Aroostook immersion tour will bring Acadian history to life

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 31, 2026

An Aroostook teacher will bring Acadian culture to life with a weeklong immersion experience next month. “Living Acadia” (or “Acadie Vivante”) workshop will draw educators from across Maine to northern Maine’s St. John Valley, culminating in a public daylong reenactment of early Acadian life on June 27. It’s the first large-scale immersion event of its kind in the St. John Valley, to which many of Maine’s French Acadian descendants can trace their roots. It will coincide with the upcoming 50th anniversary of Van Buren’s Acadian Village, the second-largest such settlement in the U.S.

Column: Nest failure is common for birds in Maine. But many have backup plans.

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 30, 2026

Maine weather is seldom ideal. Renesting is a common survival strategy. If at first, you don’t succeed… Tree nests are vulnerable to predators, including raptors and red squirrels. Open nests are especially vulnerable to cowbirds. Ground-nesting birds face multiple threats besides the perils of cold and flooding. Ground-based predators such as foxes, raccoons and skunks relish eggs. Waterfowl on the nest are literally “sitting ducks” for large raptors. Renesting is impossible for raptors. When a raptor nest fails, it’s already too late for a do-over. Other large birds can renest successfully. If a common loon nest fails, the pair often tries again. ~ Bob Duchesne

Opinion: Five big wins for wildlife in Maine’s 2026 legislative session

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 30, 2026

The second session of the 132nd Maine Legislature wrapped up recently. Here are five important wins for Maine wildlife this session. ~ Ches Gundrum, Maine Audubon
• Dark sky protection: LD 1934 will require that new or replacement lighting installed using public funds or on public property meets standards that prevent light pollution.
• Protecting shorelines: LD 1904 will help municipalities hold shoreland zoning violators accountable.
• Plug-in solar: LD 1730 allows more Mainers to tap into an affordable renewable energy source by increasing access to plug-in or “balcony” solar.
• Improving the LUPC: LD 870adds two new seats to the Maine’s Land Use Planning Commission: one member representing the Wabanaki Nations and another with explicit natural resource-based expertise.
• Battery waste:LD 474 and LD 1519, that require companies that produce certain batteries or electronic smoking devices to take responsibility for their product waste through state-approved stewardship programs.

Opinion: For the health of Greater Casco Bay, Wyman Station cannot be allowed to skirt clean air laws

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 30, 2026

Wyman Power Station on Cousins Island, which burns heavy and residual oil, recently submitted a request for a clean air exemption to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) that would allow it to avoid complying with updated air quality standards for nitrous oxides for 13 more years. Wyman should not be granted this exemption. By May 2026, sources like Wyman Station that emit NOx were required to reduce their emissions with new technology or seek the use of alternate technology. A major energy company valued at more than $200 billion should not be allowed to skirt these common-sense safeguards. ~ Ivy Frignoca, Friends of Casco Bay; Luke Frankel, Natural Resources Council of Maine

Here are 8 places to hike in the Kennebec River Valley

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 30, 2026

The Kennebec River Valley encompasses over 5,000 square miles, and within that vast area of hills and mountains, rivers and streams, and lakes and ponds are a wealth of recreational opportunities. For hikers, dozens of public and private conservation lands totaling many thousands of acres and featuring miles of wonderful trails are available, a veritable footloose feast. Here are just a few places for you and your boots to explore ~ Carey Kish
• Moxie Falls, West Forks
• Moxie Mountain, Caratunk
• Good Will−Hinckley, Hinckley
• Kennebec Highlands, Belgrade Lakes Region
• Howard Hill, Augusta
• Pownalborough Courthouse, Dresden
• Whiskeag Trail, Bath
• Cooley Center Pond Preserve, Phippsburg

RFK Jr. announces new effort on Lyme disease

MAINE MORNING STAR • May 30, 2026

During a visit to New Hampshire Friday, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced millions of dollars in funding for research on Lyme disease before what’s expected to be a heavy tick season. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will be giving up to $2 million to projects that “harness artificial intelligence and open data to help patients with Lyme disease and other invisible illnesses get answers faster and access care more quickly,” Kennedy announced. He also said the department will be funding up to $250,000 worth of public awareness campaigns and educational projects, specifically those developed with input from patients, clinicians, and advocates, and another $250,000 to “promising frontline solutions.”

The Trump Administration Plans to Open Hunting, Fishing Opportunities on Refuge and Park Lands

OUTDOOR LIFE • May 29, 2026

The Interior Department’s announcement earlier this week of new and expanded hunting and fishing opportunities on national wildlife refuges and other federal lands include more properties and acreages than any previous administration has proposed. Another significant change is a proposal to suspend regulations that ban the use of lead shotshells, bullets, and fishing tackle on nine national wildlife refuges, including Rachel Carson NWR in Maine.

Towns get new survival guide as Maine predicts spike in extreme heat

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 29, 2026

Dangerous heat days are likely to increase two- to four-fold across Maine by 2050, forcing towns and cities to reconsider how workers and aging and homeless residents survive increasingly volatile summers, according to a state health report released Friday. The extreme temperature survival manual predicts a sharp rise in the number of life-threatening days with a heat index of 95 degrees or more by 2050. In Lewiston, five dangerous days a year will likely turn into 15. In Portland, four dangerous days will likely become 13.5. Officials are now urging Mainers to think like a “hot-weather state” without lowering their guard against a winter likely to be more volatile than in years past.

The last sardine cannery in Maine closed in 2010 but a new company aims to bring fish canning back

MAINE PUBLIC • May 29, 2026

The last large-scale sardine cannery in the state closed in 2010, but Joshua Scherz, co-founder of Maine Canned Fish, aims to package flounder, cod, oysters, and other seafood in attractive tins to offer new marketing opportunities for fishermen up and down the coast. His canning operation is in a Topsham industrial park not far from I-295. Scherz said he hopes it will be up and running by this summer. Maine Canned Fish is one of 12 start-ups in the Dirigo Labs Business Accelerator Program, run by the Central Maine Growth Council in Waterville.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Troy Jackson releases conservation plan

MAINE PUBLIC • May 29, 2026

Democratic gubernatorial primary candidate Troy Jackson unveiled a conservation plan for Maine Friday. One of his top priorities is to re-establish the Department of Conservation as a standalone agency. It merged with the Department of Agriculture under the LePage administration. A fifth-generation logger, Jackson said he'd ban aerial herbicide spraying in Maine's forests. Jackson also wants to establish a Forest Advisory Board comprised of landowners, environmental organizations, and tribal members. And he says he'd devote more funding to Land for Maine's Future. "To meet the 30% by 2030 goal, Maine must increase its rate of conservation five times over," he said.

Rabid fox found in Maine town

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 29, 2026

A rabid fox was found in Lisbon Falls about 4 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Lisbon Police Department. In humans, rabies causes flu-like symptoms early on. As the virus advances, anxiety, confusion, agitation hallucinations and hydrophobia. It is almost fatal, in both humans and animals, once symptoms develop. Police urge anyone who spots a suspected rabid animal to not approach it and report the sighting to the police department.

Bangor will rename city trail after Gerald Talbot

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 29, 2026

Bangor is renaming a trail after Gerald Talbot, a civil rights leader and the state’s first Black legislator. That comes after Talbot died May 9 at age 94. The City Council authorized renaming the trail in honor of Talbot, whose name also adorns the park and playground off Second Street, where he grew up. Talbot made history in 1972 when he became Maine’s first Black legislator. His daughter Rachel Talbot Ross went on to serve as Maine House speaker. During his life, Talbot championed civil rights in Maine.

Maine sewage sludge crisis is ‘still under a clock’ even if landfill expands

MAINE MONITOR • May 29, 2026

The proposed expansion of the Juniper Ridge landfill in Old Town and Alton comes as Maine grapples with where to put the PFAS-contaminated sludge that piles up each day at municipal wastewater treatment plants. The landfill’s application for an expansion license is being processed by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, which recently determined for a second time that the expansion would have a public benefit. That remains under an appeal brought by the Penobscot Nation and the Conservation Law Foundation. They argue air and water pollution from the landfill is an environmental injustice to the surrounding communities and to the Penobscot River. Juniper Ridge currently handles about half of the state’s total landfilled waste and about 90 percent of the state’s sewage sludge.

Maine still has places that feel genuinely wild. I explored one of them.

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 28, 2026

The Debsconeag Lakes Wilderness Area, managed by The Nature Conservancy, sits just south of Baxter State Park and is part of nearly 500,000 acres of conserved forest connected to Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument and Nahmakanta Public Lands. Trees as old as 300 years have been documented there. The lakes contain brook trout, Arctic charr and rare freshwater mussels, species that require pristine water quality and relatively undisturbed habitat. The Debsconeag Lakes feed into the West Branch of the Penobscot River. If you navigate upstream through the Penobscot River Corridor — past Chesuncook Lake — paddlers can access Telos Lake and Chamberlain Lake. Telos marks the southern end of the 92-mile Allagash Wilderness Waterway.

Community Trails launches matching campaign in memory of forester

THE COUNTY • May 27, 2026

Northern Maine Community Trails is in the midst of a community fundraising campaign honoring the life of local forester Hugh Violette, with all donations matched dollar-for-dollar up to $22,300 through June 5. The matching challenge was established by Hugh’s parents, Dennis and Holly Violette. Hugh Violette, a graduate of the University of Maine forestry program and professional forester in Aroostook County, built his life around the forests, trails and outdoor spaces of northern Maine. Northern Maine Community Trails, a nonprofit organization that purchased the former Nordic Heritage Outdoor Center in 2025, is working to secure long-term nonprofit ownership and operation of the trail system and lodge.

Maine plans to use herbicide against invasive water plants

MAINE PUBLIC • May 28, 2026

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection plans to use herbicides to kill invasive variable leaf milfoil infestations on three Maine lakes this summer. The agency is seeking new permits to apply chemicals in Messalonskee, Little Sebago and Androscoggin lakes, according to a department notice. John McPhedran, an aquatic invasives specialist at the department said it used the herbicide ProcellaCOR against milfoil infestations several times since the product was authorized by federal regulators in 2017. "We are discharging a pollutant to the state water, which none of us really like to do," McPhedran said. "But these are instances which we think that it is warranted."

Acadia waits for funding as Trump diverts $67M in park entrance fees to DC projects

MAINE PUBLIC • May 28, 2026

President Donald Trump has diverted at least $67 million in national park entrance fee revenue to finance beautification projects in Washington D.C., while parks like Acadia face a growing list of delayed maintenance needs. The administration has redirected $60 million in entrance fee revenue to repair nine decorative fountains around Washington. An additional $7 million has gone towards the controversial renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. At Acadia, officials estimate $138 million is needed to cover deferred maintenance and repair projects. On top of deferred repairs, officials estimate the park spends $9.6 million annually on routine maintenance.

Letter: Right whale requires ever more careful regulation

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 28, 2026

Your May 15 piece on North Atlantic right whales offered promising news about this year’s calving season. But as someone who has spent decades working to protect marine mammals, I’d caution against relying on this season’s numbers as a reason to ease up on regulations. More calves means more whales at risk. Recovery requires sustained 50-plus births per year. And we won’t get there without careful regulation. ~ Cindy Lowry, International Marine Mammal Project, a project of Earth Island Institute, Portland

9 midcoast towns receive climate grants

MIDCOAST VILLAGER • May 28, 2026

Nine midcoast towns—Rockland, South Thomaston, Union, Warren, Belfast, Northport, Lincolnville, Searsport and North Haven—will benefit from the latest round of state grants to prepare for severe storms and flooding and reduce costs to taxpayers through energy efficiency upgrades. The grants are through the state’s Community Resilience Partnership program, created in 2021 by Gov. Mills based on a leading recommendation of Maine’s climate action plan, Maine Won’t Wait.

Bowdoin temporarily withdraws Kingfield campsite application

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • May 28, 2026

Bowdoin College temporarily withdrew its application for a campsite in Kingfield through a May 26 letter sent by John Simoneau, Bowdoin’s director of capital projects, to the town’s board of selectmen and planning board. In the letter, the Brunswick college said it would not refile for at least six months. The period will give the town of Kingfield enough time to properly review the proposal and town ordinances. The planned campsite would be used by the college’s outing club, with groups from the club visiting the plot for weekend trips. For a week at the start of the school year, it would be used for freshman orientation trips.