PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 28, 2025
A group of aviation business leaders and officials spoke Monday in support of a bill introduced by Sen. Rick Bennett, R-Oxford, to exempt airports from the state protections afforded the 57 fish and animals listed as endangered or threatened in Maine. Maine wildlife officials and advocates are against the bill, arguing it is unnecessary and could put the state’s imperiled wildlife at risk. They said habitat loss remains the No. 1 threat to at-risk species and that animals are rarely the cause of aviation accidents. A review of 564 Maine-related incidents in the database dating back 10 years shows no human injuries from aircraft-wildlife strikes. All but 17 involved birds. In those cases not involving birds, pilots reported hitting 5 red foxes, 4 white-tailed deer, 3 bats, 2 skunks, a porcupine, a woodchuck and an unidentified land mammal.