Share your wild turkey sightings

DAILY BULLDOG • August 4, 2026

Maine’s Wild Turkey August Production Survey invites community scientists to play a direct role in monitoring our state’s wild turkey population. Each summer, Maine’s wild turkey hens are busy raising the next generation of birds. By reporting your sightings and observations, you’ll help our biologists monitor annual reproduction rates, track population trends, and make informed management decisions that support healthy, sustainable turkey populations for generations to come. The information collected helps ensure there are abundant opportunities for both wildlife watchers and hunters to enjoy Maine’s wild turkeys.

Gulf of Maine Research Institute is helping Hannaford assess its climate risk

MAINE PUBLIC • July 4, 2026

Hannaford Supermarkets is embarking on a pilot project with the Gulf of Maine Research Institute to map the vulnerabilities of two of its coastal stores to climate change. It's the first time Hannaford has evaluated how sea level rise and coastal flooding will affect its operations and ability to serve the community.

‘The Maine Outdoors’ radio show ends abruptly after 30 years

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 4, 2026

“The Maine Outdoors,” an outdoors radio show hosted by former Bangor Daily News Managing Editor V. Paul Reynolds, will not continue on WVOM after three decades on the air. The show will be replaced by a national radio show. Sunday’s taping was the final broadcast of the show that became an institution for many outdoorsy Mainers and left Reynolds, the 86-year-old host, saddened because he won’t have a way to properly end the show, he said. “I’m not angry. I’m just sad and disappointed,” Reynolds, whose weekly columns are published in the BDN and other Maine outlets, said. “I’m heavy-hearted that the show is coming to such a screeching halt.”

Video: 2 sharks spotted near Pine Point Beach in Scarborough

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 4, 2026

Two great white sharks were spotted near Pine Point Beach in Scarborough on Tuesday. The two juvenile great white sharks were roughly 6-8 feet in length, the Scarborough Police Department stated in a public safety advisory. The reported sightings took place off the southern tip of Prouts Neck and near the mouth of the Scarborough River. The town’s public safety departments shared a video of the sighting in a social media post, saying the footage was taken by Brogan Hurst.

Divided federal appeals court says Trump administration was wrong to terminate climate funds

ASSOCIATED PRESS • August 4, 2026

A divided federal appeals court on Tuesday said the Trump administration improperly terminated billions of dollars in funds to boost clean energy projects, handing a win to a coalition of nonprofits picked to run the Biden-era effort. Climate United Fund and other nonprofits won’t have access to their funds immediately as the decision will be put on hold for several days giving the Environmental Protection Agency time to ask the Supreme Court to step in. The judgement by the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is a loss for the Trump administration in one of its earliest efforts to dismantle President Joe Biden’s campaign to reduce climate-warming greenhouse gases.

Brunswick limits rural housing developments

TIMES RECORD • August 4, 2026

The Brunswick Town Council Monday night voted to limit housing developments in the town’s designated rural zone to 20 units per year. Affordable housing developments, accessory dwelling units and family gift lots are exempt from the requirement. Rural Brunswick has been growing, said Julie Erdman, Brunswick’s planning and development director. As many as 49 new dwelling units annually have been built in the rural zone in recent years. The measure is intended to protect environmental resources, prevent overdevelopment and focus growth in the town’s designated growth zones.

Auburn councilors to decide licensing issues for auto scrap yard in flood zone

SUN JOURNAL • August 4, 2026

Auburn is looking to clear up discrepancies with a local automobile scrap yard and towing company’s business license. The scrap yard at 940 Washington St. is completely in a flood zone. Vehicles are stored close to the Little Androscoggin River, which wraps around three sides of the property. It’s home to Don’s No Preference Towing and Morris Auto Parts. An auto repair shop and a used vehicle sales lot are also on the site. Though the city has regulations that would bar similar businesses from operating on a similar property, the business there is “grandfathered” and licensed under nonconforming land use provisions.

Volunteers Wanted for Invasive Species Removal

Join others on Saturday, August 8, to help pull invasive bittersweet and honeysuckle at Viles Arboretum in Augusta. We will be pulling the bittersweet by hand and using small handsaws to cut down honeysuckle bushes. We provide the tools.

Be Part of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Nights' Dream at Viles Arboretum

Be a part of the magic of the production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Nights' Dream at the Viles Arboretum in Augusta. We're seeking up to six fun and energetic individuals for each if the six performances to help us manage our unique production on the trail at Viles Arboretum on August 21-30, 2026. Located in Maine's capital city, Viles Arboretum is a 224-acre botanical garden and nature preserve where visitors can experience the beauty and diversity of Maine's landscapes. Admission is always free, and the Arboretum is open every day from sunrise to sunset.

Editorial: Wacky wolf claims persist

MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • August 4, 2026

In a column in the Bangor Daily News on August 4, hunting advocate V. Paul Reynolds says that Gerry Lavigne, of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, claims “wolves were illegally released, most likely by wolf reintroduction advocates.” Reynolds also says that “a thriving wolf population could literally extirpate white-tailed deer in Maine’s North Woods.” First, the claim accusing wolf restoration advocates is without any evidence. It is blame by unsupported inuendo. Second, the claim that wolves could wipe out the deer herd in northern Maine is scientifically unsubstantiated. Wolf restorations in the West have had the opposite effect, making the elk herd more resilient by culling the weakest. Hunter bias does not equal good science.

Column: These people are threatening Maine’s fish and game

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 4, 2026

Five of the eight gray wolves examined in the Northeast over the past quarter-century have been positively identified as domesticated wolves, according to Gerry Lavigne, a field biologist for the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine. Those wolves were illegally released, most likely by wolf reintroduction advocates, Lavigne said. Why did the feds not try to apprehend and prosecute those who released the wolves? A thriving wolf population could literally extirpate white-tailed deer in Maine’s North Woods. ~ V. Paul Reynolds

Aroostook town prepares to host Maine’s largest muskie derby

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 4, 2026

The annual Fort Kent International Muskie Derby, which brings hundreds of anglers and spectators to northern Maine, starts Friday. Anglers can fish from Friday, Aug. 7, through Sunday, Aug. 9. Now in its 23rd year, the derby draws participants from across the state and beyond. This year, fishers can win a possible purse of $35,000. The fishing area involves more than 225 river miles, including the St. John, Allagash River to Allagash Falls and the Big Black, St. Francis and Little Black rivers, as well as six lakes or ponds that contain muskie. Last year Jim Campbell received the $2,000 prize for a 21.05-pound fish that was 42 5/8 inches long.

Maine’s new strategy to stop another insect disaster in the North Woods

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 4, 2026

Christmas tree farmers in Aroostook County knew trouble was ahead when swarms of spruce budworm moths, some massive enough to be visible on radar, started riding wind currents from Canada into northern Maine in 2019. Within a couple years, Ben Voisine, manager of Allagash View Farms in New Canada, noticed the insects defoliating his trees. Insect specialists say the outbreak, if left unchecked, could last another 10 years and cost Maine’s timber industry $800 million a year. This time, instead of the broad pesticide spraying that failed to stop the last major outbreak, the state is targeting only the most heavily infested areas, and only when the insects are at their most vulnerable stage.

The fungus that could save Maine’s trees one seedling at a time

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 4, 2026

During a major spruce budworm outbreak in the 1990s researchers discovered some healthy fir trees unaffected by the deadly pests. They took needles from the healthy trees to study at their University of New Brunswick lab, and found they contained a fungus with a beneficial relationship with the trees. They succeeded in growing the fungus in a petri dish. The discovery attracted the attention of Irving Woodlands, a division of the Canadian forestry conglomerate J.D. Irving and the largest owner of forested land in Maine. The partnership, which started in 1999, resulted in a novel way to combat future outbreaks: breeding budworm-resistant trees.

Fairfield to update 1980 waste ordinance to address PFAS and Sappi landfill license

MAINE MONITOR • August 3, 2026

Fairfield Town Council members pledged during a public hearing last week to update the town’s sludge and solid waste disposal ordinance to address perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, which the Maine Department of Environmental Protection classifies as toxic. Enacted in 1980, the current ordinance bans the disposal of toxic materials at solid waste sites — a rule that directly conflicts with Sappi North America’s active disposal operations at its landfill off Route 201.

South Portland launches a Home Energy Program

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 3, 2026

Do you notice drafts leaking through your walls, windows and doors, but are overwhelmed by the idea of fixing them? Don’t know how to get started prioritizing energy improvements to be more comfortable in your home? A little bit of weatherization can go a long way: It can help your home stay cooler in the summer, and warmer in the winter. Through the city’s new Home Energy Program, we will support you in getting started and learning the skills to continue weatherizing on your own. We’ll also help you understand your home energy systems. Drop into the Sustainability Office at 829 Sawyer St., South Portland, or call on Mondays from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at 207-347-4148. Questions? Reach out to homeenergy@southportland.gov.

Masked bandits ransacked a Maine police department’s dumpster

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 3, 2026

Masked bandits got more than they bargained for Sunday afternoon when they ransacked the Winslow Police Department’s dumpster. Four raccoons found themselves trapped, but two officers, Ellen Stewart and Josh Chouinard, came to their aid. The officers used a two-by-four to make a ramp, which the raccoons used to return to safety. But the jury’s out as to whether they learned their lesson.

Opinion: Air pollution ignores international borders. What to do?

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 3, 2026

For generations, we’ve treated the atmosphere as a free dumping ground. Companies pay for labor, equipment, fuel and raw materials, but most of the costs of carbon pollution are paid by everyone except the polluter — through higher insurance premiums, wildfire damage, drought, public health costs and other economic losses. With a carbon fee companies that produce fossil fuels would based on the carbon those fuels will release. Businesses and consumers then have every incentive to find cleaner, more efficient alternatives. The money doesn’t stay in Washington. Under a carbon fee and dividend system, the revenue is returned directly to American households. And with a carbon border adjustment imports would pay a comparable carbon fee based on the pollution created to make them, allowing American manufacturers to compete. ~ Susan Atkinson,Citizens Climate Lobby

What to do if you see a black bear in Maine

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 3, 2026

Maine is home to between 25,000 and 27,000 black bears — the largest population in the eastern U.S. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife receives 400 to 700 reports each year of everything from backyard sightings to, say, a bear in a parking garage under a Portland hotel. Black bears rarely become aggressive and attacks are uncommon. However, Mainers can take steps to avoid bears and to prepare for an encounter. At home, remove or secure things that commonly attract black bears, which are most active between April and November. Store garbage cans in a building. Place beehives more than 300 feet from the forest line, harvest honey as soon as possible, and consider installing an electric fence around the hives. While hiking or camping, if a black bear approaches you, make yourself look bigger by raising your arms, and shout. If a bear ends up in a residential area, call a regional wildlife office.

Maine’s cobblestone beaches are magical places

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 3, 2026

In Maine, we’re lucky to have quite a few cobblestone beaches. Worldwide, they’re considered somewhat rare. These fantastical beaches, composed entirely of round stones, form as a result of glacial activity and big waves. The cobblestones are often made from durable rocks left behind by glaciers. They’ve been rounded by being continuously tossed about by waves, then trapped in a cove. I’ve found spectacular cobblestone beaches at Cutler Coast Public Reserved Land in Cutler, Boot Head Preserve in Lubec, Quoddy Head State Park in Lubec, Bog Brook Cove Preserve in Trescott, and Acadia National Park. It’s tempting to select a favorite rock to carry home, but I urge you to leave them where you find them.