The most comprehensive online source of conservation news and events in Maine and beyond, edited by Jym St. Pierre
SENTRY/LEADER • March 5, 2025
The Scarborough Land Trust announced this week it has conserved 30 acres of land with 1,800 feet of frontage along the Nonesuch River. The majority of the property is located in Gorham but the river and adjacent lands act as a wildlife corridor in Scarborough, according to the land trust, and conservation of the parcel heightened wildlife protection.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 5, 2025
U.S. Sen. Angus King and U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree are demanding the Trump administration immediately undo its “ill-advised decision” to abruptly end support for the Maine Sea Grant program. In a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick dated March 5, King and Pingree defended Maine Sea Grant as an “invaluable resource” for supporting the state’s coastal economy. For every federal dollar invested, it generates $15 in economic activity, adding up to $23.5 million annually, they wrote. Maine Sea Grant, which started in 1971, supported more than 300 businesses and more than 560 jobs in 2023.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 5, 2025
The town of Bucksport is taking steps to attract a new biofuel plant, starting with seeking a grant to assess how well it and the surrounding region could support such a facility. Biofuels are processed from organic materials, or biomass, such as wood byproducts from the paper or timber industry. Some biomass electricity operations have faltered in Maine. The industry got a $13 million bailout in 2016, but one plant owner ran them only intermittently and filed for bankruptcy in 2022. Two biomass electricity plants in Aroostook County shut down in 2018 and 2019, citing market conditions. But new plant proposals focusing on biofuels have come to other towns recently, including Lincoln, Limestone, Millinocket and East Millinocket.
MAINE PUBLIC • March 5, 2025
Maine's outgoing commissioner of marine resources is warning about the dire impacts of newly imposed tariffs on Canadian imports. Maine sends about $200 million worth of lobster each year to Canada, where it's processed and sent back to the U.S. or to third markets. Marine Resources Commission Pat Keliher said the tariffs could trigger major cuts in what Maine lobstermen are paid for their catch that could "cripple" the state's iconic fishery.
MAINE PUBLIC • March 4, 2025
U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King of Maine have split on a bill that would bar transgender athletes from competing in women's sports and have direct implications in a standoff between Gov. Janet Mills and the Trump administration. If approved, it would effectively enshrine President Donald Trump's recent executive order banning transgender athletes from competing on women's sports teams. U.S. Sens Angus King acknowledged that some may be frustrated that transgender athletes can compete on women's sports teams, but he said that the bill would mean that the state could lose all federal funding if a single Maine school district decided not to comply with a federal mandate. "I find it odd that many of those supporting this legislation have exactly the opposite position when it comes to women’s reproductive choices — that that issue should be left to the states — while the question of transgender athletes requires a federal solution which overrides local control," King said.
ASSOCIATED PRESS • March 4, 2025
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s long-threatened tariffs against Canada and Mexico went into effect Tuesday, putting global markets on edge and setting up costly retaliations by the United States’ North American allies. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country would slap tariffs on more than $100 billion of American goods over the course of 21 days. The U.S. president’s moves raised fears of higher inflation and the prospect of a devastating trade war even as he promised the American public that taxes on imports are the easiest path to national prosperity.
SUN JOURNAL • March 4, 2025
Maine is already a leader in clean energy, with renewables like hydropower, wind, solar and biomass accounting for two-thirds of all electricity generated in our state in 2023. Federal funding, rebates and tax credits provided by the Inflation Reduction Act are helping us build on that progress. Maintaining IRA funding and investments is critical if Maine is going to continue building out our clean energy economy and workforce. Sen. Susan Collins should help protect IRA investments and tax credits so Maine can keep building on our strong track record of energy and environmental leadership. ~ Bryan Morgan, Hebron
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 4, 2025
South Portland strikes again. More open space and tree canopy destruction driven by continuing ignorance about climate change and what really needs to happen to save the planet. The Portland Catholic Diocese is leasing part of Calvary Cemetery to Massachusetts-based New Leaf Energy, which plans to clear cut mature trees to install a solar array. “Let’s cut down the trees we depend on to reduce climate change so we can build a solar array that destroys habitat, tree coverage and increases climate damage.” Duh. It’s way past time to do the right thing and shut these senseless projects down in the beginning. ~ Barbara Dee, South Portland
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 4, 2025
We need to back off harvesting small lobsters. If most of the catch is presently 1 1/2 pounds, then lobstermen are catching most of the lobsters before they reach their spawning size, which is 3 1/2 inches and weighing 1 1/2 pounds. Maybe lobstermen could be allotted a bunch more traps for this one- or two-year waiting period to make up for their loss, while giving the 1 1/4 pound lobsters a chance to grow to spawning age. That extra 1/4 inch and an extra 1/4 pound would be accomplished after shedding one more time. It really may make a lot of sense to make the full adjustment to 3 1/2 inches all in one year. The 3 1/4 inches will be 3 1/2 inches after the next shed. It makes no sense to increase the size by less than 1/4 inch. ~ James O’Connell, Bar Harbor
B98.5• March 4, 2025
The folks from the Marine Mammals of Maine organization found a little harp seal in distress along a Maine beach at the beginning of February. It had come in contact with some humans and some dogs and was stressed to the point of eating sand. Once the animal was feeling better, it was tagged with a special satellite identifier and released back out into the ocean. "Since February 10th, she has been traveling along the shelf in 39 degree Fahrenheit water. Seals can spend extensive periods of time at sea, eating, traveling, and resting without hauling out on land-while this kind of movement within her habitat is not unusual, it's still impressive to see on a map! We are so thrilled that she is strong enough to swim these distances, and that her unfortunate interaction with people and dogs last month did not prevent her from returning to the wild where she belongs." That one little seal has gone about 230 miles in the span of just a couple of weeks.
GREENFIELD RECORDER • March 3, 2025
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Department Service’s Northeast regional headquarters in Hadley, Mass., is proposed to close on Aug. 31 as part of the initiative to end leases for 164 federal office spaces nationwide, according to a list leaked by a government whistleblower. It’s unclear how these closures will impact federal employees, including the estimated 200 employees in the Hadley-based office. None of this information had been communicated to elected officials. Federal workers at the Hadley headquarters oversee 79 wildlife refuges located in 13 states from Maine to Virginia. “The people we’re talking about here protect and conserve our wildlife,” said U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, whose district includes Hadley. “They protect our open spaces and our environment. These are essential public servants. What their government should be saying to them is ‘thank you,’ rather than this.”
KENNEBEC LAND TRUST • March 3, 2025
"In donating this property to the Kennebec Land Trust I was inspired by my grandfather's desire to conserve open space in the Town of Manchester. We are pleased that with the help of KLT, we could permanently protect the Hopkins-Sinclair Conservation Area,” Matt Sinclair said. “It is our sincere hope that people will enjoy and take care of this land. We encourage the public to bushwhack, hunt, and hike in these woods and wetlands as our family has for over 200 years.” On February 15, 2025, KLT received a 97-acre land donation from Robert Hopkins and Matt Sinclair. This forested and wetland-rich area supports diverse wildlife, including black bears and moose, and connects to a 1,533-acre protected corridor. The land is open for hunting and bushwhacking, with sustainable timber management by KLT. With this acquisition, KLT now protects 7,940 acres and maintains 60 miles of public trails.
MAINE PUBLIC • March 3, 2025
Over the weekend, the Trump administration told the University of Maine that it is discontinuing a $4.5 million award to the Maine Sea Grant Program. There are 33 other similar Sea Grant programs in coastal and Great Lakes states around the country. Yet only Maine appears to have had its funding revoked. And the announcement came one week after Gov. Janet Mills sparred publicly with President Donald Trump at the White House about his executive order on transgender athletes. The four-year federal award from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration went into effect last February and would have awarded Maine Sea Grant roughly $4.5 million through January 2028, including about $1.5 million this year.
CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY • March 3, 2025
President Trump on Saturday signed an executive order aimed at undermining safeguards for endangered wildlife and bypassing other environmental protections to radically increase logging and road building on hundreds of millions of acres of national forests and other public lands. Federal forests account for about one-third of the forested lands in the United States, and increased logging will wreak havoc on critical wildlife habitat, pollute the water and air, and increase fire risk by destroying older, more fire-resistant trees.
TIMES RECORD • March 3, 2025
Maine Coast Heritage Trust steward Kirk Gentalen will present photos and stories about where nature in the Midcoast is at during very early spring. At Rockland Public Library, March 6, 6:30 pm, free.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 3, 2025
Maine Sea Grant, a $4.5 million initiative that relies on federal funding to provide environmental and economic research along Maine’s coast, appears to be the only program of its kind that has so far had its funding abruptly cut off by the administration of President Donald Trump. Trump recently threatened to cut federal funding to Maine after a heated exchange with Gov. Janet Mills in Washington last month. The national Sea Grant program has funding partnerships with higher-learning organizations in more than 30 states and in the territories. A search did not turn up any reports of other Sea Grant programs outside Maine having their funds abruptly cut off.
AXIOS • March 3, 2025
President Trump signed executive orders to increase lumber production across national forests and other public lands in the U.S., but wants to sidestep endangered species protections and other environmental regulations. Wildlife species reliant on undisturbed forests could face significant habitat loss, while expedited environmental reviews may reduce oversight on ecological impacts.
NRA HUNTERS NEWS • March 3, 2025
“I grew up an anti-hunter, in a residential neighborhood in Scarborough, Maine. My dad laughs at who I am now,” said wildlife biologist Olivia Lappin. “My motto when I was a child was ‘save the animals.’ It would be years before I saw the role hunting played in doing just that.” After completing a degree in biology at the University of Maine, and more fieldwork in various parts of the United States, Olivia realized she wanted to see through a wildlife biology research project of her own from beginning to end. That led her to the next phase of her immersion with nature, and the master’s degree program at Mississippi State University. It would also lead to a serious challenge of her anti-hunting stance. Olivia’s employment with Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever exposed her to another example of how hunters and hunting provide the needed support for the restoration and conservation of natural areas.
ASSOCIATED PRESS • March 3, 2025
A group of lobster fishermen can sue one of the world’s largest seafood watchdog groups for defamation, a federal court has ruled, over a report that described Maine lobster as an unwise choice for consumers. The threat to a rare whale species from getting tangled in fishing gear prompted Monterey Bay Aquarium in California to caution against eating a variety of lobster that New England fishermen have harvested for centuries. Seafood Watch, a conservation program operated by the aquarium, placed lobster on its do-not-eat “red list” in 2022. Judge John Woodcock ruled last month that the fishermen made a case that they suffered damage to their industry's reputation as a result of the red-listing, after the aquarium made a bid in court in Maine to have the 2023 lawsuit tossed. A spokesperson for the aquarium said Sunday it plans to appeal.
NEW YORK TIMES • March 3, 2025
Plankton, minuscule organisms, are spread across the oceans, covering nearly three-quarters of the planet. But a warming world is throwing plankton into disarray and threatening the entire marine food chain. Think of Calanus, a type of zooplankton, as “little batteries that are floating in the ocean,” said Jeffrey Runge, a zooplankton ecologist who recently retired from UMaine. Calanus hibernate through winter, hiding from predators. But in November in the Gulf of Maine, David Fields, a zooplankton ecologist at the Bigelow Laboratory for Marine Sciences, was out hunting them. He aims to understand what’s happening to planktonic species as the ocean warms and its currents shift. Amy Wyeth, a zooplankton ecologist, is starting a new plankton sampling and habitat monitoring program for the Maine Department of Marine Resources to give the state “more predictive power,” to forecast the movements of right whales and help Maine’s lobster fishery avoid whales entanglements with endangered North Atlantic right whales.
