The most comprehensive online source of conservation news and events in Maine and beyond, edited by Jym St. Pierre
KENNEBEC JOURNAL • October 29, 2024
Many fire departments suspended burn permits this week after the Maine Forest Service advised fire risk was high across the state. Most of the state is abnormally dry, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, and much of the eastern part of the state is in a moderate drought.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 29, 2024
With its most popular hunting season starting Saturday, Maine has expanded a “do not eat” advisory zone for deer and turkey bagged in central Maine due to elevated levels of harmful toxic chemicals detected in recent wildlife testing. The hunting restriction is one of the unexpected consequences of Maine’s forever chemical crisis. Maine has three “Do Not Eat” zones in central Maine. The first was a 25-square-mile area in east Fairfield and south Skowhegan. Last week, Maine added a 5.4-square-mile area near Route 139 in Unity and Unity Township and a 4.3-square-mile area near Route 202 in Unity, Albion, and Freedom.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 29, 2024
Scientists and tribes are racing against time to protect a sacred tree at the heart of the Wabanaki basket-making tradition from an invasive beetle that is eating its way across Maine, pushing the tree species and maybe even the tradition to the edge of functional extinction. “The situation for our cultural heritage and art form is dire indeed,” said Theresa Secord, a basketmaker from the Penobscot Nation and founding director of the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance. The Penobscot artist also worries about how she and other master basketmakers can pass this cultural tradition on to the next generation without reliable access to healthy brown ash, the pliant, sturdy wood that Wabanaki weavers have used for generations.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 29, 2024
How to help protect the brown ash tree used in Wabanaki basketry from the invasive emerald ash borer.
• Cut, buy, or burn only local firewood.
• Monitor for telltale signs of infestation.
• If you own land, know if you have brown ash.
• If your ash is healthy, contact a forester or Maine Forest Service about how to keep them alive.
• Collect seed pods from healthy brown ash for replanting.
• Consider offering Wabanaki artists access to your brown ash.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 29, 2024
On Nov. 5, Scarborough will vote on a $6 million land bond. It is being pitched as a solution to runaway growth. It is unrealistic to think that taxpayers can outbid developers on enough land to protect the quality of our land and water. A more practical solution would be to control growth and protect our natural environment. Creating effective zoning and growth ordinances would be the obvious place to start. Our leaders also need to learn how to say no to developers. Plus, the land bond may be used for purposes other than conservation, including “to support recreation.” We support local conservation. But we believe the land bond is impractical, ineffective and unfair. ~ Steve Hanly, SMARTaxes (Scarborough Maine Advocates for Reasonable Taxes)
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 29, 2024
In response to the Oct. 15 letter by Jake Patryn, Acadian Seaplants’ director of operations in Maine, who argued that rockweed harvesting is sustainable, as scientists who have reviewed published studies of the ecological effects of rockweed harvesting, we disagree. We agree that stronger regulations are needed to protect this ecologically and commercially important seaweed habitat. ~ David Porter, Ph.D., and Allison Snow, Ph.D., Co-founders of the Blue Hill Peninsula Rockweed Forum
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 29, 2024
Donn Fendler was a 12-year-old boy who became famous for surviving a harrowing nine-day ordeal in 1939 when he got lost on Katahdin. His story of survival captivated the nation. After all of these years, there is a soon-to-be-released motion picture about Fendler, his family and his amazing and inspiring survival story. Ryan Cook, the producer, is emphatic that this movie is more than a story about a desperate youngster with remarkable resilience and determination, but is also about family love and the role that it, as well as spiritual faith, played in young Fendler’s survival. “Lost On a Mountain in Maine” will be released in theaters Friday.
WASHINGTON POST • October 28, 2024
Planet-warming pollution in Earth’s atmosphere last year hit the highest levels in human history, scientists announced Monday – a worrying indicator of the world’s failure to curb climate change as global temperatures are on track to hit yet another record high. Concentrations of carbon dioxide – the most important driver of global warming – are now growing faster than at any time since our species evolved.
MAINE AUDUBON • October 28, 2024
Hear from biologists, ecologists, and activists as they each share personal stories to help us relate and reconnect to the ways wildlife prepare for winter, including the amazing phenomenon of hibernation. Sponsored by Maine Audubon at Gilsland Farm and online, Nov 14, 2024, 7-8:30 pm. In-person (21+ only): $15/member, $20/nonmember; online: $5/person.
MAINE (ORONO) CAMPUS • October 28, 2024
A 2022 census states that there were 1,385,340 people living in the state. However, in that same year, 15.3 million people visited Maine. That is just over 11 times as many people that visited than those who reside here. This is a huge ratio, and it’s causing problems for the residents of Maine. One of the biggest issues with tourism in Maine is the effect it has on climate change. Climate change is already greatly affecting Maine’s ecosystems and coastal areas, and tourism can contribute to climate change both through air and car travel. Maine is working to promote ecotourism, which focuses primarily on minimizing the impact of tourism on the environment within the state. These efforts will in no way undo the damage that’s already been done, nor will they be able to prevent much more damage without the overall number of tourists decreasing. ~ Logan Thomas
MAINE PUBLIC • October 28, 2024
Conservation groups in Maine are getting a $25 million infusion from the federal government to continue stream restoration work to boost fish passage, work they say will have ecological and economic benefits. The funding will help pay for improving stream passage under roadways on private land in Maine, by replacing culverts with bridges or other structures that allow for improved waterflow and fish passage. Christian Fox, watershed restoration specialist with The Nature Conservancy in Maine, said that helps migratory fish species, including endangered Atlantic Salmon. The program has already restored about 260 miles of streams across the state.
MORNING SENTINEL • October 28, 2024
The Skowhegan Economic Development Corp. has been awarded a $200,000 grant to help support its partnership with Maine Grains, University of Maine system and Sodexo’s Maine Course to provide packaged, grain-based foods to schools. The University of Maine system and Sodexo are seeking healthful, ready-to-eat, local, grain-based foods for their menus. Equipment financed by the prize will allow Maine Grains to turn local milling, cheesemaking, seaweed, blueberry and soy byproducts into high fiber, high protein packed goods for sale to schools.
TIMES RECORD • October 28, 2024
Sitting atop a jagged pile of rocks off the coast of Harpswell is the Halfway Rock Light Station, neglected and battered by Mother Nature for over 40 years. Starting in 2016, Ford Reiche worked to revitalize the historic structure. After receiving multiple accolades, including the American Lighthouse Foundation’s 2017 Keeper of Light Award, Reiche was selected for this year’s National Maritime Historical Society Distinguished Service Award.
THE GUARDIAN • October 28, 2024
The climate crisis may appear peripheral in the US presidential election but a victory for Donald Trump will, more than any other issue, have profound consequences for people around a rapidly heating world, experts have warned. What would a Trump election triumph mean for the environment?
1. A dangerous and uncertain future
2. Climate denialism would return to the Oval Office
3. Clean energy policies unpicked
4. A purge of science
5. International relations shaken
MAINE PUBLIC • October 28, 2024
The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will host the first competitive lease auction Tuesday for eight areas in the Gulf of Maine that federal officials want to develop into commercial offshore wind farms. Two of the potential wind plots are located off the Maine coast. In total, the sites encompass about 850,000 acres. If leased and developed entirely, federal officials say these areas have the potential to generate up to 13 gigawatts of wind energy, enough to power 4.5 million homes.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 28, 2024
A new state program is connecting leaders in 10 rural Maine towns to the resources and funding required to get much needed municipal projects off the ground. Late last year nonprofit GrowSmart Maine launched the Building Community Strength program after securing a $304,636 grant from the USDA Rural Development Initiative and the American Farmland Trust. It comes at a time when many rural towns are facing problems with affordable housing, farmland protection, downtown revitalization and open space planning. Spanning rural Maine towns in counties from Oxford to Aroostook, the program aims to help town leaders with limited staff and money identify projects, develop strategic plans, and get funding.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • October 27, 2024
A 110-year-old Aroostook County facility is upping its technology to keep Maine’s potato industry thriving into the future. The Aroostook Farm in Presque Isle is using $3 million from the University of Maine System to transform a former storage building into an advanced research lab. From farms to stores and restaurants, the potato industry contributes $1.3 billion to the state’s economy, according to a 2024 UMaine study. Work in Presque Isle was key to one of the biggest sellers in decades: the Caribou Russet. With better research tools, the farm aims to develop new climate- and disease-resistant varieties faster and give growers seed for the next potato success story.
SUN JOURNAL • October 27, 2024
Firefighters were still battling hot spots Sunday afternoon from a brush fire Saturday night near South Pond in Buckfield. Firefighters from eight towns fought what became a significant blaze.
MAINE MONITOR • October 27, 2024
Home to the state’s most notorious former mine and one of its first commercial aquaculture projects, the cleanup of the Callahan Mine in Brooksville is set to be finished by 2026.
MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • October 27, 2024
More than 20 years after the Maine Turnpike Authority began the conversation about building the 5-mile, 4-lane toll highway, homeowners who would be displaced by the project still find their lives hang in the balance.
