Sen. King joins group of lawmakers calling on USDA to reinstate funding for local food

MAINE PUBLIC • March 18, 2025

Maine Senator Angus King joined 30 of his Senate colleagues to demand that the U.S. Department of Agriculture reverse the cancellation of two programs that supported local farms, food banks, and children. The programs provided $1.3 million to state, tribal, and territorial governments in Maine to purchase locally grown food and distribute it to food banks, schools, and child care centers. Anna Korsen, Policy and Program Director at Full Plates Full Potential, said, "This is certainly the first time that our 'school meals for all' policy has felt under threat and that is really scary."

Conservation groups pursue massive Western Maine land deal

MAINE PUBLIC • March 18, 2025

A quartet of environmental organizations plan to permanently conserve 78,000 acres in the Magalloway region of western Maine. Organizers have secured an option agreement from landowner Bayroot LLC to preserve the land. Under the plan, Bayroot, would keep more than 62,000 acres but an easement on the land would prohibit development. Yale University is a majority owner of the land company and the property is logged by Wagner Forest Management. Another 11,000 acres near the headwaters of the Magalloway River would be acquired by the Northeast Wilderness Trust to create a new wilderness preserve. Meanwhile the Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust would own another 4,000 acres conserved for wildlife habitat and recreation including corridors along the Magalloway and Little Magalloway rivers. The groups, including The Nature Conservancy and Forest Society of Maine aim to raise $62 million for the land deal.

Kingfield board seeking public comment on Reed Brook conservation project

FRANKLIN JOURNAL • March 18, 2025

The Board of Selectmen decided Monday to get public feedback on conserving 1,065 acres along Reed Brook before deciding whether to support the proposal. Lynne Batt of the Trust for Public Land said the Trust has secured an option to purchase the parcel along Route 27 at market value with grant money. “We wouldn’t be asking the town for anything toward any part of the project,” she said. “We would be looking to convey the parcel to the town as a donation.” She noted the land had been historically used for timber harvesting and its long-term use would be decided by the town. “It could be timber management as well as recreational trails, so that would be up to the community to decide,” she said.

Eliminating EPA Office of Research and Development Would Harm Public Health and the Environment

UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS • March 18, 2025

The potential elimination of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Research and Development would take a huge toll on public health and be a massive giveaway to polluting industries, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). These destructive actions are reportedly part of the Trump administration’s mass layoff strategy. Chitra Kumar, managing director of the Climate and Energy Program at UCS, said, “It would be extremely difficult to set protective health standards without the EPA’s Office of Research and Development, and I think that’s exactly what this administration is aiming for. I am not sure how the EPA could fulfill its legal mandate of public health protection if this plan goes forward.

$62M deal connects 500K acres of Maine conservation land

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 18, 2025

A 78,000-acre tract of land will be in permanent conservation in the Magalloway River region of western Maine, if a deal agreed to by four Maine conservation groups and the logging company that owns most of the property makes it to fruition. The agreement is contingent on raising the $62 million needed to close the deal by May 2026. The parcel connects two properties already in conservation in Maine and New Hampshire, creating a 500,000-acre piece of contiguous conserved land. It includes Aziscohos Lake, the Magalloway River, about 30 brooks and streams and Rump Mountain. The Magalloway region is considered one of the last strongholds for wild native brook trout in the U.S. The landowner will continue to own and manage 62,500 acres for logging with no-cut buffers around lakes, ponds and streams. All current uses will be allowed on most of the land, including hunting, fishing, hiking, snowmobiling, boating and viewing wildlife. 11,200 acres will be a wilderness preserve.

Auburn couple finds support in Jay to open nature-based learning center

FRANKLIN JOURNAL • March 18, 2025

After years of frustration dealing with Auburn city officials, Kathleen Reed and her husband, Tom, have found a fresh start in Jay, where they are launching the Sweet Tomatoes Learning Center. Auburn city officials had required permitting, including phosphorus control measures, and approvals related to the property’s location in the Lake Auburn watershed. Reed, who has decades of experience in education, said the Sweet Tomatoes Learning Center is structured to support homeschoolers, nature-based learning, and students who don’t thrive in traditional classroom settings.

Opinion: Science and industry must shape future of Maine’s fisheries

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 18, 2025

No one has a bigger stake in sustaining healthy fisheries than Maine’s community-based fishermen. Challenges abound, but there is also hope when we focus on solutions. To adapt to the new reality, we need to recognize that we have a system that is in the process of breaking and adopt innovative approaches that draw on the expertise of both scientists and fishermen to address a growing problem. Reinvesting in collaborative research recognizes fishermen as ocean stewards. This is not just about rebuilding fish stocks. It’s about rebuilding hope and trust in our science and management. ~ Graham Sherwood, Gulf of Maine Research Institute; Ben Martens, Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association

Column: This coyote bill flies in the face of good management practices

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 18, 2025

Another coyote protection bill, LD 716, is once again is in the legislative hopper. The coyote hunting season currently is year-round. The bill limits the coyote hunting season to between Oct. 1 and March 31. The Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine had this to say about the bill: “These legislators want to protect coyotes for six months of the year so they can thrive. That means more fawns will die, more coyotes will kill deer in wintering areas, more cats and dogs will die and domestic animals will be on the menu.” ~ V. Paul Reynolds

How the local debate over solar has grown more heated in Maine

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 18, 2025

Community solar farms have multiplied across Maine since 2019, with support from the state government. They particularly flourished in 2024, when a record-breaking amount of solar capacity came online. The state’s solar capacity is projected to more than double in the next five years. At the same time, towns such as Trenton are frightened by larger projects and continue to resist them, in some cases with increasing hostility, putting in moratoriums and ordinances to limit developments. That resistance has more recently caused companies to give up trying to work in the state. The pushback could challenge Maine as it tries to reach a goal of using 100 percent renewable energy by 2040. Still, some towns have welcomed the solar arrays. Maine had the second-highest volume of community solar installations in the nation last year and broke its own record for installation.

Freeport residents unite to tackle climate change

TIMES RECORD • March 17, 2025

On March 12 at Meetinghouse Arts, Freeport Climate Action Now (FreeportCAN) held a climate forum exploring solutions to climate change at individual, local, state and federal levels. From policies to grassroots efforts in neighborhoods, climate action is happening, and it’s working — or so the event sought to prove. The gathering aimed to provide participants with actionable steps for climate progress in 2025 and beyond. To connect with any panelist speakers or get involved with FreeportCAN, contact climate@freeportcan.org.

Tides of Change: Climate Action Through Conservation

MAINE COAST HERITAGE TRUST • March 17, 2025

Land conservation is one of the most effective ways to reduce the negative impacts of climate change. Join a one-of-a-kind, interactive fundraiser to learn more about the role land conservation plays in a changing climate and how you can help make a difference for the place you love. At Maine Beer Company, Freeport, March 27, 2025, 6 - 9 pm.

A Tale of 25,000 Culverts

THE NATURE CONSERVANCY • March 17, 2025

Culverts are human-made structures built to channel water beneath roads, bridges and other infrastructure. They’re necessary wherever roads intersect with waterways. An undersized or ill-placed culvert can easily get clogged or collapse. This leads to flooded and damaged roads. The impact is also severe on wildlife and natural habitat—when water can’t flow under roads naturally, the movement of sediment and nutrients is disrupted, and fish and wildlife struggle to migrate up and down stream to complete their life cycle. In 2006, TNC started working with the Maine Department of Marine Resources and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to collect data on road-stream crossings. Ultimately, after 13 years, the teams assessed more than 25,000 crossings—over 90% of the total found in Maine. Upgrading undersized culverts is a powerful action that communities and private landowners can take to boost their climate resilience and reduce risks to people and buildings, while simultaneously making profound ecological impacts.

Conservation Lobby Day, April 3, 2025

MAINE CONSERVATION VOTERS • March 17, 2025

One of the best ways you can make positive change for the environment and climate right now is to join others from across the state in Augusta to speak directly to lawmakers on Conservation Lobby Day. Join MCV at the State House on Thursday, April 3, from 8 AM to 12 PM. Here’s what it’s all about: Members and activists from around the state gather together in Augusta to hear from leaders fighting to advance climate action, further environmental justice, and protect the environment. We then help facilitate opportunities for you to talk with your lawmakers about issues that affect you and your community and legislation that will make a difference.

Acadia National Park closes carriage roads during spring thaw

ACADIA NATIONAL PARK • March 17, 2025

Starting March 18, the National Park Service will close carriage roads to all users until further notice to protect the roads during spring thaw, also known as “mud season.” Warmer weather and wet conditions soften the carriage roads and make them susceptible to damage. Walking, bicycling and riding horses in such conditions can cause ruts and potholes that channel water and exacerbate erosion. The NPS will reopen the carriage roads once the gravel surface dries out and becomes firm enough to prevent damage. Visitors can help us protect the carriage roads for decades to come by respecting this temporary closure. 

Column: Green Birds of Maine

BOOTHBAY REGISTER • March 17, 2025

Green is the color associated with St. Patrick’s Day festivities in the U.S. The black head of our beloved common loon in breeding plumage can show an iridescent green color in just the right light. That’s true also of a few other black-headed waterfowl that we see regularly in Maine including the male common merganser, common goldeneye, and greater and lesser scaup. Male wood ducks (which are just now returning across the state), have a green head and crest. The male mallard is famous for his green, shiny head, and several other ducks that are regular in Maine have spots of green in the head including the green-winged teal (also in the wing) and the American wigeon.  We can’t leave out the subtly beautiful lime green that you can see this time of year on the back of the head of the male eider, contrasting with the black cap and white cheek and body. We have just touched on a few of the green birds of Maine. ~ Jeffrey V. Wells and Allison Childs Wells

Bill proposes visual barriers around solar farms in Maine

MAINE PUBLIC • March 17, 2025

State lawmakers heard competing testimony Monday on a bill that would require solar farm developers to shield their projects from public view. Sen. David Haggan said his bill aims to protect the Maine's scenic beauty by requiring some form of barrier around large arrays of solar panels. The Hampden Republican also told members of the Legislature's Environment and Natural Resources Committee that the measure will protect the views and property values of neighbors of solar energy developments that can cover dozens of acres of land. But Rob Wood, director of the Bureau of Land Resources at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection testified that the agency already has the ability to regulate the visual impacts of solar farms. The Maine State Chamber of Commerce also testified against the bill.

Unsafe levels of forever chemicals found at Brunswick golf course

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 17, 2025

Unsafe levels of chemicals have been found in the well water of a golf course about a mile and a half southwest of the Brunswick Executive Airport, the location of Maine’s largest documented spill of firefighting foam laced with toxic forever chemicals. The state thinks this contamination may be a result of the Navy’s past activities, not the spill. Brunswick wants the Navy to sample the monitoring well at the former Harpswell Road quarry and other monitoring wells on the western border of the former naval air station. Even trace amounts of some PFAS are considered a public health risk. While manufacturers can no longer use two variants of the chemicals, large amounts of “legacy” PFAS-containing foam are still out there.

UNE students aid Biddeford Pool Conservation Trust in coastal restoration

BIDDEFORD-SACO-OOB COURIER • March 17, 2025

The digging and planting of 12,000 dune-grass stalks executed by University of New England students and community volunteers was aimed at making a local beach more climate resilient a year after two historic storms washed away the sand dunes. But the project led by the Biddeford Pool Conservation Trust with assistance from UNE last week also offered students a front-row seat to the impacts of climate change along the Maine coast. UNE has worked with the Biddeford Pool Conservation Trust for several years to understand the changes taking place in the dunes. It’s the first time the trust did this kind of restoration work, but it won’t be the last, said Lucie Fontein, the conservation trust’s president.

Maine farm using hemp to help clean up ‘forever chemicals’

WABI-TV5 • March 17, 2025

One family-run farm in Downeast Maine is helping not only their local community but tackling an environmental issue. Ben Edwards is the owner of Schoppee Farm in Machias. The 1,500-acre farm has been in his family for eight generations. Edwards, who has a background in biochemistry and medicine, reopened its doors six years ago. What once was a dairy farm is now being used to grow organic hemp. “Hemp is cannabis with less than 0.03% THC. So, any amount of our product is not going to hurt anyone,” Edwards explained. “Worst thing that is going to happen is you get a good night’s sleep.” In addition to growing hemp outdoors and selling natural products, Edwards is also researching how the plant can be used to clean up PFAS.

Northern Maine ice carousel may have shattered 5 world records

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 17, 2025

A small group of northern Mainers may have once again broken world records with its most recent ice carousel. The Northern Maine Ice Busters, a group which currently holds the world record for the largest ever ice carousel, may have shattered five new records over the weekend when it carved out the first ever international ice carousel between the United States and Canada on the St. John River between Van Buren and St. Leonard, New Brunswick.