The most comprehensive online source of conservation news and events in Maine and beyond, edited by Jym St. Pierre
TIMES RECORD • December 16, 2024
The Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority has completed inspections and testing for three of its aircraft hangars, including the one that malfunctioned and released toxic foam into the environment in August. The Brunswick Fire Department noted that the reports identified “system deficiencies that require attention,” which it said MRRA plans to address once parts for repairs are made available.
MAINE PUBLIC • December 13, 2024
Maine Congresswoman Chellie Pingree is highlighting the findings of the federal government's first-ever report on textile waste in the United States. The Government Accountability Office’s report, requested by Pingree is recommending that Congress take action and that several federal agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency do more to reduce textile waste. Every second, a dump truck of textiles ends up in a landfill, according to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. The decomposition of that waste leads to the contamination of air, water and soil ecosystems. The fashion industry is reportedly responsible for nearly 10% of all global greenhouse gas emissions — more than the aviation sector and maritime shipping combined.
MAINE MORNING STAR • December 16, 2024
President Joe Biden on Monday designated the Frances Perkins Homestead in Newcastle a national monument to honor the legacy of the first woman to serve in a presidential Cabinet and longest-serving secretary of labor. The designation comes after a strong push from Maine’s congressional delegation as well as members of the public. Under the authority of the Antiquities Act of 1906, Biden’s decision will safeguard the 57-acre property along the Damariscotta River where Perkins spent her childhood summers and returned to throughout her career for respite.
LINCOLN COUNTY NEWS • December 16, 2024
A flock of eight German Pekin ducks (aka European Pekins) on Jefferson’s Goose Hill Road are among the only representatives of their kind in the region, according to legacy poultry breeder Sarah Merrill, who is striving to keep their lineage alive. Maintaining rare breeds like the German Pekin is important to conserve genetic diversity and agricultural history, Merrill said. The breed is currently listed as endangered by the German Society for the Preservation of Old and Endangered Domestic Animal Breeds.
TIMES RECORD • December 16, 2024
Brunswick creator Abigail Putnam proves art can do more than celebrate marine life. It can raise awareness of unfamiliar fish species, reaching new audiences in eye-catching ways. Her anatomically correct collection is based on first-hand observation — think science meets art — and is sold at Brunswick’s Lemont Art Collective. While the exhibit has evolved — demonstrating seasonal variations, such as two-tone brook trout scales and movement, leaping versus swimming — Putnam has never teamed up with a local nonprofit until now. 20% of proceeds from the extended wooden fish collection will be donated to the Maine Coast Fisherman’s Association to educate customers about the abundant and often underutilized species that call the Gulf of Maine home.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 16, 2024
December through March is prime time to start clipping the webs of browntail moths, the pesky creatures that shed poison hairs as caterpillars and cause painful rashes for people. It is a timeframe when the moths, clustered in the white webs they weave at the tips of branches, lie protected until spring, when they emerge as brown caterpillars with orange dots near their rear end. It is a good time to kill them before they can do damage.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 16, 2024
The city of Bangor is suing the Bangor Mall after a broken sewer line caused human excrement to flow into a nearby stream. The mall’s owner failed to address a nearly 5-foot wide stormwater pipe that broke and caused a cascade of issues, which ended with human excrement flowing into stormwater ponds that drain into the Penjajawoc Stream, according to a lawsuit filed Friday. This is the second lawsuit the city has filed against the mall’s owner this year. The lawsuits come as the mall has struggled to retain businesses for years due to its deteriorating conditions.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 16, 2024
Researchers in Aroostook County say early studies have revealed unsafe levels of forever chemicals, commonly known as PFAS, in waterways used for irrigating crops. So far, the presence of the chemicals has not disrupted or shut down crop production in Maine’s northernmost county, known for its abundant and economically vital potato farming. More research is planned. Fifty-nine Maine farms in central and southern Maine had confirmed contamination from PFAS at the beginning of 2024, largely due to sludge containing 18 types of PFAS spread on farm fields.
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE • December 16, 2024
Known as the first woman to hold a presidential cabinet position and the “Woman behind the New Deal,” Frances Perkins championed many labor rights that Americans enjoy today, including safety standards, Social Security, and shorter workweeks. Her impressive career and accomplishments, including as Secretary of Labor, opened the door for other women to hold high government positions. Planning a visit to Frances Perkins Homestead National Monument? Check out important information to help you make the most of your visit.
MAINE MORNING STAR • December 16, 2024
Numerous East Coast states are counting on offshore wind projects to power tens of millions of homes and to help them transition to cleaner energy. But putting wind turbines at sea requires the cooperation of a powerful landlord: the federal government. Soon, that government will be led by President-elect Donald Trump, who has frequently disparaged offshore wind and said he will “make sure that ends on Day 1.” Lawmakers in Maine and other states have established mandates requiring their states to produce certain amounts of offshore wind power in the coming years. State leaders say they will continue to pursue offshore wind but realize there may be delays during the next four years.
CBS 13 • December 16, 2024
The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention has identified a rabid raccoon in Cape Elizabeth. It’s unclear where or when that raccoon was spotted, but the agency is reminding folks about rabies safety, such as avoiding wildlife, especially if an animal seems to be acting irregularly, and to get your pets vaccinated for rabies. Rabies in wild animals is common in Maine and is most often found in raccoons, skunks, foxes, and bats.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 16, 2024
President Joe Biden is creating a new national monument in Maine to honor the legacy of a crusader for workers’ rights and the nation’s first female Cabinet secretary. That is the culmination of a campaign to win that designation for Frances Perkins’ family homestead in Newcastle. Biden on Monday will officially sign a proclamation declaring the property the Frances Perkins National Monument during a ceremony at the U.S. Department of Labor’s Frances Perkins Building in Washington. The property was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2014.
MAINE PUBLIC • December 16, 2024
President Joe Biden plans to designate a new national monument in Newcastle, Maine, honoring Frances Perkins, who was the country's first female cabinet secretary. Perkins was a key architect of some of nation's most sweeping labor laws and reforms. During her 12 years as Franklin D. Roosevelt's labor secretary, Perkins led the push to standardize the 40-hour work week, to ban child labor and to create a federal minimum wage. She is also credited with helping to establish Social Security. According to the Biden administration, the president plans to designate the historic Newcastle farm as a national monument during a ceremony at the Labor Department headquarters in Washington on Monday.
MAINE PUBLIC • December 16, 2024
The Portland City Council will weigh in Monday night on a proposed two-day music and arts festival with national touring artists in Payson Park next summer. Concert organizers are proposing a festival for Aug. 2-3, 2025, and envision that the two-stage event would draw a crowd of about 12,000 people each day. Two years ago, promoters tried to bring a similar concept to the park but faced opposition from neighbors over noise, traffic and parking. If approved, festival organizers say they'll arrange a free shuttle service between Payson Park and offsite parking lots. The METRO bus service would be free for ticketholders.
THE WHITE HOUSE • December 16, 2024
Today President Biden will sign a proclamation establishing the Frances Perkins National Monument in Newcastle, Maine, to honor the historic contributions of America’s first woman Cabinet Secretary and the longest-serving Secretary of Labor. Frances Perkins was the leading architect behind the New Deal and led many labor and economic reforms that continue to benefit Americans today. During her 12 years as Secretary of Labor under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, she envisioned and helped create Social Security; helped millions of Americans get back to work during the Great Depression; fought for the right of workers to organize and bargain collectively; and established the minimum wage, overtime pay, prohibitions on child labor, and unemployment insurance.
MAINE MORNING STAR • December 16, 2024
The state’s newly updated climate action plan, known as Maine Won’t Wait, set a goal of having 150,000 light-duty electric vehicles on Maine roads by the start of the next decade. However, one of the incentives the state has used in recent years to promote that transition has run dry without any current plan to bring it back. “To further increase the number of EVs on the road, Maine must continue to offer attractive EV rebates and expand the dealer network offering rebates, especially in rural communities,” the climate action plan reads. But those rebates will need more money to continue. Going forward, Efficiency Maine has proposed a three-year strategic plan that gradually increases rebate funding from about $2 million next year to $4 million in fiscal year 2028. The State estimates a low-income EV rebate program would require $11 million to $28.8 million per year through 2032.
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 16, 2024
The Newcastle home of labor secretary Frances Perkins – the central architect behind the New Deal – will become Maine’s second national monument after a declaration by President Biden on Monday. Perkins was the first woman to serve in a U.S. president’s cabinet, as secretary of labor under Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1933 to 1945. The longest-serving person in that post, she spearheaded New Deal reforms like Social Security, the 40-hour work week, child labor laws and the minimum wage. The Frances Perkins National Monument will be run by the National Park Service, in collaboration with the nonprofit Frances Perkins Center. It is the second site in Maine to earn such a designation, along with Katahdin Woods and Waters, which was named a national monument in 2016.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 16, 2024
Maine is finalizing the next phase of its ambitious plans for energy storage, a renewable avenue that is becoming more important amid President-elect Donald Trump being poised to stall clean energy projects. Long-term energy storage facilities often feature nondescript box-like structures that are actually large batteries that absorb excess energy from the grid and discharge it when needed. In Maine, they already exist in old mill towns such as Rumford and Millinocket. Bigger projects are coming in Gorham and in Lincoln, which will be home to the world’s largest multi-day battery system.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 16, 2024
Pristine lawns can add value to a property, but the chemicals used to kill crabgrass, grubs and other insect pests also can run off into nearby waterways and cause health problems for humans and animals. Hallowell, Portland and Falmouth are among the first in Maine to devise ordinances with more teeth to minimize potential harm from pesticides. About three dozen other municipalities have adopted less sweeping restrictions, according to the regulatory Maine Board of Pesticides Control, with rules ranging from prohibiting the storage of pesticides within aquifer protection zones to whether they can be applied in woodland and shoreland areas.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 15, 2024
Ellsworth firefighters rescued a boy who fell through the ice on Graham Lake in Ellsworth on Sunday afternoon, according to WMTW. The boy, along with three other kids, had run away from a group home when they crossed a marsh on the lake, the Maine Warden Service told the station. At that point, three of the kids fell through the ice. While two of the kids who fell through were able to get out on their own, the third one eventually had to be pulled out by members of the Ellsworth Fire Department.
