Balcony solar is sweeping the US, but who’s actually selling it?

MAINE MORNING STAR • July 28, 2026

A hands-on form of solar power has electrified the U.S. in the past year. Plug-in solar lets anyone hang a few panels in the sunlight and send the power straight into their wall sockets to partially offset their utility bill. It extends the benefits of clean energy, a little bit at a time, to renters and anyone else who hasn’t been able to access traditional rooftop solar. This do-it-yourself energy production has operated in a regulatory gray area, though some intrepid customers have experimented with it anyway. In just the last few months, 10 more states, including Maine, passed plug-in solar laws, and several more are still considering bills. Given the swirling uncertainties, established rooftop solar providers are hanging back, for now at least, but a handful of new players are already selling to an eager public.

Maine conservation group wins national award for hunter education

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July x, 2026

Nothing inspires excellence like excellence. The Penobscot County Conservation Association has done it once again. The association recently received the International Hunter Education Association’s Award for Excellence in Hunter and Outdoor Education, recognizing its longtime commitment to hunter safety education. There are an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 fish and game clubs in the United States and a couple hundred in Maine. Yet the PCCA has been singled out for the quality and effectiveness of its hunter safety education program. This is no small honor or token commendation.

Mainer inducted into National Trappers Association Hall of Fame

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 28, 2026

A longtime Maine outdoorsman has received one of the highest honors in his profession after spending nearly seven decades preserving the heritage of trapping. Neil Olson, 78, of Bethel was inducted into the National Trappers Association Hall of Fame during the organization’s 67th annual convention, held this past weekend in Richmond, Indiana.

Land Use Planning Commission Seeks Public Input on Comprehensive Land Use Plan Update

MORNING AG CLIPS • July 27, 2026

The Maine Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC) is inviting residents, property owners, and others to help shape the next Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) by participating in a pre-process survey. The LUPC is gathering feedback through a pre-process CLUP Survey. LUPC provides planning and zoning services for unorganized townships, plantations, and towns in 13 counties, covering roughly half of Maine, about 10.4 million acres. The LUPC statute requires the Commission to prepare a CLUP, to guide its rules, zoning, and development review. Since the first CLUP was adopted in 1974, there have been five updates, the most recent in 2010. The next update will address changes since 2010 and will guide the Commission into the future.

New England Leopold Conservation Award Finalists Selected

MORNING AG CLIPS • July 27, 2026

Named in honor of renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold, this award recognizes landowners who inspire others with their dedication to environmental improvement. In his influential 1949 book, A Sand County Almanac, Leopold advocated for “a land ethic,” an ethical relationship between people and the land they own and manage. The finalists include: Appalachian Mountain Club’s Maine Woods Initiative. 

Amazon facility in Sidney won’t be stopped by moratorium proposal, officials say

CENTRAL MAINE • July 27, 2026

A 159,000-square-foot Amazon distribution center planned near Junction and Trafton roads cannot be stopped by a citizen effort to pause development on large-scale industrial facilities. That’s according to Sidney officials who clashed with residents Monday night during a public hearing on the effort for a moratorium on such projects. At Monday’s hearing on the petition, select board member John Whitcomb said elements of the proposed moratorium ordinance are illegal, including that it would apply retroactively, meaning it would not block a proposed Amazon facility.

Topsham eyes Main Street access for ATVs

TIMES RECORD • July 27, 2026

All-terrain vehicles could join the traffic flow on just under a mile of Main Street, which is also U.S. Route 201, to cross over Interstate 295. The proposal, from local ATV and snowmobile club Topsham Trailriders, would designate 0.8 mile from Eagle’s Way by Mt. Ararat High School, down Main Street to just over Interstate 295 as an official ATV access route, connecting existing trail systems now separated by the interstate. However, the proposal also brings safety concerns, as ATVs would share the road with regular traffic.

Western Maine conservation project offers 'ecologically important' reprieve for wildlife

MAINE PUBLIC • July 27, 2026

In the Rangeley Lakes region of western Maine, several conservation groups have permanently protected 78,000 acres around the Magalloway River watershed from development. Heavily forested, with a cold water fishery, this is an ecologically important landscape that still feels remote and wild. It has one of the last sustaining brook trout populations in the country, so it's a fly fishing haven. But it's also a popular birding destination. Even more significant for wildlife facing climate change is that the Magalloway parcel connects with half a million acres that have previously been conserved.

Man critically injured in Aroostook boat crash

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 27, 2026.

A crash between a boat and a SeaDoo on Long Lake on Saturday left a man in critical condition, according to North Lakes Fire & Rescue. The injured man is 25-year-old Evan Pelkey, North Lakes Chief Darren Woods confirmed Monday. Few other details about the crash are available because the Maine Warden Service is investigating,

Opinion: Environmental justice requires a higher standard for Juniper Ridge Landfill expansion

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 27, 2026

A case now before the Penobscot County court — Penobscot Nation v. Maine Department of Environmental Protection — concerns environmental justice. The dispute centers on the proposed expansion of the Juniper Ridge Landfill in Old Town. The landfill is state‑owned and operated by Casella subsidiary NEWSME, which has intervened alongside the DEP. The Penobscot Nation agrues that the agency’s analysis fails to meet the environmental justice standards required by law. The DEP ignores documented cancer disparities, leaves out key contaminants, misstates sustenance‑fishing exposure, substitutes landfill‑to‑landfill comparisons for cumulative burden analysis, and treats PFAS treatment as a cure‑all. Most importantly, it fails to meaningfully address the sovereign rights and cultural continuity of the Penobscot Nation. Maine must choose a future in which the Penobscot River — and the people who have cared for it for thousands of years — are protected without condition and without expansion. ~ John Krueger, former division director of licensing and enforcement at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection

Boothbay Harbor Eastside Waterfront Park

In July 2018, our community came together to purchase and preserve a vital waterfront parcel in one of Maine’s most beloved harbors. We are lifelong, year-round and Summer residents, fishermen and tradespeople, hospitality workers, kids, educators and preservationists who believe that a resource as beautiful and important as this one must be secured for generations to come. An ever-growing list of supporters is raising funds to build a Boothbay Harbor Eastside Waterfront Park. Preserving waterfront access for everyone, today and for generations to come.

Trump’s new 50% tariff on some Canadian goods could shake Maine businesses

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 27, 2026

New tariffs on some Canadian goods could roil Maine’s markets, experts say. The new import taxes were ordered by President Donald Trump last week. The U.S. will charge a 50% tax on the value of a wide range of goods from Canada, including paper products, beginning Aug. 19. Trump has used tariffs extensively since his second term as both bargaining chips in trade negotiations and as a revenue generator; he’s long called himself “a tariff man.” The new tariffs could send shockwaves through exhausted supply chains.

11 Maine boat rides and tours for water-powered fun this summer

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 27, 2026

Things are different on the water. The breezes are cooler, the horizon is wider and the sunsets are more vivid. Living in Maine in summer, it’s easy to make a water escape anytime. You can board a sloop with sails aloft, take a concert cruise on a Casco Bay ferry, go on a sightseeing tour of the Kennebec River, travel on a replica Mississippi River paddle wheeler on Long Lake or engage a pedal-powered party boat. There are lots of excursion boats up and down the coast, as well as some on Maine’s lakes. Whether you want to haul lobsters, see oysters, hear music or just chill out, it’s easy to find one near you. The Maine Office of Tourism has an interactive boat cruise section on its website, where you can search by region.

Seeking lower prices, Maine PUC changes electric purchase process

MAINE PUBLIC • July 27, 2026

The Maine Public Utilities Commission is changing the way it procures electricity for Maine's largest electric utilities in an effort to hedge against price spikes in volatile energy markets. For years, the commission has taken one day late in the year to select an electricity supplier to provide annual "standard offer" fixed price power through a competitive bidding process. But this year, commissioners decided to break up the process — buying up to half of the state's projected 2027 electric load this month, and the remainder later this fall.

Historic land deal clinched, conserving 78K acres in western Maine

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 27, 2026

One of the largest gaps in Maine’s conservation landscape has been closed. The final paperwork was filed Friday to complete a multi-year effort to protect 78,000 acres of rugged woods in north Oxford County from development. Bridging two other conserved areas, the Magalloway project creates a 500,000-acre wildlife corridor in New Hampshire and Maine. The land has been sold and all conservation easements are now on file, but the $62 million deal isn’t quite done — the four conservation groups behind the project still have $1.9 million left to raise to create a long-term stewardship fund and cover the last of their legal fees.

Historic deal permanently protects 78K acres in western Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 27, 2026

A landmark conservation project in western Maine has officially closed, permanently protecting more than 78,000 acres in the Magalloway River region while preserving public access for hunting, fishing, paddling, snowmobiling and other outdoor recreation. The project, first announced in March 2025 after conservation groups reached an agreement with Bayroot LLC and Wagner Forest Management, was contingent on raising $62 million before it could close. The completed effort connects more than 500,000 acres of contiguous conserved land across western Maine and neighboring New Hampshire through a partnership among Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust, Forest Society of Maine, Northeast Wilderness Trust and The Nature Conservancy. The conservation deal protects wildlife habitat while maintaining the region’s working forest. More than 62,500 acres will remain privately owned 

How Maine farmers are weathering climate change

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 27, 2026

A new report by the Northeast Climate Disaster Relief Network outlines the recent challenges farms have faced, from extreme heatwaves to intense rainfall. It highlights loss of profit, unpredictable yields and labor stress as the main impacts on agriculture. In response, the report calls for coordinated action to build a more durable safety net when farmers face increasingly common harsh weather.

As Trump boosts nuclear power, regulators seek to eliminate a longstanding radiation safety rule

ASSOCIATED PRESS • July 26, 2026

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is proposing to eliminate a foundational safety principle that has for 50 years minimized the radiation people in the United States are exposed to and that has been adopted around the world. Currently, facilities such as nuclear plants, hospitals or academic institutions that use radioactive materials must ensure radiation exposures are kept “as low as reasonably achievable” — the ALARA principle. The NRC proposal would abandon that philosophy while keeping a separate standard on maximum radiation exposure. The two standards have worked together in radiation safety.

New owners keep historic Blue Hill farm growing

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 26, 2026

A historic small farm on Route 15 in Blue Hill is continuing to produce fruit, vegetables and flowers under new ownership, a year after its last owner worried it would become strictly a residential property. The roughly one-acre property on Route 15 was known for decades as Backstage Farm. Started as a kitchen garden by Elena Bourakovsky and the late Bill Raiten, it also grew to supply a fermented food business. Now, new owners MC Brower and Mike Sarraino are running a farmstand there under the name Lindenleaf Farm.

Open Farm Day invites visitors to experience Maine agriculture firsthand

FOX NEWS • July 26, 2026

More than 80 farms across Maine invited visitors to discover the people, products and places that make Maine agriculture unique during the 37th annual Maine Open Farm Day on Sunday. For more than three decades, Open Farm Day has connected visitors with authentic farm experiences throughout Maine. The tradition is hosted by Real Maine, a Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry program.