NEWS CENTER MAINE • January 8, 2025
Free the Andro is a group that is hoping to improve the ability of fish to get down and over the hydroelectric dam that sits in the Androscoggin River.
Chances of California wildfire smoke reaching Maine
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 8, 2025
Thick smoke from four wildfires has choked thousands of residents out of areas of southern California since Monday, with windstorms fanning the flames and preventing firefighters on the ground and air from making headway in extinguishing them. So far the winds are carrying the smoke west toward the Pacific Ocean. But air quality specialists in Maine and New England are monitoring the smoke, which can carry thousands of miles via the jet stream or by other winds. Smoke can bring particle pollution that causes coughing, shortness of breath, throat irritation or mild chest pain, especially to vulnerable people, including children, older adults, and Mainers with lung or heart disease.
Gov. Mills proposes creating a Maine department of energy
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 8, 2025
Gov. Janet Mills wants to create a new state department of energy to better manage Maine’s infrastructure and supply issues and to help residents access affordable and reliable energy. The proposal would elevate the Governor’s Energy Office to a Cabinet-level department if approved by lawmakers as part of the two-year budget, and would have no additional cost or impact on the state budget, the governor’s office said. In recent years, the Maine Legislature has expanded the responsibilities of the Energy Office, and the office has worked to secure more than $200 million in federal funding to support grid resilience and innovation, energy efficiency, and workforce development, among other investments for Maine. Elevating the office to a Cabinet-level position would be commensurate with those responsibilities, Mills said.
After 30 Years Depending on the Electric Grid, Maine Farm Returns to its Solar Roots With REAP
MORNING AG Clips • January 8, 2025
As growers begin studying seed catalogs to plan next season’s crops, an iconic Maine seed company enters the new year with solar panels generating energy on the warehouse roof. Wood Prairie Family Farm is in the far northern town of Bridgewater, Maine, near the Canadian border. Best known for its certified organic table and Maine-certified seed potatoes, the farm sells its seeds via a mail-order catalog and website. Founded by Megan and Jim Gerritsen in 1976, the farm has been grappling with rising energy costs in recent years. Maine’s electricity pricing runs higher than most places in the country. Fortunately, USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program was available to help fund a solution for Wood Prairie Farm. By late that summer, installation of a 29.44-kilowatt system roof-mounted solar system was complete.
Scarborough seeks public feedback on Open Space Plan
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 8, 2025
The town of Scarborough is seeking feedback from residents on a draft of its Open Space Plan before finalizing and presenting it to the Town Council for adoption next month. The goal of the plan, being developed by the ad hoc Open Space Committee, is to come up with an inventory of open space and provide recommendations on how and where Scarborough can achieve its 30-by-30 goal – conserving 30% of its land by 2030. Feedback is due by Wednesday, Jan. 15.
Major Fish Farm Project Faces Legal Battle! Will Nature Prevail?
NORDIC OVERLAND • January 8, 2025
In a dramatic turn of events, a nonprofit organization is challenging a contentious fish farm project in Belfast, Maine. Upstream Watch has initiated legal proceedings against Nordic Aquafarms and the local government, alleging serious missteps in the permitting process that could endanger the environment. Upstream Watch’s director, Jill Howell, has passionately voiced the group’s concerns over the ecological integrity of the site, which is home to undeveloped forests, wetlands, and important waterways. Howell believes that allowing development in such a sensitive area would be detrimental to the community and its valued natural resources.
Letter: Comic strip no laughing matter for wildlife
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 8, 2025
The Jan. 1 cartoon of Dennis the Menace releasing a balloon outdoors, with the words “Happy New Year” written on it, was hypocritical at best. A happy new year will be highly unlikely to some unfortunate animal due to the prolific incidence of wildlife creature deaths caused by released balloons. ~ Lucy Hardy, Wells
What’s next in adaptive moose hunt is unclear
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 8, 2025
In 2020, in an experimental effort to reduce winter tick infestations in Maine moose, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife undertook the so-called “adaptive moose hunt.” The object was to deliberately reduce cow moose populations in wildlife zone 4 to reduce winter tick severity. Hunters were the management tool used to cull female moose numbers. Research in other parts of North America showed that moose that live in low-population densities had fewer ticks. The jury is still out as to how successful the adaptive unit hunt has been in reducing cow moose numbers. The good news is that last year was the second year in a row that tick numbers were lower and also showed one of the highest moose survival rates since 2006.
Bank donates $25K to Black Mountain of Maine’s capital campaign
RUMFORD FALLS TIMES • January 7, 2025
Black Mountain of Maine recently received a $25,000 contribution from Franklin Savings Bank towards their capital campaign. “Their support will help us expand our snowmaking capacity, ensuring better coverage and earlier openings for seasons to come. This gift doesn’t just benefit the mountain — it helps our entire community thrive by supporting outdoor recreation, tourism, and healthy lifestyles in the River Valley region.” Last year, the ski area received $1.2 million in grant monies that will enable them to make snow faster and hopefully lengthen their ski season.
Lobster co-op says it won $5M settlement in years-long litigation against former CEO
MAINE PUBLIC • January 7, 2025
A cooperative of fishermen known as Lobster 207 says it has reached a $5 million settlement in a years-long case against its former CEO, Warren Pettegrow, and his family members. The cooperative sued Pettegrow, his parents and another conspirator five years ago, alleging they submitted fraudulent invoices, embezzled funds and stole products that were then sold to Lobster 207 members at a premium. "The Pettegrows vehemently deny the contentions in this suit and that they engaged in any wrongdoing," attorney David Ginzer said in an emailed statement. "However, they sought to resolve this action to move forward…”
Camp Bomazeen sale must benefit central Maine Boy Scouts, court says
KENNEBEC JOURNAL • January 7, 2025
The state’s highest court affirmed a lower court’s ruling that a much-loved Boy Scouts camp on Great Pond in Belgrade can only be sold if the proceeds from its sale are used to support camping activities for Boy Scouts in central Maine, not to pay off debt. However, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court also rejected a counterclaim from the leaders of a group trying to keep Camp Bomazeen a Boy Scout camp, and perhaps take control of it locally, ruling that a regional scouting group that took possession of the camp did so improperly. The court’s decision, issued Tuesday, leaves Camp Bomazeen, for now, in the hands of the Pine Tree Council of the Boy Scouts of America, and its future still in limbo.
62-lot senior neighborhood proposed on rural Monmouth site
KENNEBEC JOURNAL • January 7, 2025
Residents will have a chance to weigh in during a public hearing Thursday on a proposed 62-unit senior housing development on 33 acres of undeveloped land between Academy Road and Main Street. The project would include 62 identical two-bedroom, single-family homes for people 55 and older. Some residents nearby don’t want the plans to move forward. Construction on the site would disturb 12,570 square feet of wetlands, an area large enough that the Maine Department of Environmental Protection would issue a permit for the project under the state’s Natural Resources Protection Act. As part of the permitting process, Michaud’s company would then pay almost $66,000 in fees to the Maine DEP in lieu of more traditional on-site environmental impact mitigation efforts.
Farmington alliance to host Rockefeller Conservation intern
CENTRAL MAINE • December 7, 2024
The High Peaks Alliance has been selected as a host for the ninth annual Richard G. Rockefeller Conservation Internship Program, run by Maine Coast Heritage Trust. This marks the first time the alliance will welcome a Rockefeller intern. This summer, a Maine college student will embark on a 10-week conservation adventure with the alliance. The intern will be immersed in various aspects of land stewardship, from trail maintenance to community engagement and crucial behind-the-scenes work.
Gov. Mills introduces bill to respond to severe weather fueled by climate change
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 7, 2025
Gov. Janet Mills introduced her first bill of the new legislative session Tuesday with a proposal to help Maine respond to severe weather and the long-term impacts of climate change. Mills’ proposal, which is sponsored by legislative leaders from both parties, includes a grant program that would help residents make investments to safeguard their homes against extreme weather. It makes one-time investments in the Maine Emergency Management Agency and utilizes federal funds to establish a new state office to reduce storm damage and protect infrastructure.
Opinion: The Bangor Mall was never a good idea
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 7, 2025
Over the years, criticisms of the Bangor Mall as something that contributed to the decline of Bangor’s downtown were often met with the response that the mall was the new downtown. This is nonsense. Downtowns are public places, democratic places: Everyone has a right to be there. A mall, by contrast, is a private space. A real downtown is a commons, a gathering place that offers more than an opportunity to buy stuff. It has architectural interest, places to repose and infinite opportunities for people watching. The mall is an architectural study in sterility. Now the mall is dying, and it’s an ugly death. So what is to become of the Bangor Mall property? I’ve long thought that it would make a fine cow pasture. ~ Robert Klose, Orono
Letter: Ski trails closure serves as a reminder
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 7, 2025
I learned today that Smiling Hill Farm will cease its cross-country skiing operations because “of the increasing lack of snow in our area.” Smiling Hill Farm is where I discovered cross-country skiing as a child, and where I rediscovered it as an adult. This news, paired with the shelving of a plan to make a large swath of Smiling Hill Farm a highway connector, has highlighted how important it is to conserve green spaces. Once they are gone, they are gone forever, and their importance to our culture and communal well-being cannot be understated. Green spaces are also at risk due to climate change, and this news highlights the importance of electing representatives who will take action to mitigate climate change. We are already losing recreational spaces, and without making conservation and climate action a priority, we will lose more. ~ Julianna Hansen, Acton
‘Forever chemicals’ are polluting water in an unexpected way — via prescription drugs
WASHINGTON POST • January 6, 2025
The widespread use of pharmaceuticals in America is introducing even more toxic “forever chemicals” into the environment through wastewater, according to a study released Monday, and large municipal wastewater treatment plants are not capable of fully filtering them out. The plants’ inability to remove compounds known as organofluorines from wastewater before it enters drinking water supplies becomes even more pronounced during droughts and could affect up to 23 million people, scientists wrote.
Hillandale ends egg farm operations in Turner
SUN JOURNAL • January 6, 2025
The Hillandale Farm shut down its poultry-raising facilities permanently last month, state Sen. Jeff Timberlake of Turner confirmed Monday. “Basically, they can’t afford to do business in Maine,” Timberlake said. “It’s gonna affect all farming in the state of Maine because there was an awful lot of dairy farmers around the state who used the chicken manure from Hillandale to spread on their cornfields to grow corn.”
In 2024, solar contributed to the New England grid like never before
MAINE PUBLIC • January 6, 2025
ISO New England is reporting that for the first time in a single year, it has recorded over 100 days in which energy demand actually went down in the middle of the day due to solar use.
Conservation group urges better fish passage for Brunswick dam
MAINE PUBLIC • January 6, 2025
Conservation groups see an opportunity to restore migratory fish on the Androscoggin River as a hydropower dam in Brunswick goes through federal relicensing. Brookfield Renewable wants to keep the dam operating after its license expires in 2029. But critics say its current fish passage is ineffective and are pressing the company to consider all alternatives to improve passage. Free the Andro, a recently established coalition of local and national conservation groups argue the 40-year-old dam blocks Atlantic Salmon, shad and other fish from traveling the river to spawn. "It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, and multiple generations are going to either benefit or not benefit from the decisions made in the next five years around this relicensing," said organizer Chip Spies, a Brunswick resident.