Editorial: Maine must confront old challenges in the new year

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 29, 2024

Maine now has a state commission focused on storm communication and preparedness; this is the body tasked with leading work on many of the elements called for above. Its first report focused on short-term rebuilding priorities and storm preparation. A second report will outline a long-term plan for climate disaster, and it’s about time. Long-term planning requires the confrontation of hard truths about where we live and what we’re about to be living through. Homeowners, businesses and municipalities, instead of asking themselves when they can rebuild, need to ask themselves whether they should be rebuilding at all. That’s an uncomfortable conversation to have. Until we start having these conversations, however, nothing much will change.

Conservation lands, hiking trails abound in Northern Penobscot Bay Region

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 28, 2024

From Belfast to Bucksport to Brooksville and beyond, conservation lands abound in the northern reaches of Penobscot Bay. They offer a variety of hiking trails worthy of a few hours of exploration afoot with pack and picnic lunch. Here’s a short list of scenic gems to consider for your next visit to this special area:
• Wallamatogus Mountain in the town of Penobscot
• Mount Waldo, the Maine Coast Heritage Trust owns 160 acres in Frankfort
• Condon Hill on the northern margin of the 5,100-acre Great Pond Mountain Conservation Trust Wildlands
• Mount Tuck in Stockton Springs in a 100-acre Coastal Mountains Land Trust preserve surrounded by Meadow Farm Wildlife Sanctuary and Sandy Point Game Management Area
• John B. Mountain in Brooksville within 38 undeveloped acres owned by the Blue Hill Heritage Trust
• Backwood Mountain in Holbrook Island Sanctuary State Park

Former Maine warden recalls dicey rescue of Boy Scouts off Blackcap Mountain

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 28, 2024

Around 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 22, 2014, my phone rang and I was called in to help rescue three Boy Scouts and two of their leaders who had become lost, then stranded on a rock face, during a hike on Blackcap Mountain in Eddington. With temperatures far below freezing, deep snow, and darkness, the situation was about as bad as it could be. Once everyone was safely off the mountain, we four wardens carefully made our way down. Lucky to escape their ordeal, the scouts and scout leaders had no serious injuries and were all treated and released by medical personnel. The bond shared by wardens past and present is special. ~ Chris Sargent

$9.3 million grant could mean fewer wildlife collisions in northern Maine

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December x, 2024

A $9.3 million federal grant secured by the state of Maine could be key to reducing collisions along a specific stretch of road in Caribou long known to be the site of crashes and near-misses between cars and animals. In a 2003-2023 study of the area, a 2-mile stretch surrounding the culverts saw at least 127 collisions, with the majority taking place on Route 1. But such crashes are believed to be underreported. State officials hope the grant will not only reduce collisions but also help conserve a threatened species of trout that lives in Prestile Brook. “When you build a structure that’s big enough for a moose to go through it, there’s a lot of other species that benefit,” Justin Schlawin, program coordinator of the wildlife department’s Beginning with Habitat program, said.

These laws will affect your outdoor experience in Maine in 2025

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 28, 2024

Money for trail systems, airboat noise limits and a push to fight aquatic invasive species are among the Maine Legislature’s 2024 decisions that will affect your outdoor experience in 2025. Maine’s $3.4 billion outdoor recreation economy represents 3.7 percent of the state’s economic base, according to the Maine Office of Outdoor Recreation’s latest figures released in 2023. That was a 9.1 percent increase over 2022 and the outdoor economy is expected to grow, making the laws that regulate such activities even more important. Here are the new laws affecting boating, fishing, hunting, snowmobiling, and ATVing.

Column: Here are some of the best ways to see new birds in Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 27, 2024

In 2025, I resolve to see more new birds. Feel free to make that your resolution, too. Everybody can see new birds, even experts. It’s just a matter of knowing where to look. The best part is that inexperienced birders can see a lot more new birds than experts can. Almost any bird beyond your backyard bird feeder might be new. Intermediate birders can add a new life list bird today, although it might require driving somewhere. That’s the secret to Maine. Our state has so many different habitats, a new bird can be found in any direction. It’s possible to find at least 300 birds in Maine during the year. ~ Bob Duchesne

Maine grower is changing the state’s fruit tree landscape

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 27, 2024

By the 1970s, many Maine apple trees were near the ends of their lifespans. Their fields were overgrown, the farmers who planted them forgotten. When Palermo resident John Bunker started rediscovering them, they were mostly “mysterious, anonymous gifts from the past.” Over the next 40 years, Bunker’s hobby grew into a business that has changed the state’s fruit tree landscape on homesteads and small farms, saving and spreading these varieties that could have been lost otherwise, along with other unique fruits, trees and ornamentals. By 1994, his hobby had grown into a full-time job. Jen Ries started working with him 22 years ago and took the lead at the tree division around 2020. Forty years in, Bunker comes across apple trees he sold that have grown large enough for grandchildren to climb on. “It’s very personal for people to plant a tree,” Ries said.

Opinion: The oil and auto industries’ inconvenient truth

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 26, 2024

Maine residents should strongly support the Maine attorney general’s decision to take action against oil and gas companies and their trade association for allegedly downplaying the dangers of climate change. The suit alleges that they bear responsibility for decades-long deceptions enabling them to make enormous sums of money with minor interference from government regulators. Donald Trump has said that on day one of his term it’s going to be “Drill Baby Drill,” America should increase its energy production and human-caused climate change is “a hoax.” Trump told a group of oil executives he will immediately reverse dozens of President Biden’s environmental rules and policies and stop new ones from being enacted. We bear responsibility for creating a livable climate. The fossil fuel and automotive industries must be part of the solution. ~ Patrick Walsh, Belfast

Unusual winter drought persists across Maine

MAINE PUBLIC • December 26, 2024

Maine's drought conditions have improved in recent weeks but the state is still experiencing an unusually dry period as winter sets in. An update to the U.S. Drought Monitor on Wednesday showed that more than 60% of Maine is in moderate drought. Nearly the entire state is at least abnormally dry. To address drought pressure on farmers, the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry is setting up a grant program to help pay for drilling new wells and building ponds and other water storage.

Navy has ‘moral obligation’ to remove foam, Brunswick airport authority says

TIMES RECORD • December 26, 2024

“The federal government left us with that stuff, and the federal government has a moral obligation to get rid of it,” said Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority Interim Executive Director Steve Levesque. Levesque’s statements echoed a September letter from Maine federal lawmakers and an October letter from the Environmental Protection Agencycalling on the US Navy to help in the wake of Brunswick’s disastrous Aug. 19 toxic foam spill that spewed 1,450 gallons of PFAS-laden aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) into Brunswick airport’s Hangar 4 and surrounding waterways.

Letter: State should cut losses and look to Mack Point for offshore wind facility

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 26, 2024

We recently learned that the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) failed to receive a $16 million grant for an offshore wind manufacturing facility on Sears Island. This marks the fourth MDOT grant application failure since 2023 for the Sears Island development. It’s past time for the Mills Administration to cut our taxpayer losses and focus on more modest improvements to Mack Point in furtherance of the floating offshore wind research array. ~ Stephen Miller, Islesboro Islands Trust

Letter: Save Maine winters and Maine livelihoods

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 26, 2024

Wintertime in Maine is not what it used to be. We have rehashed the issue of climate change countless times. But this topic never seems to be seriously addressed. Organizations have only told us that someday, our decreased carbon emissions will make a difference. But I have to ask, when is that someday? Our planet is not the only thing impacted by climate change. In 2022, Maine’s outdoor recreation industry comprised 3.9 percent of the state’s economy. Let’s work to save our winters and our livelihoods. ~ Sophia Soucy, Hermon

Spanish energy giant purchases CMP parent company for $2.5B

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 26, 2024

Spanish energy giant Iberdrola has completed its $2.5 billion acquisition of Central Maine Power’s parent company. The transaction makes Maine’s biggest electric utility privately held and reduces its visibility to federal securities regulators. New York regulators approved Iberdrola’s purchase of the remaining 18.4% of Avangrid Inc. on Dec. 20 and the deal was completed Monday, with shareholders being paid $35.75 a share. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission had signed off on the acquisition in September.

Maine's nature-based shoreline rules face pushback

MAINE PUBLIC • December 26, 2024

A new state policy to encourage using biodegradable materials to prevent shoreline erosion is facing backlash from critics who say it risks damaging coastal properties. Representatives for engineering firms and Maine realtors denounced new restrictions as inflexible and ineffective during a recent hours-long public hearing this month at the state Board of Environmental Protection. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection wants to speed up permitting for shoreline stabilization projects that use natural methods. Those practices use timber, grasses and other biodegradable materials to reestablish and strengthen natural dunes and shorelines. But new regulations would also make it harder to get permission to install rocks and gravel to reinforce coastline near homes.

Letter: Brunswick’s haste will lead to traffic standstill

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 26, 2024

Brunswick Town Council passed the two-way conversion of Pleasant Street (at a $4 million premium) without a plan. The concern for pedestrian and bicycle safety on Pleasant is valid but there are other ways to “calm” traffic. With this “plan,” we will slow down traffic; most likely to a standstill. ~ Lynne Holland, Brunswick

Maine seeks boost in energy storage to avoid costly grid upgrades

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 24, 2024

The Governor’s Energy Office recommended in a new report Monday that the state Public Utilities Commission establish programs that would add 200 megawatts to be built by developers. The PUC is reviewing the report and has not yet begun soliciting public comment. To pay for new storage projects a customer of Central Maine Power should expect to pay an average $5.90 a month more in the first year the program is in effect; the bill would decrease $3.41 a month in the following year.

Acadia and locals chafe at state’s terms for repairing MDI road

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 24, 2024

In a Dec. 12 email to the Maine Department of Transportation, Acadia National Park Superintendent Kevin Schneider wrote that the state’s request for a five-day turnaround to respond to the state’s terms sheet about repairs to Seawall Road was unreasonable. Schneider’s email reinforced the Southwest Harbor select board’s same sentiment about terms that the state agency has put on the repairs to Seawall Road.As proposed, Acadia National Park and Southwest Harbor would each pay 33 percent of the costs for future repairs to the road and Maine DOT would pay 34 percent.

Opinion: I hope Mother Nature might teach Maine to cooperate

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 24, 2024

Camp Ellis has a history of storm damage and a need for FEMA aid well outside the hurricanes. In the past, I could walk between its boulder wall and the waves at low tide. That’s impossible now, due to further additions of boulders over which storm waves still break. A while back, as a buffer against the waves, a huge berm of sand was constructed under a woven plastic netting in front of the boulder wall. Most of the berm is already gone; the ensuing storms blew the netting apart. No amount of money is going to prevent nature from reestablishing its boundaries. ~ Doug Yohman, East Waterboro

What the 2024 eclipse did for Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 24, 2024

Approximately 224,800 people traveled to or around Maine for the eclipse and the estimated economic impact for the state was between $207 million and $219.8 million, according to Jennifer Geiger of the Maine Office of Tourism. Maine and New Hampshire had some of the most significant gains in spending because of a sudden change in weather, with Texas falling out of favor with eclipse watchers when clouds were predicted. The weather was clear in the Northeast. Aroostook County tourism data indicated a 99 percent boost in visitor spending over the 5-day event compared with the same days of the week the prior four weeks. The state saw a 23 percent jump in tourist spending over the same period.

Advocates cheer possible end of genetically modified salmon

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • December 23, 2024

Environmental advocacy groups are cheering what they say is the end of a controversial attempt to market genetically engineered salmon, following a yearslong regulatory and legal battle. A coalition of environmental, recreation and consumer groups sued the Food and Drug Administration for approving the world’s first genetically engineered food animal nearly a decade ago. The groups argued the new fish could further threaten the endangered Atlantic salmon, especially if they were to escape and mingle with the natural gene pool, and charged that the FDA violated procedural law by failing to consult scientists with relevant expertise, Friends of Merrymeeting Bay said.