East Millinocket may get 150 acres from state to use for housing

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 23, 2026

A bill facing the Maine Legislature would see more than 3,300 acres in East Millinocket put up for sale or lease. The state acquired the land in 2011 after Katahdin Paper Co. declared bankruptcy, but is now looking to sell or lease it. Through an agreement made during the purchase of the mill site, East Millinocket would receive 150 acres for free, but any additional land would have to be bought at market value. This opportunity comes while East Millinocket officials are attempting to revitalize the town more than a decade after the Great Northern Paper Co. mill shut down. The roughly 300-acre site, which shuttered in 2014 and was later bought by the town, has received multiple grants and possible reuse prospects in the five years the town has owned it, including a $300 million data center, but no large developments have materialized yet.

Column: Why crow hunting is more fun than you think

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 23, 2026

I’ll shoot woodchucks without a second thought whenever they invade our vegetable garden, and I hunt crows even though I have never eaten one and never had the desire. I’ll target them when our vegetable gardens are starting to ripen or are ready to harvest. I also hunt crows just for fun. Because of their non-migratory status, lead shot and shotguns loaded with more than three shells are legal, and a migratory waterfowl stamp is not required. A Maine hunting license is all that is needed. Whether it is a full-blown passion or occasional pastime, there are reasons to give hunting crows a try. I personally like the fact that crows are intelligent. ~ Al Raychard

This forestry practice makes ugly scenery on Maine hiking trails

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 23, 2026

A new forestry practice is confounding hikers deep in the woods of Orland. It’s strange. It’s ugly. But it’s working. I recently stumbled upon it while hiking Great Pond Mountain and Oak Hill in Orland, in a swathe of conserved land known as the Wildlands. Throughout the forest, trees were sawed off a few feet above the ground, leaving thousands of hip-high stumps. High-stumping is a forestry method used to get rid of diseased, canker-filled beech trees. “By cutting up high, the root system thinks there’s still a tree up there and doesn’t root sprout,” said Landon Fake, the land trust’s executive director. “It continues to send nutrients up the trunk.” The tree then dies without sending out dozens of sprouts like it normally would if it were cut near the ground. And this allows other tree species to grow.

Mast Landing Spring Clean Up Day, March 21

MAINE AUDUBON • March 1, 2026

Volunteers are welcome to join Maine Audubon’s Land Steward for a morning of sanctuary clean up at Mast Landing Audubon Sanctuary in Freeport, ME. Come work alongside Maine Audubon staff to clean up the sanctuary parking lot, spruce up the picnic pavilion area, and help clear the trails of any lingering winter debris. Volunteers should be willing to hike up to 2 miles and feel comfortable using hand tools such as folding saws, loppers, rakes, and shovels. Maine Audubon will provide all the necessary tools and will have a water cooler on site for bottle refills. March 21, 9 am - noon.

Roads, Rain, and a Couple Thousand Amphibians; Call it a Big Night!

MAINE AUDUBON • March 1, 2026

 With spring rain and warming temperatures, frogs and salamanders move to their breeding grounds by the truckload. However, these miniature migrations often put them in harm’s way on roads. How we can assist and protect these ancient populations will be the subject of this presentation. Join us to hear how you can get involved in this important work. Volunteer kits will be available on-site at Fields Pond and Gilsland Farm for check out. Greg LeClair is the creator and Director of the “Maine Big Night” community science project where he coordinates the collection of statewide data on Maine’s amphibian migrations. March 5, 6 pm, online, preregister.

Winter Tracking, Feb 28

MAINE AUDUBON • February 22, 2026

This online program will cover the basics of winter tracking, including prints, scat, and other signs of wildlife. Following this program, there will be companion walks at both our Gilsland Farm and Fields Pond centers on Saturday, February 28. Please register separately for online and in-person programs.

Saturday, February 28, 10:30 am-12:30 pm: Winter Tracking at Gilsland Farm >

Saturday, February 28, 11:30 am-1 pm: Winter Tracking at Fields Pond > 

Conservation + Youth Lobby Day, March 3, 2026

MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL PRIORITIES COALITION • February 22, 2026

What: This is your chance to show Maine lawmakers just how many Mainers care about acting on climate, advancing environmental justice, and protecting our environment and communities!

When: Tuesday, March 3rd from 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Where: Cross Building (Room 216), Augusta, Maine 04330

This year we're combining forces to host a joint lobby day with the Youth Day of Action to maximize our impact. We'll gather to discuss priority bills, hear from legislative sponsors, go over tips and tricks for lobbying, and break into groups. Then we'll take a group picture and walk the short distance to the State House to talk to lawmakers. Your voice is a catalyst for change; together, we can create a brighter future for Maine!

It’s been 25 years since Maine passed a Wabanaki studies law. It’s only partly working.

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • February 22, 2026

Nearly 25 years have passed since Maine lawmakers decided students should learn about Wabanaki history, culture and contemporary life. Still, not all children in Maine receive that comprehensive education. A 2022 report that examined 10 school districts — the five largest in the state and the five closest to reservations — found most were struggling to implement the law with little support from the state. Now, lawmakers are considering whether to provide long-term funding for a statewide Wabanaki studies specialist — something advocates say should have been done years ago.

Maple sugaring 101: From tree to tap to table

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • February 22, 2026

Making maple syrup from the sap that annually flows from Maine’s maple trees is a simple process but mistakes can happen. That seems appropriate considering Maine Maple Sunday, what is now one of the biggest days of the year for maple syrup lovers and producers and inspired other agricultural product-themed days across the country, grew out of a mistake. Alan Greene‘s family has tapped trees at Greene Maple Farm in Sebago for eight generations. Four decades ago, a reporter misquoted his father, Ted, saying the farm would serve pancakes the following Sunday. People showed up looking to have pancakes and maple syrup. That gave Greene’s father an idea. Greene and Arnold Luce, another maple sugarer in Anson, decided, through the maple producers association, to designate a day in 1983 as Maine Maple Sunday when they would open their sugarhouses to the public and share their process and sweet products.

Lambing season brings long nights and signs of spring to Maine sheep farms

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 22, 2026

Lambing season typically runs from late January or early February through the start of spring on Maine farms, bringing new animals that will keep barns lively and businesses running for another year. It’s an action-packed season – “It comes all at once, and then it’s over,” said Tom Hodgman of Waldoview Farm in Winterport – but a rewarding one as the farmers rely on one another to get through the long nights and occasionally complicated births. An evening in the barn is an early sign that spring is ahead and a glimpse into a side of animal agriculture that Hodgman believes has broad potential to be accessible for young Maine farmers today.

Column: Winter is the perfect time to visit Acadia National Park

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 21, 2026

Acadia National Park had one of its busiest years ever in 2025, with the National Park Service recording more than 4 million visitors. The 51,000-acre national park may be one of the the smallest but consistently ranks in the top 10 for visitation. Most come to Acadia between April and October, making the winter months a pretty quiet period to enjoy the bountiful beauty of this island and mountain paradise. Digging into the stats a little deeper, somewhere in the neighborhood of 75,000 people visit Acadia during the wintertime, a small fraction of the annual total. So clearly, to have this amazing national treasure seemingly all to yourself, winter is the time to roam free like you own the place, which as Americans we actually do. ~ Carey Kish

Blizzard warnings issued as storm threatens East Coast

ASSOCIATED PRESS • February 21, 2026

Blizzard warnings were issued Saturday for coastal communities along the East Coast as a late-winter storm set to arrive on Sunday threatened to make a mess of the start of a new week. The National Weather Service increased its assessment of the potential severity of a storm that was projected to be less ferocious only days earlier. The weather service said 1 to 2 feet of snow was possible in many areas. The weather service warned that the storm, with steady winds of 25 to 35 mph (40 to 56 kph) would “make travel dangerous, if not impossible.

Opinion: Maine’s electrical grid investment can’t be deferred

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 21, 2026

I understand why many Mainers are protesting Central Maine Power’s proposed rate increase. But the question isn’t whether we’ll pay for grid improvements. The question is when, and how much. CMP’s proposal represents a shift from reactive emergency spending to proactive infrastructure investment. Key improvements include:
• Tree management: Falling trees are our number one cause of outages.
• Smart grid technology: Installing 2,500 smart devices would restore power remotely for up to 400,000 customers.
• Grid interconnection: Creating redundancy means if one path fails, power flows from another while repairs are made.
Our grid isn’t getting younger, our storms aren’t getting milder and emergency repair costs aren’t going down. Every year we wait, our aging infrastructure becomes more vulnerable and more expensive to fix. ~ Arthur W. Cleaves, York County Emergency Management Agency

Column: What finching is, and why you should try it this winter

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 21, 2026

“Bird” is both a noun and a verb. We bird to see birds. I’ve decided that “finch” should also be a noun and verb. Finching is a specialized subset of birding, requiring its own unique mix of acquired knowledge and skills. Finches are a family of birds with heavy bills designed to crunch seeds. Some species also eat fruit in the winter, and all species dine on bugs and caterpillars in summer. Nine finch species might be findable in Maine at this time of year: redpoll, pine siskin, American goldfinch, red crossbill, white-winged crossbill, purple finch, house finch, pine grosbeak and evening grosbeak. ~ Bob Duchesne

State to help fund wetland restoration in Acadia National Park

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 21, 2026

A Mount Desert Island nonprofit will receive $308,000 in state funding for an ongoing restoration project at Acadia National Park’s largest freshwater wetland. The grant awarded to Friends of Acadia will help address damage already caused by climate change at Great Meadow, and will help prepare Acadia National Park for a host of future climate-driven impacts: among them, intense rainfall, harsh droughts, rising sea levels and fewer native plants.

Natural gas prices in New England spiked to their highest level ever in January

MAINE MONITOR/PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 20, 2026

On Jan. 27, Massachusetts saw the highest natural gas price ever recorded since grid operator ISO-New England updated its pricing database in 2003. That day prices on the New England grid soared to $441.8/MWh by one metric, compared with an average of $135.08/MWh in January 2025. Cold snaps like those that recently gripped Maine cause natural gas prices to skyrocket and electricity prices along with them because natural gas accounted for 55% of total electricity generation on the New England grid in 2025 and is turned to when electricity demand is at its highest. Experts say the state should hasten energy project permitting and transmission interconnection to keep prices down long-term.

How would Maine’s proposed climate superfund work?

MAINE MONITOR • February 20, 2026

As Maine grapples with how to pay to fix roads, piers and other infrastructure damaged by severe storms that are increasing as the climate changes, lawmakers are considering a climate superfund act that would fine major fossil fuel companies for past damage. Vermont and New York passed similar laws in 2024; Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island are each considering their own bills this year. Maine’s climate superfund bill, L.D. 1870, which advanced out of committee last month, would impose fines on companies that contributed more than 1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions between 1995 and 2024 and put that money toward a range of climate resilience and mitigation projects across the state. The idea is modeled after the federal Superfund program that was established in 1980 to make polluters pay to clean up toxic waste sites. 

Maine Calling: Winter and spring birding

MAINE PUBLIC • February 20, 2026

Winter is a great time for birding in Maine. Plenty of species are still around, from sea birds to snowy owls. And they can often be easier to spot, with less foliage and more white snow to set off their colors. Learn which birds to look for and where, and find out how to prepare for spring migration. Also, hear about the newly completed Maine Bird Atlas.

Conserved lands spotlighted in snowmobile, snowshoe events in Rangeley

CENTRAL MAINE • February 18, 2026

The Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust brought dozens of residents and visitors onto conserved lands this winter through snowmobile and snowshoe events designed to connect the community with local trails and winter landscapes. On Feb. 14, the trust hosted a snowmobile trailside rest stop at the Hunter Cove Uplands parking lot along Route 4. More than 45 snowmobilers stopped throughout the day to warm up by a fire and enjoy hot cocoa, coffee, cookies and hot dogs while meeting trust staff and volunteers. The event also gave riders an opportunity to learn about the trust’s efforts to preserve snowmobile access across the Rangeley Lakes Region. The organization maintains more than 35 miles of snowmobile trails on its conservation lands.

Letter: Cryptocurrency mining is not for Maine

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 20, 2026

While Jacob Aronoff makes a valid pitch that tax revenues from crypto mining might offset the public outlay required to improve Maine’s power grid and subsidize the crypto mining industry’s need for massive amount of electricity (“Maine’s energy grid needs help. Crypto mining might offer it,” Feb. 2), this story hit at the same time as reports that a United Arab Emirates company took a $500 million stake in President Trump’s family-owned crypto enterprise. Aside from the unbearable noise emanating 24/7 from the facilities, the power they require is off the scale. Maine already subsidizes commercial solar farms at taxpayer expense. Just say no to this latest raid on our wallets. ~ Larry Butler, Topsham