The new Maine Legislature is finally changing how it operates

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 9, 2024

Democrats and Republicans said they are confident in the prospects of changing how the Maine Legislature operates in order to crack down on vague placeholder bills, prolonged meetings. There is support for publicizing legislation and amendments at least 24 hours before a committee meeting and other State House norms that have hindered public participation. Tweaking the ways the Legislature operates in Augusta has proven difficult in an institution ruled by decades of precedent and 11th-hour decisions.

As climate focus shifts to states, East Coast partnership offers multi-state collaboration model

MAINE MORNING STAR • December 8, 2024

A trailblazing regional greenhouse gas partnership on the East Coast is considering possible changes or expansion that would allow it to keep building on its success – and the stakes grew higher last month with the reelection of Donald Trump. The 11-state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, established in 2005, is the country’s first regional cap-and-invest system for reducing carbon emissions from power generation. The role of such programs is more crucial as Trump’s pledges to roll back federal climate action leaves it up to cities, states, and the private sector to maintain the country’s momentum on clean energy over the next four years. In RGGI, as the regional initiative is known, states have a potential model for scaling their impact through collaboration.

Biden adds to the nation’s list of national monuments during his term. There’s an appetite for more

ASSOCIATED PRESS • December 8, 2024

All but three presidents have used their authority under the Antiquities Act act to protect unique landscapes and cultural resources. President Joe Biden has created six monuments and either restored, enlarged or modified boundaries for a handful of others. Native American tribes and conservation groups are pressing for more designations before he leaves office, including a homestead in Maine that belonged to the family of Frances Perkins, the nation’s first female cabinet member.

Does technology blur the lines of ethical hunting?

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 8, 2024

Ethical hunting is following the laws on the books, but much is left up to personal choices. Do I shoot the doe that has fawns she raised this summer? Do I push legal shooting time on either end of sunrise and sunset as that beautiful buck whizzes past me? Do I use gadgetry to help me find where the deer are or do I look for bedding areas, tracks and other signs of their presence? Do I pass on the younger bucks to let them mature? Other questions hunters face in the woods are about the sophistication of our guns or bows we use, or whether we employ game cameras or scout with drones. I like some hunters’ suggestions of training and licensing recovery drone operators or requiring a warden’s presence when using that equipment to find a dead or wounded animal. That approach doesn’t seem to violate hunting ethics or fair chase. It could be Maine’s future.

To combat an invasive plant, a Peaks Island woman has persuaded her neighbors to adopt endangered trees

MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • December 8, 2024

The Asiatic (or oriental) bittersweet vine is highly invasive and a grave threat to native trees, shrubs and entire ecosystems. Thaea Lloyd, a retired landscape architect, lives on Peaks Island, where she is founder, organizer and force of nature behind an unusual adopt-a-tree-in-perpetuity program aimed at saving island trees from this same deadly vine. She launched the program in May with 16 volunteers. Seven months later, she has nearly 115 volunteers with almost 400 trees under their care. She calls the effort “tree-age – urgent care for the trees.”

Editorial: Failure of Lion electric school buses is – at the very least – twofold

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 8, 2024

Defective electric school buses provided to eight Maine school districts by Lion Electric, a now cash-strapped Canadian manufacturer, have wreaked havoc throughout the state. It is deeply unfortunate that Maine’s first interaction with the Clean School Bus Program, a rebate initiative managed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has panned out this way. By 2035, the agency wants 75% of all new American public school buses to be electric. What should have been a bold and encouraging step in the right direction, one funded by the federal government to the tune of $5 billion nationally, has stirred disillusionment and doubt in our communities. Not only, then, do we not have safe and dependable fleets of school buses, we have a vexing breach of public faith and trust that will take some recovering from.

Largest White Marlin Satellite Tagging Mission

ALL OUTDOORS • December 6, 2024

The Billfish Foundation (TBF) has announced the 2024 launch of its latest conservation initiative, The Skillie Project. A new project with the goal of better understanding and advancing the conservation of the understudied Northeastern Atlantic White Marlin (Tetrapturus albidus) population. Named for the local name of the billfish “Skillies”, this project is partnered up with the University of Maine, local captains, fishery pioneers, and the greater fishing community of southeastern New England. Additionally, cutting-edge satellite tagging tech is being used as well to better understand the migratory patterns of the White Marlin.

Electric bus maker facing complaints from Maine school districts is strapped for cash

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 7, 2024

The Canadian manufacturer of electric buses drawing complaints from several Maine school districts about mechanical and service problems is financially struggling and negotiating with creditors for more time to come up with cash. Winthrop, Vinalhaven and Yarmouth are among the districts reporting problems with electric school buses. The Maine Department of Education advised that Lion Electric Co. buses be parked until further inspections.

UNE students put sustainability lessons to work locally

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 7, 2024

A half-dozen University of New England students put their classroom knowledge to work last summer helping local partners tackle sustainability challenges such as how to reduce extreme heat, lay hiking trails through wetlands, and help businesses reduce their carbon footprints. The students were UNE’s first sustainability fellows, each paid a $6,800 stipend to work full time over 10 weeks to address real-world sustainability challenges identified by local community partners, such as Climatework Maine, The Ecology School and Nonantum Resort. Cameron Wake, the director of UNE’s Center for North Atlantic Studies, hopes the program he launched will train the next generation of sustainability leaders, aid community partners seeking help on specific sustainability challenges, and build an official sustainability network in southern Maine.

Canicross is catching on in Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 7, 2024

As an official sport, cross country running with your dog, or canicross, has only recently gained traction in the United States. Canicross is a mashup of the words canine and cross-country. It began as a way for sled dogs to train off-season, and over the past few decades, it’s evolved into a stand-alone sport. According to Canicross USA, canicross is a “team sport” with the team consisting of a person and a dog working together. Typically, the person wears a waist belt, while the dog wears a special harness. The two are joined by a bungie-like leash that reduces shock when the dog pulls. It’s a lot like skijoring, a sport in which a dog pulls a person who’s on skis.

Help Wanted: Friends of Baxter State Park Development Director

FRIENDS OF BAXTER STATE PARK • December 6, 2024

Friends of Baxter State Park is hiring a full-time Development Director. This is an outstanding opportunity to join a thriving organization and work on behalf of our beloved Baxter State Park. The Development Director will play a pivotal role in our growing organization, working at all levels to help achieve continued success. Application deadline is December 15, 2024.

Maine adds 3 species to ‘special concern’ list

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 6, 2024

The state added three species of flower flies to its “special concern” list. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Advisory Council approved the designations Wednesday to increase the protection of the hourglass drone fly, the Slosson’s pond fly and the Holarctic bristleside fly to special concern. The advisory council’s action also adjusted its lists to reflect the addition of eight species, including five birds, a bumblebee, a bat and a beetle to the Maine Endangered Species list last year, and eliminated the salt marsh or margined tiger beetle from its special concern list. At last count in 2023, Maine had 57 species on its endangered species list.

Greater Augusta Utilities District shuts down two wells for high PFAS levels

KENNEBEC JOURNAL • December 6, 2024

The Greater Augusta Utilities District shut down two of its drinking water wells last month after testing showed levels of PFAS above the limit allowed by the state. The levels of PFAS, commonly known as forever chemicals because they stay in the environment for hundreds of years, were measured on Nov. 4 at 23.3 parts per trillion – 15% higher than the regulated maximum – at the two Riverside wells. The district was notified of the measurement on Nov. 19 and shut down the wells the same day. Levels had nearly tripled since the previous test in March.

Maine's first accredited lab for PFAS testing is expanding to meet demand

NEWS CENTER MAINE • December 6, 2024

This week, the Biden administration moved to prevent dangerous "forever chemicals" from being released onto the market after a less rigorous review process.  The federal action comes as Maine's first accredited lab to test for PFAS chemicals expands to meet the testing needs of customers in state and beyond. The lab works with researchers at the University of Maine who test crops like corn. Studies show corn takes up the chemicals in the stalk but not the kernels. 

Wilton designates federal funds to replace Wilson Pond retaining wall

SUN JOURNAL • December 6, 2024

The Wilton Select Board on Tuesday designated the town’s remaining $217,908.61 from the federal American Rescue Plan Act for replacing the rock section of the retaining wall at Wilson Pond off Lake Road. The town has put aside $273,778 toward the estimated $813,540 project, which includes other improvements.

USDA orders nationwide testing of milk for bird flu to halt the virus

ASSOCIATED PRESS • December 6, 2024

The U.S. government on Friday ordered testing of the nation’s milk supply for bird flu to better monitor the spread of the virus in dairy cows. Raw or unpasteurized milk from dairy farms and processors nationwide must be tested on request starting Dec. 16, the Agriculture Department said. Officials said the move is aimed at “containing and ultimately eliminating the virus,” known as Type A H5N1, which was detected for the first time in March in U.S. dairy cows. Since then, more than 700 herds have been confirmed to be infected in 15 states. [Editor: In 2022, the Maine Department of Agriculture confirmed hundreds of cases of avian flu in poultry, and scientists blamed avian flu for the deaths of more than 300 seals in Maine. In 2023, the virus was confirmed in both wild ducks and domesticated chickens.]

Maine Audubon's annual loon count numbers are up from last year

MAINE PUBLIC • December 6, 2024

Maine Audubon said its annual loon count numbers are up slightly from last year, at 3,146 adults and 420 chicks. Melissa Kim, a representative from the Maine Audubon, said said an increase in volunteer numbers allowed data gathering at more than 25 extra lakes this year."When you talk to people, they feel very protective and possessive over their loons. You talk to people who live on a lake, they think of them as ours," Kim said.

Letter: Not cheering Donald Trump Jr’s purchase of Maine hunting land

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 6, 2024

There is no reason to cheer Donald Trump Jr.’s purchase of 3,900 acres of prime Maine property purchased from the family of unsuccessful congressional candidate Austin Theriault, who was strongly backed by Donald Trump. A Florida company, which includes connections to a man pardoned by then-President Donald Trump for violating campaign finance laws, was formed to make the purchase. Don Jr.’s worldwide kills include an elephant, an ibex mountain goat, a bear, a buffalo, a crocodile and a leopard. His kill of a rare argali sheep in Mongolia included Secret Service protection at a cost to taxpayers of $76,000, for which he did not have a hunting permit. Maine’s animals belong to us all, not just the rich and influential. I’d rather have trees and nature than a person who apparently finds joy in killing. ~ Charles Mitchell, Belfast

Forecasters predict a mild Maine winter, but storms could still hit the coast

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 6, 2024

Maine is forecast to see moderate temperatures again this winter, but experts say coastal communities should still prepare for intense storms like the ones that devastated the state in January. National Weather Service meteorologist Greg Cornwell said temperatures throughout the southern part of the state and the midcoast this winter will likely be above normal, and the season will be no wetter or drier than usual.

Column: Christmas Bird Count helps identify trends in bird population

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 6, 2024

125 years ago, Frank Chapman, an American ornithologist, proposed the idea of changing a Christmas tradition called “side hunts” from a challenge of seeing who could shoot the most birds to simply counting them. It has since grown to more than 2,300 counts with more than 70,000 participants. The counts are now held between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5. Each count covers an area defined by a circle 15 miles in diameter. It is impossible to count every bird. Each year the effort will change, too – there might be more people participating, or the weather may be terrible. But this is all tracked (reported by the observers) and accounted for. ~ Doug Hitchcox, Maine Audubon