Northern Mainers embrace the revival of outdoor center

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 15, 2026

The Nordic Heritage Outdoor Center, and its more than 700 acres of public trails. was shuttered by the Portland-based Libra Foundation in late 2024. Northern Maine Community Trails, a new nonprofit led by former United Insurance president and CEO Chris Condon, bought the property for $1 million in early December. Less than a week later, some of the trails reopened to the public. “What we realized after about six months of not having the facility was that what we really wanted to preserve was the trail system and the [750]-plus acres of land,” Volunteer Coordinator Heidi Bartley said. “Secondarily, we have a lot of facilities and infrastructure with buildings, and now that we’ve actually purchased it, we’re trying to figure out how we can incorporate both.”

Visiting Artis and Writer Programs in Baxter State Park

MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • January 14, 2026

Baxter State Park’s Visiting Artist Program offers one visual artist two weeks of rustic cabin lodging in September to immerse themselves and draw inspiration from this 200,000+ acre paradise. The selected artists can shed the burdens and responsibilities of modern society for a brief moment while finding truth in nature and practicing their skills with few distractions. The visiting writer program honors the work of writers and the influence they have had on the culture of the Katahdin region. Applications: will be accepted for June 2026 if postmarked by March 15. Notification will be made by April 15. Fee: A $25.

Three of the Top 10 Largest Landowners in the U.S. have Maine connections

MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • January 14, 2026

Since 2007, The Land Report has published a list of the one hundred biggest landowners in the U.S. Most are in the West, but three of the top 10 have Maine connections and two more in the top 100 also have large land holdings in Maine:
6. Buck Family, 1,320,000 acres
7. Irving Family, 1,267,000 acres
9. Pingree Heirs, 830,000 acres
71. Cassidy Heirs, 220,000 acres
95. Haynes Family, 180,000 acres

Applications open for 2026 Outdoor Sport Institute in the Katahdin region

This summer the Outdoor Sport Institute (OSI) is seeking motivated, energetic individuals to learn, lead, and grow the initiatives connecting people with the outdoors in the Katahdin Region of Maine. Spend your summer in the heart of one of the most beautiful and inspiring settings in the northeast. Here, through both work and play, you’ll have the opportunity to ride, hike, paddle and explore the endless forests and waterways of Maine’s most iconic outdoor landscape.

Yarmouth gets $1 million grant for Royal River dam removal

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 14, 2026

After lengthy delays, the flow of the Royal River is slated to change. Over 20 years after the state made the Royal River a restoration priority, and one year after Yarmouth approved the project, the removal of a trio of town-owned dams in the Royal River will begin this summer thanks to a $1 million grant. Proponents say removing the dams will improve the river ecosystem and increase fish passage. On Jan. 7, the Maine Natural Resources Conservation Program approved $1 million toward the project.

New housing in rural Maine is coming from a surprising source

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 14, 2026

Lalli Ventura dreamed of raising her 7-year-old daughter in an area with land to explore. After visiting family near Millinocket, she knew Maine was the perfect place. She saw an ad for new apartments in downtown Millinocket, which the Northern Forest Center recently completed. The family moved into a two-bedroom apartment there on New Year’s Day. Ventura said their new apartment puts them in an ideal location to raise a young child. They are among dozens who rely on the Northern Forest Center’s growing housing portfolio. But the nonprofit never intended to create housing when it was founded in 1997. The center has built 34 homes in rural communities across Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York. Of those, 19 are in Maine and more are coming. The Northern Forest Center also employs experts who can help rural communities address downtown revitalization, outdoor recreation, and forest conservation.

It’s hard to keep an ice-fishing tradition in the midcoast

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 14, 2026

The last few years have been rough for ice fishing in the midcoast. Many lakes and ponds have struggled to freeze solid for more than a few weeks. In many cases, they never freeze completely. Warmer-than-normal temperatures combined with big wind and rain storms have left fishermen frustrated. Growing up, there was never a shortage of ice or fishing opportunities. It was there each winter for us and something we always did. Occasionally, we might catch a fish to bring home if we could keep the eagles from stealing it. Gradually, being able to fish every weekend from January through most of March turned into just a handful of times each season. Then maybe once, twice or not at all. There’s still plenty of safe ice to fish on in other parts of Maine, but more and more, folks are having to travel farther north from the midcoast to find it. ~ Chris Sargent

Saco begins first phase of its beach management plan

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 13, 2026

The first phase of Saco’s beach management plan kicked off last week with a public listening session. On Jan. 8, Saco residents gathered to hear updates on the plan, including a proposal to construct a spur jetty designed to help slow erosion at Camp Ellis Beach. Tighe & Bond, a Portland engineering consultant, is working with the city on its management plan. Rob Adams, a landscape architect for the firm said it is necessary to “nourish” the beach with additional sand. “Essentially, this will be a roadmap on how to preserve the shoreline that Saco can implement moving forward,” Adams said. 

Federal food program cuts also threaten Maine farm viability

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 13, 2026

Federal cuts to food benefit program funding throughout 2025 are rippling out into Maine’s agriculture industry. Programs providing for purchases directly from Maine farmers to supply food access programs had paid growers on a steady upward trend between 2022 and 2024, from more than $2.75 million to more than $3.5 million. That appeared to provide Maine farms a promising option for additional revenue streams, as many operations struggle to break even and look to diversify. But last year, the state saw “pretty significant decreases” in funding for some of those programs as federal priorities changed.

High court rules on Popham Beach access dispute between neighbors

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 13, 2026

Maine’s highest court agreed Tuesday that a family has the right to access a neighbor’s beachfront property in a Phippsburg subdivision. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruling comes more than three years after Richard and Sheila Tappen sued their neighbors, Clark Hill and his family, for allegedly encroaching on property that the Tappens had bought from a neighbor in the Popham Beach Estates subdivision through a release deed. The Hills filed a counterclaim to the lawsuit, arguing that they and their guests enjoyed an “implied easement” because of how long their family had been using the neighborhood beach. A Business and Consumer Docket judge ruled in November 2024 that the Hill family could access the beach for recreational purposes.

NECEC power line to begin commercial operations Friday

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 13, 2026

After years of controversy, the New England Clean Energy Connect transmission line will begin commercial operations this week, according to documents filed with Maine regulators. The 145-mile line connects a hydropower generation facility in Quebec, Canada, to a converter station in Lewiston, cutting through Franklin and Somerset counties to inject 1,200 megawatts of renewable electricity into the New England grid. It includes a 53-mile segment that required trees to be cleared northwest of Caratunk; the rest runs along an already-existing corridor. Since its proposal in 2017, the project faced heavy opposition from environmental groups, which argued that its construction would disrupt the surrounding environment and wildlife.

Maine awards $1.2 million to boost efficiency workforce

MAINE PUBLIC • January 13, 2026

Maine has awarded $1.2 million to help build the state's energy efficiency workforce. The Maine Department of Energy Resources said the grants will help grow the state's ranks of HVAC technicians and upskill workers to install heat pumps and other energy efficient improvements. The programs are expected to serve about 1,200 workers across Maine the department said in a press release. "These investments will strengthen career pathways, support local businesses, and ensure Maine has the skilled workforce needed to meet growing demand for energy efficiency services across the state," said department acting commissioner Dan Burgess.

Wells Reserve’s longtime head retires and passes the torch — literally — to his successor

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 13, 2026

Paul Dest has retired after 25 years as the executive director of the Wells Reserve at Laudholm, but his time with the nature reserve is in no way finished. Jennifer Seavey, formerly the chief programs officer for the Island Institute in Rockland, took the reins of the organization Jan. 5. Though he’s stepped down, Dest said that aside from spending more time with his family, he plans to spend his retirement doing volunteer work with the reserve. The Wells Reserve, located off Route 1 near the Wells-Kennebunk line, is Maine’s only National Estuarine Research Reserve. Visited by more than 50,000 people annually, the reserve offers 7 miles of trails, education about coastal ecosystems and research opportunities for scientists in several areas, including salt marsh habitats and restoration.

Maine small businesses impacted by drought now eligible for federal loans

MAINE PUBLIC • January 13, 2026

Small businesses and non-profits in 12 of Maine's 16 counties that suffered economic impacts from last summer's severe drought are now eligible to apply for low-interest federal disaster loans. The loans are for up to $2 million with interest rates as low as 4%, according to the Small Business Administration. Small businesses in all but Androscoggin, Cumberland, Franklin and Oxford counties, are eligible to apply. The declaration for York County covers economic losses incurred later at the end of October. The Small Business Administration said the loans can be used to pay outstanding debts, payroll and other bills directly related to the drought. These loans are separate from federal assistance offered to farmers through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Maine's highest court affirms access to Popham Beach in dispute between neighbors

MAINE PUBLIC • January 13, 2026

Maine's highest court has upheld a lower court's decision that affirms access to Popham Beach. The case involves two neighbors whose families have owned beachfront cottages for decades. But Richard Tappen purchased a parcel of land that cut in front of neighbor Clark Hill's cottage, then sued Hill for trespassing in 2022. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court Tuesday sided with a lower court that found Hill has an implied easement for recreational use of Popham Beach. "'No trespassing' signs have no place on a Maine beach," said Benjamin Ford, an attorney for the Hill family. "Today's law court decision really emphasized that." Ford said he hopes the trend of supporting beach access continues as the law court weighs a separate case about public access to Moody Beach in Wells.

50th Common Ground Country Fair poster to feature border collie

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 13, 2026

The poster for the 50th Common Ground County Fair in Unity this fall features a working border collie dog surrounded by flowers and a throwback font, the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association said Tuesday. Sebago artist Brenda McGuinness created the winning design in the organization’s annual poster competition, inspired by the popular sheep dog demonstrations at the fair each year. “Our 50th Common Ground Country Fair is going to be celebrating our past, and also continuing to rally our community members to build common ground,” fair director April Boucher said. The 2026 fair will be held Sept. 25, 26, and 27 at the organization’s headquarters in Unity.

Letter: Federal policies are inhibiting sustainable energy

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 13, 2026

When I was growing up eitizens could bank on a Republican laissez-faire approach, which would encourage the government to abstain from interfering with free-market opportunities. What happened to the Republican Party to allow the current president to ruin specific industries because of his animus or to gain personal wealth? Based upon the bewildering rationale that East Coast wind projects are a “national security concern,” this administration has effectively stopped five commercial electricity generation projects. This will raise the price of electricity. This administration threatens our economy, the air we breathe, and guarantees the continuing rise in electricity costs for Mainers. ~ Tracy Floyd, Cape Elizabeth 

Opinion: Maine cannot accept the ‘new normal’ when it comes to storms

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 13, 2026

Two years ago today, Jan. 13, 2024, while I was still in my role as a meteorologist at News Center Maine, the final in a series of three devastating storms hit Maine. It was this storm that ultimately broke Portland’s all-time highest water level record, beating out the Blizzard of 1978, which was one of the most infamous storms in New England history. By the end of the month-long blitz, at least 60% of Maine’s working waterfront was either severely damaged or completely destroyed. There was an acceptance that the extreme damage caused was tied to climate change. The anniversary of these storms should be a reminder that saying “this is the new normal” doesn’t make that “normal” any less destructive. It is also a reminder that we must keep pushing for policy solutions to reduce carbon pollution and ensure we have the resources needed to make our communities more resilient and better able to withstand severe weather fueled by climate change. ~ Keith Carson, former meteorologist for News Center Maine, now works on science and climate communications for Maine Conservation Voters

There’s a new rule for property owners in Maine’s unorganized territories

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 13, 2026

Owners of short-term rentals, single-family residential homes or fee-based residential campsites operating in the state’s unorganized territories must now notify the Maine Land Use Planning Commission of the rental. The commission’s new rule went into effect on Jan. 12. Maine’s unorganized area includes parts of northernmost Aroostook County to the New Hampshire border, with 429 townships that do not lie within municipal bounds. In recent years, the number of short-term rentals in the unorganized territory have been increasing, as have the number of complaints related to the rentals, according to the LUPC.

Letter: Maine needs to be more aggressive with clean energy

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 13, 2026

The severe weather caused by climate change negatively affects people. I attend King Middle School. We’ve debated energy sources and climate change. I believe Maine should focus on wind and solar power to become carbon neutral by 2045 in order to reduce climate change. Maine should use wind, a clean energy source, to mitigate climate change. We need to focus on wind and solar power in order to reduce and reverse the effects of climate change and become carbon neutral by 2045. Whatever you can do to help, whether it’s installing solar panels on your roof, wind turbines on farms, growing your own food, or even riding your bike to work, I encourage you to do whatever you can to reduce our carbon emissions and help Maine stop climate change. ~ Mercury Kupferberg, Portland