The most comprehensive online source of conservation news and events in Maine and beyond, edited by Jym St. Pierre
Thank you for reading Maine Environmental News. Each year, we post thousands of news summaries, notices, and links related to important environmental issues from across the state (and beyond). If you find this service useful, you can help us continue to provide it by making a donation. Just click on the button below and contribute whatever you can afford. Thanks again for your generous support!
Sincerely,
Jym St. Pierre
Editor, Maine Environmental News
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 25, 2024
I have witnessed the return of thousands of acres to tribal control and even more acres opened up to Wabanaki cultural practices and harvesting of critical cultural resources. One completed land return project of note is the return of Pine Island/Kuwesuwi Monihq to the Passamaquoddy Tribe in 2021. One current project, led by the Penobscot Nation and the Trust for Public Land, looks to return about 30,000 acres to the Penobscot Nation along the east branch of the Penobscot River/Wáhsehtəkʷ in the Penobscot language, in the heart of my tribe’s ancestral hunting and fishing territories. What is best for the earth is that we — Wabanaki and non-Wabanaki — need to work together to take care of our home for future generations. ~ Dr. Darren Ranco, Penobscot Nation citizen, coordinator of Native American Research at UMaine, and a member of the Wabanaki Commission on Land and Stewardship
MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • April 28, 2024
Lawmakers passed a carve-out in environmental regulations that the governor requested to allow construction of an offshore wind terminal on Sears Island. Lawmakers also pushed back the state’s timeline for banning the sale of most products that contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, to 2032 – two years later than the deadline currently written into state law. The changes also include a 2026 sales ban on children’s goods, cleaning products, cookware, cosmetics, rugs, ski wax and upholstered furniture that contain PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals.” A ban on the sale of artificial turf with PFAS goes into effect in 2029.
MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • April 28, 2024
Spring migration is ramping up, and each evening we have tens of thousands of birds pass over Maine. Some birds are migratory species whose range doesn’t usually reach Maine. These include, in the past week: at least seven blue grosbeaks; several summer tanagers; a yellow-throated warbler in Kennebunk; a swallow-tailed kite over Portland; and a painted bunting in Saco. These “overshoots” are migrating north but instead of stopping within their range, they overshoot and end up farther north than they would usually go. ~ Maine Audubon Staff Naturalist Doug Hitchcox
MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • April 28, 2024
A paddling outing on Berry and Dexter ponds astride the Winthrop-Wayne town line is a wonderful way to spend a blue-sky April morning. We enjoyed a three-hour exploration of these small ponds this past Sunday, seeing only one other boater. Both Berry and Dexter ponds provide sweeping views to the east of the forested slopes of Mount Pisgah. It had been a day of many “first sightings” of the spring. True to the theme of the day, when we neared home, we were greeted by a pair of osprey just returned to the neighborhood nest. All was complete. ~ Michael Perry
CENTRAL MAINE • April 28, 2024
Gov. Janet Mills has again single-handedly scuttled an attempt to correct a significant historical injustice. And this time, in a gesture both ironic and cynical, she vetoed her own bill, L.D. 2273, which was already a severely pared-down version of previous legislation she opposed. The governor’s claim to strongly support a farmworker minimum wage rings hollow in light of the facts. What is now evident is that on the issue of justice for farmworkers, the governor is not a leader but an obstruction. Shame on her. ~ Mike Roland, retired director, Bureau of Labor Standards, Maine Department of Labor
CENTRAL MAINE • April 28, 2024
In the beginning was God, and God was love. People discovered cheap sources of energy, fossil fuels enabled them to amass great wealth. Others became rich through manufacturing and dumping waste products into the water and air. This damaged God’s creation. Love decided that people needed understanding to balance their greed. Those who saw the need for love and conserving God’s planet were charged with teaching this message. And they were resisted mightily at those who sought to hoard wealth. And so Love has given us the gift of purpose; a challenge to make ourselves worthy companions and stewards for the earth and our children. ~ Richard Thomas, Waterville
MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • April 28, 2024
Kudos to Falmouth’s Conservation Commission for recommending to its Town Council that it adopt the commission’s proposed regulation to limit residential use of pesticides and certain synthetic fertilizers (effective 2025), similar to the regulations adopted in Portland, South Portland and Cape Elizabeth. We need leadership at a communitywide level to help make it OK for us to stop using pesticides and chemical fertilizers on our lawns, and to recognize that as a virtue for the greater good. Let us hope that the Falmouth Town Council will provide that leadership and adopt the proposed regulation. ~ Peggy McGehee, Falmouth
KENNEBEC JOURNAL • April 28, 2024
The Earth is one planet among trillions of other planets in the known universe. The Earth is not significant because it is the largest planet, nor is it the oldest. What is distinct about our home world is that it took the efforts of the collective comets, meteorites, and stardust to form the Earth over time. It took the radiation of our medium-class “baby star” we call the sun to give us the warmth necessary to survive in the “Green Zone.” Our planet is located exactly between the blistering closeness of heat and life deadening distance of the freeze of space. Yes, we live on a spinning miracle. A community effort to start life. It will take a community effort to maintain life. ~ James Weathersby , Augusta
MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • April 28, 2024
I perceive that any person or company seeking the fast growth of Maine to put money in their pockets is an enemy of the state. Maine is allowed to be Maine as, presently, she is. Let us decide to turn away from all speedy-growth-inducing decisions. It is Maine’s hope for herself. ~ Loretta MacKinnon, Yarmouth
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 28, 2024
A major expansion is expected to create more profitable opportunities for a Maine tribe raising fresh brook trout in Aroostook County. This summer, Mi’kmaq Farms plans to break ground on a new 12,000-square-foot hatchery near their farm store on Presque Isle Road in Caribou, quadrupling the size of their current 3,000-square-foot hatchery. The new facility will include four 18,000-gallon tanks, and will more than double the capacity of the current hatchery’s two 16,000-gallon tanks, in which brook trout are raised from eggs to fully grown fish ready for consumption.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 28, 2024
Acadia National Park is like no other place on Earth. Here are a few things you might not know about Acadia, but should, if planning to visit this summer:
1. The park’s busy season starts Memorial Day weekend and continues through leaf peeping in the fall.
2. Park staff conducts an average of 38 technical rope rescues a year.
3. While the park employs about 80 people in the offseason, there are 250 employees in the summer.
4. Acadia National Park is dog-friendly.
5. There are no “free” trails or parking areas.
6. Acadia trails are marked with blue paint and little rock piles called cairns.
7. Many who visit Acadia head for well-known spots — Sand Beach, the summit of Cadillac Mountain and the Jordan Pond House; there are plenty of other beautiful places in the park to explore.
8. One of the most spectacular annual events the park hosts is the Acadia Night Sky Festival.
9. Acadia does feel the effects of mud season.
10. Like many parks, Acadia has a problem with people taking rocks and other natural objects from its beaches and woods.
11. If you come to a full parking lot, study the park map and choose another spot to explore.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 28, 2024
Maine’s only remaining large commercial mill isn’t ideal for many small farmers. Bartlettyarns in Harmony requires at least 100 pounds of fiber for spinning, more than twice what most Maine farmers produce. As a result, small processing mills are popping up around the state, and there’s still room for growth. “No mill in the state is looking for work,” Elizabeth Goundie said. The four that process all the way to yarn, including Bartlettyarns, have waitlists of at least six months.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 27, 2024
The Bradbury Mountain Hawkwatch was founded by Jeannette Lovitch and her husband, Derek, in 2007. From March through May, researchers observe and record the migratory patterns of all raptors. They do it at Bradbury Mountain, which Baker said is the most productive Hawkwatch site in the Northeast. That’s because Bradbury Mountain’s expansive south-facing views make for easier spotting and identification. Baker identifies and counts 13 species of birds of prey, known as raptors, that migrate during the day. That includes eagles and falcons, but the research mostly amounts to the different hawk families. At the height of the season, with the right wind patterns and weather, up to 1,800 hawks might pass over Bradbury Mountain.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 27, 2024
If you’re new to wildlife watching, here are a few ideas for finding critters in the spring. Just remember to keep a good distance.
1. Visit a marsh
2. Take a leisurely paddle
3. Attend a birding festival or walk
4. Find a vernal pool
5. Stake out a nesting box
6. Visit a city park
CENTRAL MAINE • April 25, 2024
Students search for salamanders and wade through a vernal pool during annual field trip.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 26, 2024
To claim that the argument over where to locate the offshore wind facility in Penobscot Bay stacks up as coastal preservation versus climate change mitigation fails to pay attention to the real, ongoing Sears Island versus Mack Point argument. The economic impacts of offshore wind jobs in Maine appear to be the same regardless of whether the proposed facility is located on Mack Point or Sears Island. I agree that it is past time to stop the “zig-zagging” and “scuffle” that continue to delay a meaningful climate change response. It is also past time for us to come together and acknowledge the “hard reality” that Mack Point is not only a viable option for the proposed offshore wind facility but, from all available indications, a better choice, and get on with making thoughtful climate-change-informed choices. ~ Steve Miller, Islesboro Islands Trust.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 27, 2024
Adapting to climate change requires a much broader and more diverse movement than we now have, one that engages people across party lines and, most specifically, engages businesses of all sizes that want to be part of the solution. Collaborations and conversations are already underway in Maine. You can be part of it all on May 9, at the Augusta Civic Center, at the second annual Summit on Climate Change and Maine’s Economy. See climateworkmaine.org for more information. ~ Alan Caron, founder, ClimateWork Maine
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 27, 2024
The Belfast City Council voted April 16 to vacate a 2021 eminent domain action it had taken on behalf of the Nordic Aquafarms fish farm project. That was the right thing to do, but more is needed. The council should reverse the vote and save taxpayers $5,000 for a now-pointless exercise to revisit the location of the Northport town line. The 12.5 acres the city sold to Nordic was originally given to Belfast on the condition that nothing be built on it ever. The city vacated those restrictions. The City Council should reaffirm the covenants and save taxpayers yet more Nordic-related legal bills. Finally, public comment ran overwhelmingly against the 2018 zoning change that allowed Nordic to go forward. The City Council should reverse that and return the land to its original and rightful purpose. ~ Lawrence Reichard, Belfast
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 27, 2024
Michael Loring of Windham had the winning entry last weekend in Maine’s 2024 Migratory Waterfowl Stamp Art Contest. Loring’s artwork featured a harlequin duck painted in an airbrush style. Second place went to Tory Farris of Dover-Foxcroft. Third went to Olga Wing of Byron. Honorable mentions went to Richard Alley Jr. of Islesford and Rebekah Lowell of Biddeford. Duck stamps are collector’s items and raise funds to manage and conserve waterfowl in Maine to the tune of $13,000-$16,000 annually.
