The most comprehensive online source of conservation news and events in Maine and beyond, edited by Jym St. Pierre
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Jym St. Pierre
Editor, Maine Environmental News
NPR • March 21, 2025
Friday marks the International Day of Forests, as designated by the United Nations. the organization warns that 10 million hectares of forest are intentionally destroyed annually. Another 70 million hectares are impacted by fires, which experts say are being made worse by the ongoing climate crisis. In the United States, efforts from past administrations to better protect the environment have come under scrutiny by the Trump administration. This month, President Trump signed executive orders aimed at aggressively ramping up the nation's timber production. He framed the importation of wood products as a potential national security threat. Another order, signed on the same day, includes provisions to sidestep the 1973 Endangered Species Act.
WGME-TV13 • March 21, 2025
A bill that would allow Maine communities to raise seawalls by two feet has hit a dead end for now. The Environmental and Natural Resources Committee voted not to move it forward. Republican Representative Bob Foley of Wells, who introduced the bill, argued seawalls need to be raised to accommodate a predicted sea level rise in the coming years and protect homes from future storms.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 21, 2025
Two dozen Maine college students are investigating the public health effects of forever chemicals by using zebrafish as human stand-ins and water samples from private residential wells as part of a growing statewide biotech training program. Students attending a weeklong conference at MDI Bio Lab are finding zebrafish — a favorite among medical researchers because they share 70% of our genes — suffer a higher rate of developmental delays and birth defects when grown in contaminated well water. However, the training program that organized the student PFAS conference is now at risk from proposed federal funding cuts. The National Institutes for Health has announced grant administration changes that would result in a $900,000 cut in annual funding for Maine’s biotech training program.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 21, 2025
Many of the shocking changes made to our system of government since the inauguration concern our environment. Maine farmers lost federal grants needed to build critical farm infrastructure. $4.5 million that funds marine research for our coastal communities was rescinded. Funds to upgrade hydroelectric dams and for clean energy projects are frozen. Trump has declared an “energy emergency” so he can increase use of fossil fuels and encourage oil and gas leasing off our coasts. Thousands of employees at the Environmental Protection Agency, InteriorDepartment, Department of Energy, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were fired. Contact Sens. Angus King and Susan Collins and Rep. Jared Golden and tell them our future and our children’s futures are at stake! ~ Corliss Davis, Belfast
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 21, 2025
Some Mainers may have to drive an hour or more to dispose of the propane canister they used when camping or at a cookout, which is why the small containers often end up in household trash or tossed into the woods. That’s a problem lawmakers aim to solve with a new bill to study the safe disposal of single-use propane canisters, which often still contain enough propane to cause an explosion if punctured. There currently is no central repository or list of places that take the one-pound, nonrefillable propane canisters, making it hit or miss for people who want to dispose of them responsibly. The Maine Legislature’s environment committee will hear testimony on the bill on Monday.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 21, 2025
Moosehead Lake, one of Maine’s most important cold-water fisheries and home to native brook trout and landlocked salmon, already struggles with an increasing abundance of native lake trout plus invasive bass, yellow perch and white perch. But there is a new threat on the horizon: Northern pike. Pike compete with brook trout and salmon for food. Pike will eat anything it can fit in its mouth, including its own young. They could ruin the landlocked salmon and trout fishery, just as they destroyed a trophy salmon fishery at Long Pond in the Belgrade Lakes region. That would be devastating for Moosehead Lake, which draws thousands of people from around the world to its waters year-round for lake trout, salmon and brook trout fishing, supporting a multi-million-dollar local tourism economy.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 21, 2025
Birds make noises for many reasons. This time of year, the main reason is all about mating, either wooing a partner or declaring a territory. Some of these noises could hardly be called songs. It takes a lot of imagination to describe an owl hoot as a song, but they’re out there hooting up a storm this time of year. American woodcocks return early in spring. Most are back now, and many are calling. Not long after their arrival, snipes take to the air in a mating display amplified by a weird, jungle-like hu-hu-hu sound, which definitely cannot be classified as a song. Tree swallows are the earliest swallows to return. I expect them around Easter. Courtship begins almost immediately, but their distinctive twittering is hardly an aria. Woodpeckers play a huge role in the non-song spring cacophony. They drum year-round, but do it much more often during mating season. Ah, spring. If you listen, you can hear it coming. ~ Bob Duchesne
MAINE PUBLIC • March 20, 2025
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has issued a Notice of Violation to Mallinckrodt, formerly known as the HoltraChem Manufacturing Company. For several decades, the company manufactured caustic soda, chlorine bleach, hydrochloric acid and other chemicals at its now defunct plant in Orrington, resulting in what the DEP calls "significant mercury contamination to soils, groundwater and the nearby Penobscot River." The state's Board of Environmental Protection ordered the site cleaned up more than 15 years ago for protection of public health and the environment. And the department has been overseeing the process ever since. In a statement, the DEP said the company has failed to make meaningful progress for the past two years.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 20, 2025
An Aroostook town will get recommendations on how to save energy costs in its aging municipal buildings thanks to a state award. Fort Fairfield is one of 14 Maine communities awarded technical assistance in the Community Resilience Partnership Energy Efficiency Planning for Rural Communities program, offered through the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future.
MAINE PUBLIC • March 20, 2025
Efficiency Maine Trust and similar agencies in three other states accuse the Environmental Protection Agency of illegally blocking billions of dollars intended to help reduce greenhouse gas pollution in a lawsuit filed in federal court. The agencies said the EPA's termination of $20 billion for lending to clean energy and efficiency programs was unlawful and unconstitutional. Efficiency Maine offers rebates, loans and other incentives for energy efficiency home projects including insulation, weatherization and heat pumps.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 20, 2025
The Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee on Wednesday voted 7-5 along party lines to approve a measure authorizing Efficiency Maine Trust to pursue more than $2 million from an electricity market run by New England’s grid operator, ISO-New England, to help subsidize EV purchases by Maine car buyers. Republicans have criticized state efforts to broaden EV use in Maine, saying they are too costly for many Mainers and that the state has no business remaking private transportation. Democrats and their environmental allies say EVs are a critical part of Maine’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
MAINE BEACON (Maine People's Alliance) • March 20, 2025
“Extremely wasteful and deeply traumatic.” That’s how Tessa Corsetti, a wildlife biologist who was abruptly fired by the Trump Administration from her job at U.S. Fish and Wildlife, described her experience. “Wildlife management and conservation play a vital role in supporting Maine’s economy and culture, and much of this work is done by civil servants,” Corsetti said. “Federal agencies are being gutted, and the policies that protect wildlife and our public lands are under threat.…My job [was] to increase efficiency. So unfortunately, the loss of that has been in direct contrast to what this administration says is their priority.”
TIMES RECORD • March 20, 2025
Within weeks of the presidential inauguration, the federal scientific enterprise that funds academic research has been reshaped, sparking uncertainty in the scientific community. With colleges pausing hiring, reassessing graduate student admissions and eliminating jobs as grant applications languish, the question emerges: How will Maine, a state with labs like the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences and university systems, be impacted? Mike Lomas, director of the Bigelow National Center for Marine Algae and Microbiota, said, “Scientists must explore alternative avenues — contracting researchers for private companies or turning to philanthropic organizations.”
NORTHEAST WILDERNESS TRUST • March 20, 2025
Kathleen Fitzgerald and Sebastián Di Martino, veteran conservationists with decades of combined experience rewilding landscapes, talk about their work rewilding landscapes across North America, Africa, and South America. Hosted by Northeast Wilderness Trust. Online, May 6, 6 pm, free.
GLOBAL REWILDING • March 20, 2025
Humans are truly at the heart of rewilding and they are the ones benefiting the most from it. This is a true partnership between nature and the human community, with people gently assisting nature to recover, but with wild nature being given time and space to follow her own course, often surprising us, for example, as species reappear that we thought were locally or globally extinct. Rewilding is proving to be a powerful vision that can be turned into reality. It is based on hope and optimism, and inspires people from all walks of life.
TIMES RECORD • March 20, 2025
“Vernalized” is one of my favorite words. It is the concept of nature springing forth in spring and doing so particularly strongly when it is held back in dormancy during the winter. This week marked the official beginning of spring — the vernal equinox. The defining factor of the vernal equinox is not temperature but light. After night and darkness have seemed to swallow up day for many months, now light takes over and becomes more predominant as the season continues. As all of this productivity explodes, marine animals also prepare for their big growth season. ~ Susan Olcott
PENOBSCOT BAY PILOT • March 20, 2025
The Rockport Conservation Commission will present "Rising Tides, Lifting All Boats," a unique performance by the Halcyon String Quartet, March 30, 4 pm, at the Rockport Opera House. This event marks the launch of the Rockport Climate Resilience Hub, a new resource aimed at helping the community understand climate challenges and take meaningful action. The Halcyon String Quartet, a Midcoast artist collective, has been commissioned to interpret data from Rockport's climate vulnerability assessments and greenhouse gas inventory through music. Following the performance, there will be a panel discussion featuring local Midcoast resilience practitioners and volunteers, who will share their stories of climate actions in the region.
SUN JOURNAL • March 20, 2025
Maulian Bryant, executive director of the Wabanaki Alliance, talked Thursday afternoon with Bates College history professor Joseph Hall at the Great Falls Forum at the Lewiston Public Library. Their talk was titled, “Wabanakis Then and Now.” She said, the support and passion from Maine people in recent years to support its indigenous history and culture has been growing. Bryant detailed her progress and battles on more recent legislation to amend pieces of a 1980 settlement between the state and tribes, some of which has been vetoed by Gov. Janet Mills.
TIMES RECORD • March 20, 2025
As a regular observer of the Brunswick-Topsham bridge project, I have watched with awe from the early excavations through the precision placement of massive steel beams. Progress has been impressive, and we eagerly await the final product. Throughout the bridge construction, environmental considerations have been carefully managed. Both public and private partners have prioritized sustainable practices, ensuring that the project minimizes its ecological footprint. From sourcing materials responsibly to implementing eco-friendly construction techniques, the bridge project serves as a model for environmentally conscious development. Watching the progress as the new bridge takes shape should help us all gain some confidence that we have the capability to build better futures together. ~ John Dorrer, Topsham
