Downeaster gets millions to relocate Portland train station

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August14, 2026

The operators of the Downeaster have received $48 million in federal funding to relocate the train service’s Portland station to a main line of the railway along St. John Street. City officials and staff had argued that another spot should be chosen. Now, city leaders will have to agree with the rail authority’s preferred location.

Help Wanted: Friends of Baxter State Park Executive Director

MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • August 14, 2026

Friends of Baxter State Park is a non-profit organization that strives to inspire passion for the Park's wild character in the spirit ofPercival Baxter. We promote exemplary use, natural resource stewardship, and a healthy Katahdin region to ensure the Park forever remains a refuge. The Executive Director will lead the organization during an exciting time as it embarks upon a new stage of growth. Application materials should be submitted by September 18, 2026 to search@friendsofbaxter.org.

Worker hospitalized after being electrocuted at Sappi mill in Skowhegan

CENTRAL MAINE • August 13, 2026

A worker was electrocuted by machinery at a Somerset County paper mill Thursday morning, officials confirmed. First responders were called to the mill just before 10 a.m. for a report of a male employee who was unconscious and not breathing after being shocked while working on a machine at the Somerset Sappi mill. The Somerset Sappi mill has seen a number of safety incidents in recent years. A company that contracts workers at the mill was fined around $13,000 last year after a worker fell some 40 feet while on the job. A large fire there in January last year took several hours to extinguish. Sappi North America, a Boston-headquartered subsidiary of South Africa-based Sappi Limited, operates the Somerset Mill. About 780 employees work at the mill, which is off U.S. Route 201. In addition to the Somerset Mill, Sappi operates mills in Westbrook; Cloquet, Minnesota; and Matane, Quebec.

Stepping back in time with the lighthouse keeper on Goat Island

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 13, 2026

Just beyond the Cape Porpoise Pier, where lobster boats idle in the harbor and seals surface between mooring buoys, Goat Island seems to slow time, Nick Lewia said. Lewia, 41, spent his childhood exploring Goat Island with the sons of its longtime keepers. Now, he lives there as the head keeper from May to November with his wife Amy, 12-year-old son Brandon and their hound-shepherd mix Mavis.His family joined an apprentice program in 2020, gradually taking on longer stays until the former caretakers retired in 2024. Last year, Lewia and his family officially took watch over the lighthouse, which local seafarers still rely on for safe passage into the harbor.

High Peaks Alliance dedicates Kinney Family Forest

DAILY BULLDOG • August 13, 2026

High Peaks Alliance welcomed more than 60 supporters, community members, sponsors, and friends to the Kinney Family Forest in Farmington on Saturday for a dedication ceremony celebrating the protection and future of this special woodland. Under beautiful weather, attendees gathered to recognize the vision and generosity of Stephen “Steve” Kinney and the Kinney family. Four generations of the family were present for the occasion, underscoring the deep personal and community connection to the forest and its future.

Wet hay sparks blaze at Aroostook farm

THE COUNTY • August 13, 2026

A Thursday morning blaze at an Aroostook hay and feed farm destroyed about 100 tons of product waiting to be processed, but resulted in no injuries. Staff of Lucerne Farms, which sits on the line between Fort Fairfield and Easton, arrived Thursday morning to find flames atop an unprocessed hay pile. The fire was likely a result of spontaneous combustion. With humidity and some rain in the past few days, the hay has been wet — which ironically can cause hay to heat up and ignite. The fire damaged no structures or equipment. The pile of hay was lost, but in a facility that generates thousands of tons, the loss is minimal.

Shark sighting shuts down swimming at Biddeford beaches

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 13, 2026

A great white shark was spotted near Biddeford beaches Thursday, shutting down swimming in some areas — the latest in a string of shark sightings along Maine’s coast. Swimming is prohibited between Fortunes Rocks Beach and Biddeford Pool for the rest of the day. The shark was spotted in the area of Granite Point and Timber Point.

Westbrook teen drowns at Tumbledown Pond near Farmington

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 13, 2026

A 19-year-old from Westbrook died Wednesday in the pond on Tumbledown Mountain. Bogdan Dosov was swimming with a camp group in Tumbledown Pond that afternoon when he started having difficulty swimming and slipped beneath the water’s surface. Minutes later, witnesses recovered Dosov from about 12 feet of water and pulled him onto an island in the pond. They started CPR and called 911. About 40 emergency responders from various agencies were involved in the response, but resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful.

Maine shifts focus to mental health as PFAS crisis deepens

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 13, 2026

Maine is launching a mental health network to help local farmers survive the emotional trauma of forever chemical contamination, which threatens the long-term financial and physical health of rural families as well as poisons their soil and water. Maine taken a leadership role in the national PFAS farm crisis, conducting a statewide review to find farms tainted by sludge-derived fertilizer and banning its use going forward. Now, it is shifting its focus from protecting the land to protecting the people who work it.

Scarborough to celebrate inaugural Marsh Day

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 12, 2026

It’s difficult to think about Scarborough without thinking of the Scarborough Marsh. Maine’s largest salt marsh serves as the background of the town’s website, its waterways snake into the center of town, and marsh grasses adorn Scarborough’s logo. Residents and visitors flock to the marsh in all seasons to take photos of wildlife, watch birds, cross-country ski, kayak or just enjoy a nice walk. To celebrate this key feature in town, the Scarborough Land Trust organized the inaugural Marsh Day. From 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, residents can explore the marsh, learn about its wildlife, and discover the conservation efforts that protect it.

Ospreys return to Bath roadside 2 years after CMP removes nest, erects platform

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 12, 2026

In spring 2024, Bath birders were disturbed to learn that Central Maine Power removed a long-established osprey nest from atop a utility pole off Route 1, installing bright yellow spikes to prevent future nesting. Though the utility company erected a nesting platform as a safer alternative for the raptors to build a home, years passed without any little heads poking out of nests high above the highway. That was, until this April, when birder and osprey advocate Joanne Adams spotted a breeding pair getting to work on their new home. Then she didn’t see them for several weeks, and feared they’d left — until she noticed four birds in the nest in June. “Suddenly, they had two chicks,” said Adams.

Paris Select Board keeps parcel, eyes recreation or conservation use

MAINE MONITOR • August 12, 2026

The Paris Select Board voted Monday to keep a town-owned parcel on Buckfield Road rather than sell it, as members discussed whether the property could be used for recreation or conservation. The town determined the land was acquired through a tax foreclosure in 1990. Board members questioned whether selling the property would be in the town’s best interest, noting Paris has limited land available for recreation.

The race to save Maine’s seagrass meadows

MAINE MONITOR • August 12, 2026

Seagrass shelters the young of many marine species, improves water quality and stores some of the excess carbon released by the burning of fossil fuels. Beds of seagrass also absorb wave energy, reducing erosion and buffering coastal communities from storms. They are important for the ocean’s biodiversity. These underwater meadows used to grow abundantly along the Maine coast. But they’ve declined significantly in recent decades. The state had more than 30,000 acres of seagrass beds in the 1990s. Since then, some regions of Maine have lost more than half of their seagrass beds. Rising temperatures, coastal development, nutrient pollution, harmful algal blooms, invasive species and worsening storms may all be playing a role.

Byron, the Maine Wildlife Park moose, dies at 13

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 12, 2026

The Maine Wildlife Park announced this week that its “beloved resident moose,” Byron, died over the weekend at the age of 13. Byron’s death was due to natural causes “related to his advanced age,” the park said in a social media post on Monday, which included a video tribute.

NEFSA's 4th Annual Save Our Fisheries Summer Bash, August 15

MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • August 12, 2026

Join hundreds of your neighbors, families, and the commercial fishermen who put seafood on Maine tables every day for a summer evening you won't forget. All proceeds support the work of the New England Fishermen's Stewardship Association to protect American commercial fisheries and the coastal communities that depend on them. At Cook's Lobster & Ale House, Bailey Island, August 15, 2026, 5:30–9:30 pm. Pre-register $30 per ticket, at the door, $35 per ticket, kids under 10 free.

Letter: Relegate fossil fuel to the past

CENTRAL MAINE • August 12, 2026

Fossil fuels helped to build our amazing and complex world. Now, however, their time is up. Here are some of the ways burning fossil fuels affect Mainers. Renewables are cheaper than fossil fuels and their use is increasing. Nevertheless, the world is burning more fossil fuel than ever before. Americans need to face these facts and act now. Let our senators and representatives know we understand what fossil fuels are doing to our world and the we expect them to act to protect our way of life. ~ Nancy Hasenfus, Brunswick

He went looking for sharks in Saco Bay. He found something else instead.

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 12, 2026

Great white sharks have been turning up along the southern Maine coast in recent weeks, from Scarborough to Georgetown, and one Saco photographer wanted to see them for himself. Instead, Bob Wiegers found thousands of striped bass slowly circling in what he called a mesmerizing ball. The sight left him wondering whether the bass were reacting to sharks in the area. “It seems clear enough the striped bass are schooling in a defensive posture with sharks in the area, but I’m neither a scientist nor much of a fisherman,” he wrote.

Katahdin Woods and Waters is celebrating 10th anniversary this weekend

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 11, 2026

Katahdin Woods and Waters is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a long list of weekend events including ranger-led paddles, dark sky viewing and Indigenous earring-making demonstrations. The area was designated a national monument in August 2016. Rangers have been adding features to make the monument more accessible to visitors, and this weekend will unveil the new Katahdin Loop Road Overlook, which has been rehabilitated with a new picnic area and shelter. Last year the 7,900-square-foot Tekαkαpimək Contact Station opened. The $31 million center was funded privately through a capital campaign by Friends of Katahdin Woods and Waters, a nonprofit philanthropic group. It was donated to the American people and is operated by the National Park Service.

Demand for Maine trails grants remains high in second round of funding

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 11, 2026

For the second year in a row, demand for grants from the Maine Trails Program far exceeds the amount of money available. In 2024, voters overwhelmingly supported a $30 million bond for the design and development of trails for outdoor recreation and active transportation. The state has until 2034 to spend the money and can allocate up to $7.5 million in grants every year. If the high level of interest continues, however, the money will likely be gone by 2029.

Fate of UNE pier project to be considered at Saco River Corridor Commission meeting

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 11, 2026

The question of whether the University of New England’s pier proposal can proceed will be up for debate at a public hearing of the Saco River Corridor Commission at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Saco Community Center. The pier would be located on the Saco River, adjacent to the Arthur P. Girard Marine Science building, and would be used for year-round research and aquaculture projects, the university has said. Some city officials and residents have raised concerns that the project contradicts a previous SRCC decision and could harm residents who hold moorings on the river.