Maine Environmental News

News Items

Kaitlyn Bernard shifting from AMC to TNC
Maine Environmental News - Wednesday, August 21, 2019
After six years at the Appalachian Mountain Club in Maine, Kaitlyn Bernard, is moving on to a new position as Natural Resources Policy Advisor at The Nature Conservancy in Maine.

Jack Perkins, newscaster, dies at 85
Washington Post - Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Jack Perkins, a longtime NBC newscaster who later served as the urbane, deep-voiced host of “Biography” on the A&E cable network, died Aug. 19 at his home on Casey Key, Florida. He was 85. From 1986 to 1999, Perkins and his wife lived on an island near Bar Harbor off Acadia National Park in a house called Moosewood. He wrote poetry and books about nature and narrated several documentaries about the Maine coast.

UMaine Recieves $20M Grant To Learn More About Maine's Aquatic Ecosystems
Maine Public - Wednesday, August 21, 2019
The University of Maine and The Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences will use a $20 million grant from the National Science Foundation to learn more about Maine's aquatic ecosystems. The Maine eDNA project — where "e" stands for "environmental" — will analyze samples from around Maine's waterways to find out which organisms are present.

Editorial: Exploring a deal to buy Greenland is far from Trump’s worst idea
Bangor Daily News - Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Last week, it was reported that the Trump administration was looking into the possibility of buying Greenland. It is encouraging that the president is thinking about ways to expand U.S. presence in an area of significant and increasing strategic importance. Trump’s look to expand American real estate in Greenland does not include a much-needed, long-overdue and overt acknowledgment of the troubling impacts that climate change is having in the area. And it’s a shame that he’s allowing this idea to complicate diplomatic relations with another Arctic nation. But it nevertheless represents a critical recognition that the U.S. needs to play a bigger role in that region, and that, at least, is a step in the right direction.

You had questions about what’s going to happen to your trash. Here are the answers.
Bangor Daily News - Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Changes are in store for household trash in more than 100 towns and cities across eastern Maine. In the coming weeks, those communities will start sending all of their residents’ waste to a new processing facility in Hampden called Coastal Resources of Maine. We recently asked you what questions you had about the new waste disposal arrangements and the Hampden plant. Here are the answers.

With 6 miles of new trails, the Katahdin area is becoming a mountain biking mecca A tour of the new Katahdin Area Trails for mountain biking
Bangor Daily News - Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Miles of new trails specifically designed for mountain biking have opened in the Katahdin region this summer, with plans for more biking trails to be added over the next few years. These trails include 6 miles of single-track trails on Hammond Ridge, a wooded ridgeline just north of Millinocket. Built over the past three years by Katahdin Area Trails, a nonprofit organization, this trail system officially opened to the public in June. “In the long run we hope to build 30-50 miles of [biking] trails outside of Millinocket, and then another whole collection of trails inside Millinocket, and then in a perfect world, a trail that connects the two,” said Matt Polstein, executive director of Katahdin Area Trails and owner of the New England Outdoor Center. To support future trail building, Katahdin Area Trails recently received a $250,000 grant through the Northern Border Regional Commission.

Director of Bicycle Coalition of Maine is stepping down
Portland Press Herald - Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Citing health concerns, John Williams, the executive director of the Bicycle Coalition of Maine, said he intends to step down from the post in October. In a letter to coalition members, Williams said his on-going rehab related to a cardiac surgery this spring, plus the challenges of a daily commute, led him to his decision. Williams has been the top executive of the bicycling advocacy group for two years. Williams was previously the president of the Maine Pulp and Paper Association.

Opinion: Mainers can get it right on North Atlantic right whales
Portland Press Herald - Wednesday, August 21, 2019
95. That’s how many adult female right whales survive. 28. From June 2017 to date, that’s how many dead right whales have been found in Canada and the U.S. And that’s not the full mortality count. 12. That’s how many right whale calves were born over the last three years. When deaths outnumber births, a species’ time runs out. Forever. There are hundreds of thousands of fishing lines throughout the right whale’s New England habitat, including Maine. Because their scars tell us, most right whales have been entangled at least once. Maine can help forge a path toward a prosperous lobster industry co-existing with a recovering right whale population. We need the ingenuity of Mainers to develop innovative solutions that enable lobstermen and right whales – both iconic symbols of Maine – to thrive. ~ Emily Green, Conservation Law Foundation and Jane Davenport, Defenders of Wildlife

Column: Say thanks for new national monument
Kennebec Journal - Wednesday, August 21, 2019
When Roxanne Quimby started purchasing large sections of the north woods and when she proposed the creation of a national park on some of her lands, I was a leader in the opposition. But then she handed the project off to her son Lucas St. Clair, and things began to change. Lucas came to my house, asked me what I wanted, and he did everything I asked. When the proposal was changed to a national monument, I stepped up to support it. After that I heard from many people in that area, including people from Patten and Shin Pond, who were hopeful the monument could help them rebuild their struggling economies. We are already seeing some evidence that this is happening. If you are looking for a nice fall getaway, a trip north to Baxter State Park and the national monument should be at the top of your list. ~ George Smith

Letter: Green Power program lets Mainers support clean energy
Portland Press Herald - Wednesday, August 21, 2019
I’ve participated in the Maine Green Power program for several years, and really appreciate how easy, effective and direct it is. It’s especially useful for people who can’t make use of electric cars or home solar or wind power. As more of us become aware of the threat of global climate change and want to do something about it, it’s good to know there’s a practical step we can take to support clean, renewable energy. Anyone can enroll by contacting their electric power company. ~ Susan Payne, Cape Elizabeth

DEP tells South Portland council that air testing program will take time
Portland Press Herald - Tuesday, August 20, 2019
State environmental officials on Tuesday night restated their commitment to address residents’ concerns about air pollution created by petroleum tank farms and other sources in the city. But urging patience, representatives of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection also warned that definitive results of an air quality monitoring program started in June won’t be available for months and might not prove conclusive. The DEP agreed to mount the air quality monitoring program for the city after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency filed a lawsuit and consent decree in March charging Global Partners LP with violating the Clean Air Act at its petroleum terminal on the Fore River.

Livermore Falls voters oppose proposed CMP transmission line
Sun Journal - Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Voters Tuesday night opposed Central Maine Power’s proposed $1 billion, 145-mile transmission line through Western Maine. The line would bring hydropower from Quebec to Lewiston for connection to the New England power grid. Forty-eight of the town’s 1,897 registered voters attended the meeting, with five voting in favor of the project. About 8 miles of the high-voltage line would go through the town. CMP representatives previously said it would provide about $500,000 in new tax revenue to the town.

Freeport woman wants towns to collaborate on shellfishing policy
Forecaster - Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Jessica Joyce of Tidal Bay Consulting in Freeport, which works with clients on fisheries policy and environmental impact assessments, began meeting with industry officials in other other towns in March to see if there was interest in creating a multi-community working group. So far, the group includes the towns of Freeport, Scarborough, Brunswick, Harpswell and Yarmouth. Joyce said she hopes communities as far south as Biddeford and as far north as Georgetown will join. Because most people in the industry work during the summer Joyce said she hopes to have a meeting this fall.

Water officials halt aluminum treatment at Lake Auburn — for now
Sun Journal - Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Water officials at Lake Auburn have temporarily halted a lake-wide treatment of aluminum sulfate to analyze the project’s impact so far on phosphorus levels. Sid Hazelton, superintendent of the Auburn Water District, said the stoppage is a precautionary measure after testing showed trace amounts of aluminum in the lake and treatment system. Levels of algae-producing phosphorus have increased at Lake Auburn in recent years, and aluminum sulfate is used to bind with phosphorus in the water column, sinking it to the bottom of the lake.

Belfast Company To Reopen Madison Mill
Maine Public - Tuesday, August 20, 2019
A Belfast-based building products company has purchased the shuttered Madison paper mill, and says it expects manufacturing to resume there by this time next year. GO Lab closed last Friday on the former UPM paper mill in Madison, which ceased operations about three years ago. Company President Joshua Henry says they’ll eventually produce three different types of wood fiber insulation. Henry says the products will be made with fiber from softwood chips from Maine sawmills and marketed for use in buildings including single-family homes and larger commercial structures. Plans are to start off with a loose fill insulation.

Year-long dispute between York and state over seawall nearing resolution
York Weekly - Tuesday, August 20, 2019
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection recently sent the town a draft monitoring plan for the stepped seawall at Long Sands Beach — a key piece before a permit can be issued. But until the permit is in hand, seawall and sidewalk work remains unfinished — particularly noticeable at the south end of the beach. This latest move toward a permit could be the beginning of the end of a year-long dispute between the town and the department over the seawall design.

A Belfast startup paid nearly $2M for this abandoned paper mill
Bangor Daily News - Tuesday, August 20, 2019
A Belfast startup said Tuesday it has secured the former Madison Paper Industries mill in a nearly $2 million deal that could be an economic boost for the area. The town lost its paper mill three years ago, when more than 200 workers lost their jobs. GO Lab, a building products manufacturing startup, plans to make wood fiber insulation from softwood chips that it claims will be renewable, recyclable, nontoxic and perform as well or better than products now on the market. It expects the price of the chips to be competitive with existing insulation. The company has $8 million in investment to date, half of it from private funders and half from other money including a $250,000 grant received in May from the U.S. Forest Service.

East Coast squid fishery to be restricted through end of 2019
Associated Press - Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Federal fishing managers says restrictions on the fishery for illex squid, which also are called shortfin squid, begin Wednesday morning. Vessels won’t be allowed to bring more than 10,000 pounds per trip of the squid from federal waters to docks. The fishery is expected to hit 95 percent of its annual quota for 2019 on Wednesday. That’s the reason for the restrictions, which will last until Dec. 31. Fishermen from Maine to North Carolina harvest millions of pounds of the squid every year for use as food.

Could the Climate Crisis Spell the End for Maine Lobster?
Other - Tuesday, August 20, 2019
EcoWatch - Kristan Porter grew up in a fishing family in the fishing community of Cutler, Maine, where he says all roads lead to one career path: fishing. (Porter's father was the family's lone exception. He suffered from terrible seasickness, and so became a carpenter.) The 49-year-old, who has been working on boats since he was a kid and fishing on his own since 1991, says that the recent warming of Maine's cool coastal waters has yielded unprecedented lobster landings. Fishermen like Porter have been reaping the benefits of the boom, but as the Gulf of Maine's waters inevitably continue to warm, lobster populations will almost certainly decrease.

Mass. hiker sets speed record for climbing NH’s highest peaks
Associated Press - Tuesday, August 20, 2019
While more than 10,000 people have climbed all 48 New Hampshire mountains with summits over 4,000 feet, fewer than 100 hikers have completed “The Grid” — reaching every summit in each of the 12 months. That adds up to 576 climbs and 2,700 miles, and it often takes years, if not decades, to achieve. On July 7, Philip Carcia became the second hiker ever to cram the Grid into a single year, beating the previous record by five weeks.

Editorial: Hottest month ever heats up climate change debate
Kennebec Journal - Tuesday, August 20, 2019
The revelation last week that July was the hottest month on record shows why we should continue their efforts to reduce greenhouse gases and help lead the national push to replace the climate-change denier in the White House. Polls show that Trump’s dismissal of climate change as a hoax is overwhelmingly unpopular with potential 2020 voters. Democrats have an opportunity to use this issue to defeat him in 2020 and make further inroads in Congress. It’s imperative that Democrats choose a candidate with a solid climate plan that has broad appeal. Time is running out. ~ The Mercury News (San Jose, CA)

USDA Rejects Tariff Retaliation Help For Maine's Wild Blueberry Growers
Maine Public - Tuesday, August 20, 2019
State agriculture officials said they are disappointed with a U.S. Department of Agriculture decision to exclude Maine wild blueberries from a federal program designed to help growers negatively affected by retaliatory tariffs. Other fruits, such as cranberries, are now in the Marketing Facilitation Program, despite receiving other USDA benefits. She said it’s unclear why cranberries can participate in both, while wild blueberries cannot.

Maine is full of cute, furry creatures. See if you can answer these questions about them.
Bangor Daily News - Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Every Mainer knows the state is full of critters both large and small. Some even see our wild neighbors on the daily. But what do you really know about the state’s wildlife? Answer these questions and see how well you match up.

Why deer flies and horse flies are such dreaded summer pests
Bangor Daily News - Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Deer flies and horse flies are among the most intimidating creatures in the Northeast. Their bites are painful, and once they’ve home in on a target, they’re nearly impossible to shake. In addition to having a painful bite, deer flies and horseflies are fast, strong flyers. Insect repellent doesn’t seem to deter these flies much. “Their mouthparts are described as knife-like or scissor-like,” said Jim Dill, a pest management specialist for the UMaine Cooperative Extension. “They basically slash their way in[to your skin]. They have a saliva that acts as an anticoagulant. And when you start bleeding from the wound, they lap it up.”

Salmon farm developer offers new view of what its Bucksport operation could look like
Bangor Daily News - Tuesday, August 20, 2019
A building permit application, the latest step Whole Oceans has taken toward building a salmon farm on the site of the former Verso Paper mill in Bucksport, offers one of the first looks at how exactly the company plans to develop the more than 100 acres it purchased from mill site owner AIM Development in May. The first phase of the salmon farm’s development, estimated at $180.6 million, could create as many as 75 jobs in a town that lost 570 jobs when the paper mill closed five years ago. It could also put Maine at the forefront of a fledgling national industry. Construction on a 90,000-square-foot Freshwater Building would begin in April 2020.

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