Environmental legislation to watch in 2026

MAINE MONITOR • January 2, 2026

Conservation groups and legislators alike are looking to take another bite of the apple on several $50-million bond issues and settle emerging issues with wastewater sludge at the state-owned Juniper Ridge Landfill in Old Town when lawmakers convene again this month. As in 2025, the mitigation of “forever chemicals” is at the forefront of many 2026 legislative proposals, along with support for the wastewater treatment facilities that confront them daily. Forestry industry advocates are also hoping for financial relief amid challenging market conditions.
L.D. 362: An Act to Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue to Replenish the Land for Maine’s Future Program
L.D. 836: An Act to Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue to Upgrade Municipal Culverts at Stream Crossings
L.D. 25: An Act to Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue to Fund Wastewater Treatment Facility Planning and Construction…
L.D. 1904: An Act to Establish the Municipal Shoreline Protection Legal Fund
L.D. 1870: An Act to…Impose Penalties on Climate Polluters
L.D. 1313: An Act…Allowing Commercial Wood Haulers to Be Eligible for Certain Sales Tax Exemptions and Refunds
L.D. 798: An Act to Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue to Fund Mass Timber Manufacturing
L.D. 1696: Resolve, to Study Maine’s Absolute Dominion and Beneficial Use Laws Relating to Water Rights
L.D. 1177: Resolve, to Study the Public Health and Environmental Risks from Synthetic Turf

Orr’s Island lobsterman was a thoughtful and persuasive advocate for industry

HARPSWELL ANCHOR • January 2, 2026

Chris McIntire was content. He had made goals — to live on Orr’s Island, to fish for a living, to raise a family — and by working hard, he had achieved them. Maybe more than anything else, he wanted to make sure his children could also have the life that satisfied him so much, if they wanted it. McIntire, an emerging voice in the community and in Maine’s lobster fishery, died unexpectedly on Nov. 24 at the age of 32. He served on the town’s Fisheries Committee and Aquaculture Working Group. At the state level, he represented part of Harpswell on a regional lobster council. “He’s going to leave a hole. There’s nobody I can think of who can step into his shoes and do what he did,” said Harpswell’s interim harbormaster, Darcie Couture.

New waterfront park and trail coming to Brewer 3

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 2, 2026

Brewer is starting construction on a new park and river trail in 2026, the city announced Thursday. The new park will be named Pier Park and will be on North Main Street on 4.2 acres owned by the Brewer Land Trust. The plot is attached to the old dam on the Penobscot River. The city announced the park and trail after receiving a $250,000 Maine Trails grant from the state, which will fund the first of multiple phases. The park will add a green space to north Brewer and extend river access and trails.

Skowhegan’s pollution control superintendent has eye on the future

CENTRAL MAINE • January 2, 2026

Donnie Zaluski sees his job as crucial to the functioning of society. “We clean the water,” said the superintendent of the Skowhegan Water Pollution Control Plant. But as one of the oldest wastewater treatment plants in the state, Skowhegan’s facility, along with its sewer system, are constantly in need of improvement. So with the select board’s approval in August, a facility master plan study is now underway. The planned plant improvements follow more than two decades and millions of dollars’ worth of investments in improving the town’s sewer system.

Maine set another new record for tickborne diseases reported in 2025

MAINE PUBLIC • January 2, 2026

Once again, Maine set a new record in the number of tickborne disease cases reported across the state in 2025. About 3,653 cases of Lyme disease were reported in 2025. That's nearly 400 more cases than in 2024, and breaking another record set the year before. Cases of other tick-borne diseases, including Babesiosis and Anaplasmosis, also increased and set new highs. The data show the rate of tickborne diseases, particularly Lyme disease, was especially high among Mainers in the midcoast. Ticks tend to live in grassy or wooded areas. State officials say people should take precautions to reduce their exposure to ticks during all times of the year, by wearing long-sleeved clothing, using repellant and checking clothing and gear for ticks after being outside.

The major issues likely to shape debate in the Maine Legislature this year

MAINE MORNING STAR • January 2, 2026

When Maine lawmakers return to Augusta in January, they will face an agenda shaped as much by federal policy shifts as by ongoing state issues held over from last session, including rising energy costs and tribal sovereignty.

Opinion: For scientific research to prevail, communication will be vital

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 2, 2026

Since World War II, the federal government has been the primary funder of basic scientific research. However, President Donald Trump has gone about dismantling the foundation of federal support for research. More than $9 billion of awarded research grants were terminated. Terminating thousands of grants has disrupted ongoing studies, jeopardized future discoveries and created ripple effects across universities, laboratories and industries. We have felt this in Maine. Underfunded health departments are left unable to detect foodborne illnesses and local climate research programs have been unable to provide farmers with the necessary data for crop and water management. The scientific community must invest time and effort into changing the way that they communicate the importance of their research. By learning how to speak across ideological, educational and cultural lines, young scientists would be better equipped to foster trust and build common ground. ~ Rylan Neem, Colby College freshman

Column: New Year’s resolutions from a naturalist

SUN JOURNAL • January 2, 2026

I want to recommend a few resolutions you can try this year that will benefit both you and Maine wildlife. First up: download the Merlin Bird ID app. This free app acts as a field guide, with photos and audio of all the birds you can encounter, but also has several tools for helping you identify birds. Next, submit a checklist to eBird, a database for bird sightings based on “complete checklists” submitted by community scientists. Learning from someone who knows more than you is often the best way to “level-up,” so joining a local bird walk is one of my top recommendations. Join my “Birding Basics” webinar series that covers many topics from how to identify birds to birding ethically. Register at: maineaudubon.org/events/birding-basics-online/. My last resolution: when the snow is gone, get your hands dirty and help enhance the landscape for wildlife. ~ Doug Hitchcox

Opinion: Think of nature as a sanctuary

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 2, 2026

When we think of “holy spaces,” many of us picture stained glass windows, rows of pews, or polished stone floors echoing with hymns. But what if the most profound sanctuaries are not enclosed by walls at all? What if a spiritual presence waits not in a building, but in the soil beneath our feet, the rain on the trees or the quiet stillness before dawn? It is time we start recognizing the sacred in the living world around us. The forest isn’t a place you visit to find the sacred. It’s a place where the sacred has always been. We should stop trying to fit religion into a white box with four walls. Go outside and experience the sanctuary that is always there — nature. ~ Kathryn Gatewood, graduating senior at UMaine, studying ecology and environmental sciences

Opinion: New year, new opportunity to break America’s stagnation

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 1, 2026

A new year provides the chance for a clean slate, and perhaps this time we’ll get one. 1968 seems a moment very much like our own. A crisis of confidence shattered trust in government and in many of our institutions. Yet 1968 and the era it represents was also a spur to social movements. Yes, national politics since then can seem like one great oscillation between the two major parties. But we can see that Maine on the whole has certainly progressed. If you’re seeking an education or an interesting job, there is far more opportunity than there was back then. Maine is also a cleaner and safer state. The difficult part of history is that periods of progress are followed by years of stagnation, then drift. Discontent is the beginning of change. We’ll know soon whether the young will confound their elders, and decide whether this will truly be a new year. ~ Douglas Rooks

Opinion: Here’s what would make America great again

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 31, 2025

It may be time to consider what might make us “great” moving forward, rather than somehow trying to recapture the past given that certain episodes were far less than “great.” It would be great if we would…Foster good government that preserves our fiscal and natural resources for a sustainable future. ~ David Casavant, Hampden

Two Coves Farm shuts down in dispute between farmers, landowner

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 31, 2025

A dispute about rent, productivity and other issues has led to an arbitration ruling ordering the longtime operators of Two Coves Farm on Harpswell Neck to vacate the property. Joe and Laura Grady, who have lived and farmed at the 110-acre coastal property for 16 years, were ordered to leave by the end of 2025 after an arbitrator found they had violated the terms of their lease. The Gradys said they strongly disagree with the ruling and plan to appeal it. Perhaps the largest working farm in a community where commercial-scale agriculture has largely disappeared, Two Coves recently suspended operations because of the legal dispute. The farm is the property of Neils Point LLC, owned by Helen Norton, a Harpswell Neck philanthropist. Norton pointed to the arbitrator’s findings and said she plans to work with Maine Farmland Trust to identify new tenants who will operate the farm in line with its conservation easement and long-term vision.

Loon rescued on Smithfield pond dies a week later

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 31, 2025

It was a sad ending to an otherwise uplifting tale about a loon rescued earlier this month on East Pond in Smithfield. The loon, taken to Avian Haven, a wildlife rehabilitation center in Freedom, died seven days later after the Dec. 7 rescue. It was emaciated, suffering from a lung infection and had the beginnings of frostbite, according to Avian Executive Director Barb Haney.

Column: Who’s the Toughest Bird at the Feeder?

BOOTHBAY REGISTER • December 31, 2025

With the recent snow has come an increase in bird activity at our feeders and the small patches of open ground we’ve cleared under them. When all the birds are trying to access the limited space available, it’s not surprising that there seems to be more situations in which one species displaces another and takes over the feeding opportunity. Researchers asked participants in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Project FeederWatch to record the winners and losers of such competitive interactions. It won’t shock even the most casual of bird observers to learn that they found that the largest birds were at the top of the list of most dominant. ~ Jeff and Allison Wells

MOFGA cuts 6 positions

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 30, 2025

The organization that certifies and supports organic farmers in Maine is cutting six positions in the wake of federal funding losses and in the face of future budget constraints. The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, which also organizes the Common Ground Fair in Unity, announced this month that it would be restructuring, including the cutting of six positions. The association cited the loss of over $1 million in federal and other funding sources in 2025 and budget deficit projections through the rest of the decade. “These changes are necessary to put the organization on a path to financial stability by 2030, and allow for the remaining forty staff positions to have the resources necessary to maintain all core programs that achieve MOFGA’s mission,” the organization said.

Authorities investigating theft of $400K worth of lobster

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 30, 2025

Thieves used a fake commercial driver’s license, spoofed emails and forged papers to steal a truckload of lobster meat worth $400,000 from a Massachusetts warehouse just a few days before Christmas. The Dec. 12 heist from Lineage Logistics, a cold-storage facility in Taunton, is the latest in a string of high-value cargo thefts plaguing the transport industry. In recent years, Maine has accounted for about 90% of the nation’s lobster catch. Maine lobstermen wondered if any of their own catch ended up among the stolen lobster meat. They rarely know where what they catch will end up.

As federal home efficiency tax breaks expire, Maine moves ahead with its own incentives

MAINE PUBLIC • December 30, 2025

For about 20 years, Americans interested in improving energy efficiency in their homes could lean on a federal income tax break to help pay for insulation, new windows, and other improvements. That benefit was eliminated as part of Trump's tax and spending law passed by Congressional Republicans over the summer. The tax breaks end at the beginning of 2026. Now vendors are working hard to explain to confused consumers that there's still state money available to help with projects. The Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit provided a $1,200 income tax benefit for certain upgrades. But Efficiency Maine offers bigger rebates of up to $8,000 for insulation. The problem is that many prospective customers believe that changes to federal law eliminated all incentives.

Starting the New Year in Maine on a high point — or peak

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 30, 2025

Many Mainers ring in the New Year by getting outside. Across the country, state parks, including those in Maine, offer free events to encourage people to start January with their best foot forward — maybe in a warm sock and an insulated hiking boot. Whether you bundle up for a stroll around the block or scale a remote peak, these Mainers offered up their tips for hiking on the first day of 2026.

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.