladder for them to grab or wrap around themself, using a boat to assist and going for professional help: preach, reach, throw, row, go. if you’re the one who goes in, stay calm, spread your arms out on the unbroken ice and kick hard to lift your body onto it, so you can then roll to safety.

Where to find Maine ice thickness reports this winter

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 27, 2025

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife provides winter fishing reports with notes on ice conditions and safety guidelines, as well as an ice safety web page with recommendations on checking ice thickness. The Lake Stewards of Maine maintain an ice-in and ice-out map that tracks when lakes freeze over and thaw, based on volunteer observations. Community‑reported ice measurements are available in the Ice Thickness in Maine Facebook group. For the most current location-specific conditions, people traveling from farther away can contact an IFW regional office during the week to speak with a biologist or warden familiar with local waters and how ice usually forms there.

Federal funding cuts are straining the nonprofits that keep this Maine island afloat

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 26, 2025

In Stonington, nonprofits build workforce housing, conduct research that helps its lobster industry, conserve its land and provide arts programming. It’s an example of how much of the responsibility for providing such services is shifting to outside organizations. Gaps are being stretched by abrupt changes in federal priorities. Since January, nonprofits have seen funding abruptly cut, grants canceled and research projects terminated by the Trump administration. That’s taken a toll. Housing is needed for Stonington’s lobster industry, the busiest in Maine. Lobster dealers often house their own employees in order to keep a workforce. Other aspects of the industry are researched and supported by the Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries, another local nonprofit that aims to keep fisheries sustainable and economically viable. Grants it received during the Biden administration were canceled earlier this year by Trump.

8 evergreen Maine trails that are lovely year round

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 26, 2025

Here I’ve listed eight Maine trails that travel through lovely forests that remain rich green year round, being that they’re mostly composed of various evergreen trees. These forests are also filled with mosses and lichens, which retain their color regardless of the time of year. And what’s more, these dense forests will shelter you from the cold winter wind, offering a getaway during an otherwise typically hectic time of year.
1. Prentiss Woods in Bangor
2. Johnson Brook Trail in Milford
3. Ingersoll Point Preserve in Addison
4. Simon Trail in Lamoine
5. Backwoods Mountain in Brooksville
6. Little Moose Mountain near Greenville
7. Thorne Head Preserve in Bath
8. Horserace Brook Trail near Millinocket

Our biggest environment stories in 2025

MAINE MONITOR • December 26, 2025

There was plenty of big environmental news this year: new clean energy legislation, an extreme drought that led to Maine’s worst August for wildfires in 20 years, federal funding cuts and more. Here’s a look back:
• Federal policy shifts, funding cuts
• New clean energy goals and rising electricity prices
• Maine’s changing forests, challenges for loggers and paper mills
• Dam safety reforms and fish passage changes

Cumberland hiker’s trek along the Pacific Crest Trail a reminder we can all use a mental reset

SUN JOURNAL • December 26, 2025

Evan Miller hiked the 2,653-mile trial from the Mexican border in California to Canada earlier this year and learned a lot about himself along the way. A 2022 graduate of Greely High and a Cumberland native, Miller grew up hiking in the White Mountains. He considers himself fortunate to grow up here, where the outdoors can be such an integral piece of life. Miller’s advice to anybody contemplating a similar mental detour from the fistfight that is modern life is simple. Relax.

Opinion: Maine’s energy policy looks to be going up in smoke

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 26, 2025

This fall I attended two energy conferences. I came away pessimistic about Maine’s energy future. Maine has a state energy plan that builds on efforts to reduce our dependence on imported petroleum and shift to an economy powered largely by renewable electricity resources. It complements the state’s climate action plan. The problem is, both strategies depend on cleaner electricity being affordable. But electricity is becoming more expensive, with prices nearly doubling in Maine over the past decade. The greatest source of pessimism comes from the sabotage of offshore wind. In his quest to kill green energy, President Trump has hobbled a multi-billion dollar industry. It was New England’s next big source of energy. One man has upended an industry. Trump also is killing incentives that helped people weatherize their homes, and buy more efficient appliances and vehicles. That leaves New England on its own. ~ Tux Turkel