The most comprehensive online source of conservation news and events in Maine and beyond, edited by Jym St. Pierre
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 4, 2026
If you are an outdoor enthusiast, as I am, then Matt Dunlap is our candidate for the 2nd Congressional District. I believe no one has done more to develop and support popular recreational activities including snowmobiling, boating, hiking, hunting, and fishing. ~ Bucky Owen, Orono
MAINE MORNING STAR • May 4, 2026
Maine lawmakers closed out the 132nd Legislature last week after months spent confronting the fallout of drastic federal policy changes and funding uncertainty. A $45 million bond for agricultural and forestry programs seemed to gain momentum, managing to reach the necessary two-thirds majority in the Senate, but ultimately failed in the House. Lawmakers declined to advance a proposed climate superfund, after other states that passed similar policies have been sued by the Trump administration. Instead, lawmakers backed a study to assess how much money greenhouse gas emissions have cost the state. A measure that made it into law adds additional requirements around the testing of PFAS in water. It requires landlords for residential buildings supplied by well water to test for PFAS, and if a homeowner is selling their property, they must disclose if the well water has tested positive for PFAS contamination. But another bill that would have allocated $1 million towards PFAS testing failed to secure funding.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 4, 2026
A drive through western Maine offers a mix of waterfalls, including:
• Cascade Stream Gorge Falls, Carrabassett Valley
• Falls at Frenchman’s Hole, Township E
• Dunn Falls, Andover
• Smalls Falls, Rangeley
• Screw Auger Falls, Grafton Notch Township
• Mother Walker Falls, Grafton Notch Township
• Step Falls, Newry
• Coos Canyon, Byron
• Snow Falls Gorge, West Paris
• Rattlesnake Pool, Stow
• The Cataracts, Andover
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 3, 2026
Right now, pools are filled with amphibian egg masses. Frog and salamander eggs can look similar at a glance. This short video shows what to look for.
CENTRAL MAINE • May 3, 2026
Outdoor recreation is a cornerstone of Maine’s economy. Each year, millions of visitors come to experience our parks, trails, waterways and working forests — supporting roughly 32,000 jobs and generating $3.9 billion in economic activity. In 2020, Congress created the National Parks and Public Lands Legacy Restoration Fund. This landmark legislation provided five years of dedicated funding to address long-overdue repairs on federal lands. Here in Maine, the LRF delivered $54 million for critical repairs to our public lands. Now, with that funding having expired, Congress is considering the America the Beautiful Act, introduced by Maine’s own Sen. Angus King. By passing this legislation, Congress can ensure that Maine’s treasured public lands remain safe, accessible and vibrant. If we want future generations to experience Maine as we know it today, we need to invest in it now. ~ David Heidrich, Augusta
CENTRAL MAINE • May 2, 2026
Allagash Brewing Co. is the largest craft brewery in the state, producing 100,000 barrels of beer, or 3.1 million gallons, a year — enough to fill four or five Olympic-size swimming pools. To produce all that beer, Allagash uses a lot of materials: grain, hops, water, cans, bottles, kegs, pallets, cleaning products and more. As part of the company’s commitment to being a certified B Corporation company, Allagash keeps 98% of that waste out of the landfill, founder Rob Tod said.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 2, 2026
The Legislature has called for a survey to collect information from assessors regarding their experiences administering the Maine Tree Growth Tax Law. Forest owners: To ensure that this survey is something more than a witch hunt, talk to your assessor about your land, what you do there, how it benefits your neighbors, and how your woods support the small businesses that make up Maine’s forest products industry. Don’t let this survey become the first step in the elimination of Maine’s Tree Growth Tax Law. ~ Bill Streever, Pembroke
MAINE MORNING STAR • May 2, 2026
The U.S. Forest Service is reorganizing. The federal agency will move their headquarters from Washington D.C. to Salt Lake City, closing over 50 research stations in 31 states, and will restructure management to rely on states more. All these changes are coming while state GOP leaders and the Trump administration are pushing for the sale or transfer of federal public lands.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 2, 2026
Tourism is deeply embedded in Maine’s character, from more than 3,000 miles of coastline and waterfront that define our coastal communities, to our pristine lakes, rugged mountains and distinctive small towns. It is a cornerstone of who we are and a vital driver of economic prosperity across the state. Tourism is not a secondary industry in Maine. It is one of the foundational pillars of our economic strength. In 2024 alone, tourism generated $15.9 billion in total economic impact, supporting 115,900 jobs and delivering $5.4 billion in wages to Maine workers. Congress is considering S.3623, the Durbin-Marshall credit card bill, which would impose new mandates on the credit card system that could potentially harm rewards programs. When visitation declines, Maine’s communities will feel the consequences. ~ Kerri Bickford, former Maine state representative, Topsham
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 2, 2026
Walking through Portland — particularly along Washington Avenue — I have been increasingly discouraged. What should be clean city streets are instead marred by overflowing litter, dog waste bags, broken glass and ignored garbage by businesses and home owners. We need a new approach to civic pride. During a recent visit to Charleston, South Carolina, I was struck by how immaculate the city remained thanks to a team of “ambassadors” funded through a local merchant association. Portland should consider two paths: • Shared responsibility: Require property owners to take active ownership of the sidewalk and curb immediately in front of their businesses. • A dedicated workforce: Enact a modest fee to fund a professional “ambassador” program for consistent maintenance. ~ Clean sidewalks are the foundation of a thriving city. It is time we stop accepting the status quo. ~ Michael Harris, Portland
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 2, 2026
Commercial fishing in Maine is breaking the people who sustain it. Four out of five fishermen report overuse injuries — torn shoulders, damaged knees, chronic back pain — from work that hasn’t fundamentally changed in generations. Most don’t retire from the job. Their bodies give out first. We know how to reduce that damage. What’s missing is consistent federal support. This isn’t an abstract policy debate — it’s being decided right now in the federal budget process. Programs like Sea Grant do more than fund research. They support the training, safety systems and local partnerships that keep fishermen on the water longer and in better health. Fishing communities cannot rebuild their workforce or protect their health one budget fight at a time. If Maine wants a future on the water, Congress needs to fund it — deliberately and as policy. ~ Chris Payne, Cumberland, graduate student, University of New England
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 2, 2026
I haven’t seen a chipmunk in my yard since November. Perhaps there’s a particularly talented short-tailed weasel haunting my neighborhood. They prowl my yard in some winters, but I usually see them or their tracks when they’re around. I fear that the reason I haven’t seen a weasel this year is for the same reason I haven’t seen a chipmunk. Rat poison. The poisons-du-jour are known as second-generation rodenticides, or SGARs. They are anticoagulants. A critter that ingests the poison dies from internal bleeding. The poisons are contained in bait stations sized for rodents, too small for pets or other animals to enter. The problem is that any predator that later eats the rodent gets poisoned by proxy. SGARs are working their way up the food chain. ~ Bob Duchesne
MAINE MONITOR • May 1, 2026
Washington County farmers face mounting economic uncertainty, but they will not see a proposal for relief funds on the November ballot. Lawmakers made several attempts to revive L.D. 2094, a bill that would have directed a $45 million bond into existing grant and low‑interest loan programs for farmers and the forestry sector. The legislative session ended in mid‑April with the bond proposal stalled between the House and Senate, without a consensus. “Farmers aren’t looking for a handout,” Shelley Megquier, policy and research director at Maine Farmland Trust, said. “It’s heartbreaking, but not devastating,” she added, referring to the lack of funding secured for agriculture during a time when economic futures are historically unstable from drought and tariff price hikes, among other concerns.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 1`, 2026
President Donald Trump came out in support of U.S. Rep. Jared Golden’s bill to extend a pause on federal regulations intended to protect endangered whales, bolstering a top priority for Maine lobstermen. The White House issued a Friday letter saying the Republican president would sign the measure if Congress sent it to his desk. Golden’s measure would extend the six-year pause that was negotiated as part of a 2022 spending bill for another seven years into 2035.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 1, 2026
Ice-out on Moosehead Lake was declared at 8:30 a.m. Friday. Currier’s Flying Service made the annual call. The earliest recorded ice-out was April 14, 1945, and the latest was May 29, 1878. The declaration traditionally signals the start of the summer tourism season on one of Maine’s most popular lakes.
MAINE PUBLIC • May 1, 2026
The Maine Office of Tourism is reporting that the state saw 650,000 fewer visitors last year, but they spent more than $9 billion, a record high. State Tourism Director Carolann Ouellette said the tourism marketing effort known as Forged by Nature celebrates all things Maine and that appeals to visitors. "What's important to us as Mainers, from working waterfronts, working landscapes, farms and forests, and just who we are as a people. That's what makes Maine special to our visitors," Ouellette said.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 1, 2026
State environmental regulators are moving toward a deal that would let Maine’s largest oil-fired power plant skirt the latest pollution controls, igniting a debate over whether the aging facility is a vital energy safety net or an expensive smog-producing relic. The Department of Environmental Protection has issued a draft order for a clean air exemption for Wyman Station on Yarmouth’s Cousins Island. Owned by NextEra Energy, the peaking plant runs mainly when there is high demand for electricity or when other plants go offline. The decision carries consequences for both the region’s energy security and its climate mandates as New England struggles to prevent blackouts during extreme weather while transitioning away from fossil fuels.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 1, 2026
I had a bill this year, LD 2115, that would have created a fund to pay for well testing, abatement, remediation, installation and maintenance of filtration systems, the provision of bottled water, and even facilitating connections to local water districts when possible. Despite bipartisan support, the bill died for lack of funding. I challenge my fellow Democrats running for governor and also the independents and Republicans: Commit (in writing!) that people on wells in both rural Maine and unconnected parts of populated areas will be able to look at your next biennial or supplemental budget this January and see actual initiatives and language that show you’re going to take even a modest bite out of this $1.3 billion problem. A small amount of consistent, sustainable funding will go an incredibly long way. ~ Rep. Dan Ankeles, D-Brunswick
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 1, 2026
In the long, dark months that bridged 2023 and 2024, Aroostook County saw its worst winter in decades. On paper, this winter was worse. Two fewer inches of snow fell, and heavy December rain wiped out most of the accumulation from an early storm. Then it got cold. Really cold. The rain froze to ice and established a thick base layer for snow to accumulate on top of. And despite just two storms producing 4 or more inches of snow, the trails remained in good shape, bucking trends of recent years. Chris King has never seen a winter with such little snow be so successful for snowmobiling. “Not in my 38 years,” King, the president of the Limestone SnowHawks snowmobile club, said. But clubs have also gotten better at working with less snow. They borrow from the sides of trails and build berms in open fields and other problem areas where strong winds can carry snow away.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 1, 2026
Many people whose livelihoods depend on the state’s $16.5 billion tourist industry are watching uneasily as the season takes shape amidst an affordability crisis that has pushed gas, health care and food costs to punishing highs. At the same time, the U.S.-led war in Iran is dragging on and international visitors are staying away. Fewer visitors came to Maine in 2025 than the year before — tourism numbers fell by about 4%. Of particular concern to Mainers: Visits from Canadians are down more than 20%.
