Request to modify pier hints at plans for long-dormant Bucksport riverfront site

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 19, 2026

A long-vacant riverfront industrial property just upriver from Bucksport’s former paper mill site is getting some official attention that may be a sign someone wants to put it back to use. Sprague International Properties recently applied to the state to transfer and modify a lease on submerged lands where a pier extends from the parcel into the Penobscot River, the first major sign of life there in years, according to a town official. It would reduce the lease footprint of the existing 50-by-50-foot pier. The former oil terminal north of the town center off River Road, known as Sprague North and called the “coal pocket” locally, was once a delivery port for coal and sulfur, then stored home heating fuels in large tanks until 1995. It has been vacant for decades and long eyed for various economic development projects.

Islesboro residents underwhelmed by state’s hybrid ferry plan

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 19, 2026

The Maine Department of Transportation is moving ahead with plans for a ferry that is less climate-friendly than some Islesboro residents had hoped. The agency is now recommending a hybrid vessel that primarily relies on diesel and will only use 20% less fuel than the current ferry on the route, the 40-year old M/V Margaret Chase Smith. Some Islesboro residents are disappointed that the agency has missed an opportunity to make deeper emissions cuts even as the need to address climate change is more urgent than ever. The island’s fishermen and aquaculture growers are already being affected by warming oceans and acidification, both of which are linked to climate change, making it urgent to address emissions.

What we know about Donald Trump Jr.’s plans for his Maine hunting land

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 19, 2026

More than a year after a company led by Donald Trump Jr. bought a prime northern Maine hunting plot, it is preparing a private nature preserve and a hunting camp. The president’s son and his company, Trump Timberland and Wildlife Management, bought 3,900 acres in Crystal and Island Falls in November 2024. Trump Jr. is an avid hunter who shot a moose in the area on a guided hunt two years earlier. There has been relatively little activity on the property. But roads have been cleaned up and fences erected to lay the groundwork for what Trump Jr. hopes to turn into a wildlife preserve and hunting ground over the next two to five years. The company is in early talks with a nonprofit about a possible conservation easement. Eventually, it’ll be open by invitation for hunting. “No shiny gold Trump tower is going up anytime soon,” said Anthony Fratianne, the co-president of Trump Timberland.

Acadia building new path to protect pedestrians at Cadillac Mountain summit

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 18, 2026

Acadia officials are starting construction on a new trail that will prevent pedestrians from needing to walk on a busy roadway at the park’s highest peak. The trail will give visitors a dedicated walkway between the east and west parking lots along Cadillac Summit Road, one of the Acadia National Park’s busiest roads. The project is part of a broader push to invest more in pedestrian accessibility at Acadia.

Letter: Susan Collins shows commitment to Maine fishermen

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 18, 2026

I know firsthand the pressure our groundfish fleet faces. Recently, we were on the brink of a premature and unnecessary shutdown. Regulations to increase the haddock allowable catch by 50% were supposed to be implemented last May, but due to bureaucratic delays, those crucial fish remained off-limits. Despite months of assurances from NOAA Fisheries, the rule stalled. We reached out to her staff on a Tuesday morning; by Wednesday afternoon, the rule was published and our season was saved. ~ John Mitchell, Bass Harbor

Midcoast couple wants to give away 1,200 acres of conserved woodland to new owner

LINCOLN COUNTY NEWS • August 18, 2025

After almost 50 years of farming and forestry, the owners of Hidden Valley Farm in Whitefield are looking for someone new to take over. Bambi Jones and David “Tracy” Moskovitz, owners of the 1,200 acres, said they are looking to either gift the property to an appropriate nonprofit or sell it and donate the proceeds to benefit conservation efforts. The couple has received around about half a dozen proposals, but are still accepting more. They plan to make a decision by this summer. “We’re just really interested in how, especially conservation organizations, can do a more effective job of fulfilling their missions,” Moskovitz said. “We want to help spur that along.”

Ice jam raises flood risk on Penobscot County river

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 18, 2026

An ice jam is raising flood risk on the Piscataquis River. The ice jam happened on the river in Maxfield on Wednesday morning, according to the National Weather Service.It’s already caused flooding on North Howland Road, and further flooding is possible.

Tremont might become 1st MDI town to hold deer hunt in nearly 100 years

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 18, 2026

Town Manager Jesse Dunbar told the Tremont Select Board this week that the latest draft of the town’s deer hunting season proposal has received unofficial approval by Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife officials. According to Nathan Webb, wildlife division director of IFW, the present ban on deer hunting was implemented by the 85th Maine Legislature. Reference to a closed season on deer on Mount Desert Island first appeared in 1931. All other animals that can be legally hunted in Maine can also currently be hunted on MDI. Tremont’s Select Board has been refining plans to hold a special deer hunt as a way to reduce the number of deer-involved car crashes, destruction of private property through deer grazing, and instances of Lyme disease in humans.

Column: Why the lobster is emerging as a symbol of the AI sector

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 18, 2026

On the morning of March 10, two men hauled a 9-foot sculpture of a lobster off a pickup truck parked in New York City’s Financial District. People started speculating about its intent. It appears the crustacean emblem of Maine is emerging as a symbol in the AI sector, initiated by its use as the logo of OpenClaw, software that operates as a personal assistant capable of completing tasks like sending emails, ordering groceries, booking flights and even writing code for itself. “ClawCons” are being held around the world to bring together OpenClaw users, including one in New York City this month that featured a spread of free lobster tails. “Raising lobster” is the term used for training the AI agents, and other platforms developed as offshoots of OpenClaw, such as QClaw and MaxClaw, are perpetuating the theme.

Coburn Gore border station expansion won’t hurt environment, study finds

SUN JOURNAL • March 17, 2026

The proposed $95 million expansion and modernization of the Coburn Gore border station will have no significant impact on the natural or human environment, clearing the way for construction to begin in the summer of 2028, a federal study said. The study found modernization will provide a long-term beneficial effect on the local electric supply through improved capacity and geothermal energy, reducing the overall demand.

Bankruptcy delays auction of sprawling Kennebunkport glampground

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 17, 2026

The foreclosure auction for a Kennebunkport camping resort was postponed indefinitely after the company that owns it filed for bankruptcy. The foreclosure auction of Sandy Pines Campground in Kennebunkport was set for March 5, but the event was “postponed until further notice due to a bankruptcy filing,” according to the Portland-based Keenan Auction Company. This is the latest financial hiccup for Tim Harrington, who is also facing liens and legal complaints over unpaid contractor services for work done at the Asticou Hotel on Mount Desert Island, which he also owns. That hotel re-opened last year after a $28 million renovation.

Maine ski resort leans into high tech in the face of warming winters

MAINE PUBLIC • March 17, 2026

Greg Hunton has been driving a snow groomer at Sunday River for 25 years, so he knows his way around the sprawling ski resort in Newry. The mountain is making new investments to increase snowmaking efficiency and use less water and energy. As a warming climate makes New England winters less cold and snowy, snowmaking has become an essential tool to give skiers the amount of snow they expect on the slopes. Last year, Sunday River used aircraft equipped with LiDAR to map out the topography of the mountain, almost down to the inch. Now when the two LiDAR-equipped cats go out, their scans show the difference between the trail surface and the base map, thereby giving the snow depth. Sunday River has committed to a sustainability "Forever Project" to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, reduce waste, and improve efficiencies.

Ellsworth takes composter to court over bad stench

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 17, 2026

Ellsworth is taking a composting company to court after getting repeated complaints over a consistent bad stench emanating from its property on Industrial Road. The city has filed a complaint against Maine Organics in Ellsworth District Court. The city alleges the company violated Ellsworth’s recently adopted odor ordinance on multiple occasions during the summer of 2025. It’s the latest in a years-long saga between Maine Organics, the company’s neighbors and the city’s code enforcement department, who have fielded and issued odor-related complaints and violations against the composting facility.

Pain of soaring gas prices compounded by electricity rate increases across states

MAINE MORNING STAR • March 17, 2026

Electricity rates “increased significantly” in nearly every U.S. state in 2025, with residents in a dozen states seeing at least a 10% jump, according to a congressional report released Tuesday. The analysis came amid other gloomy economic headlines, including a steep increase in gasoline prices since the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran began, and a lousy jobs report last month.  States that saw the highest spikes included Maine, 10.6%. Democrats on the committee pointed to President Donald Trump’s campaign promise to slash electricity costs, among other prices, by half. Affordability is a key issue ahead of the 2026 midterm elections in November that will determine control of Congress. Trump has repeatedly referred to the issue of affordability as a “hoax.”

Peroxide leak reported at Woodland Pulp mill

QUODDY TIDES • March 17, 2026

Following a toxic gas exposure incident in January, which caused the deaths of two workers, the Woodland Pulp mill experienced another accident on March 7. The Jan. 27 exposure to hydrogen sulfide gas occurred when the mill was shutting down operations because of the high price of natural gas. The March 7 leak of hydrogen peroxide occurred while the mill was in the process of restarting operations following the month-long shutdown. According to Scott Beal, spokesperson for the mill, shortly after 9 a.m. workers noticed a drain valve had become opened, which resulted in the loss of approximately 4,000 gallons of hydrogen peroxide into the mill’s sewer system. Peroxide is a compound used in the kraft mill’s bleaching process, along with chlorine dioxide. Exposure to hydrogen peroxide, which is considered a hazardous substance, can cause skin, lung and eye irritation, or even severe burns and blindness. It also can cause explosions.

Pests and storms in changing forests bring new problems for Maine woodlot owners

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 17, 2026

Challenges to understanding and managing the Maine woods have grown in recent years amid climate change, which has brought destructive new pests, fast-moving diseases, invasive plants that take over, and warmer winters that change growing, harvesting and wildlife conditions. It will take decades to see the extent of how these forces will shape Maine’s key timber industry and its characteristic forests which, unlike in most other states, are largely owned and managed privately. According to woodlot owners, current understanding of how to manage forests will have to evolve, and there’s no precedent in human memory for how to do it. “This ecological memory we have about how things are supposed to work is becoming unreliable,” said Bob Seymour, a retired UMaine silviculture professor..

Opinion: Biomass works for Maine, and Susan Collins helped make it happen

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 17, 2026

For more than 40 years, my family has owned and operated biomass combined heat and power plants in Searsmont. I see every day how this local, renewable energy source supports jobs, businesses, and rural communities across our state. That’s why I’m grateful for Sen. Susan Collins’ leadership and support of Maine’s biomass industry. At Georges River Energy, our facility generates enough electricity to power our sawmill, Robbins Lumber. Our facility uses low-grade wood left over from local logging and milling. Unlike wind and solar, biomass provides firm, dispatchable power. It also supports Maine’s forest products industry. In 2022, Sen. Susan Collins and Sen. Angus King secured nearly $2.5 million in federal funding to strengthen Maine’s forest products sector and expand markets for wood biomass fuels. As Maine plans for the future, we should use every tool available. Biomass is provean and practical. ~ Alden Robbins, Georges River Energy biomass facility, Searsmont

Record-setting team creates 250-foot ice carousel in northern Maine lake

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 16, 2026

A 250-foot ice carousel spun on Long Lake this weekend as the Northern Maine Ice Busters returned for their ninth year building the massive rotating disks. Crews drilled a circle of holes with augers to mark the outline of the carousel, then used long-bar chainsaws to cut through the ice and free the massive disk from the surrounding lake. Organizers said the 250-foot diameter was chosen as a nod to the nation’s upcoming 250th anniversary. The Ice Busters are planning another world-record attempt in 2027, when organizers say the carousel will measure more than 2,000 feet across.

Portland neighbors, activists raise alarm with plan for gas power plant

MAINE PUBLIC • March 17, 2026

A planned 10 megawatt, gas-fired power plant to provide electricity and heat to a major redevelopment on the Portland waterfront is stoking opposition from neighbors and climate activists in the city. Barbara Vestal, who lives on Fore Street near the proposed development said she and others were shocked and surprised to learn about developer PF Land LCC's plans for the power plant. The company has requested that Maine Public Utilities Commission rule its facility will not be regulated as an electric utility. Vestal said the proposal is a major deviation from a master plan for the $1 billion housing, retail, office and hotel development on the 10-acre site of the former Portland Co. approved a decade ago. "It's bringing a major source of emissions, and noise and vibration to this neighborhood," Vestal said.

What you need to know about rabies in Maine

CENTRAL MAINE • March 16, 2026

Rabies in Maine is fairly uncommon. As of Monday, state data showed only three reported cases this year. Rabies is a disease caused by a virus that affects the brain and spinal cord, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. It is common in animals, especially wildlife, but very rare in humans in the United States. The rabies virus lives in the saliva, brain and spinal cord of infected animals, the Maine CDC says. It commonly spreads through animal bites and scratches. It can also spread if an animal’s saliva or neural tissue contacts the mouth, nose or eyes of a person or animal, or if it enters a cut in the skin. The virus does not spread by simply petting animals or touching dried bodily fluids of an infected animal.