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January 28, 2012
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Press releases, events, publications released, etc. from Maine environmental organizations and agencies. Submit content.
Maine Environmental News
Announcement - Saturday, January 28, 2012
Thanks for visiting Maine Environmental News, the most comprehensive online source available for links to Maine conservation and natural resource news stories and events. Since the start of 2009, I have posted more than 16,000 news articles and announcements. Be sure to check not only today's stories, but take a look at the headlines from the past several days as well. Articles often come to my attention a few days after they are published. ~ Jym St. Pierre, RESTORE: The North Woods |
Smelt/Ice Festival, Feb 3-4
Event - Posted - Saturday, January 28, 2012
Ice Cutting-Smelt Fishing Festival. At Mailly Waterfront Park, Bowdoinham, Feb 3-4. Part of a yearlong celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the Town of Bowdoinham. |
Family Winter Ecology Festival, Feb 4
Event - Posted - Saturday, January 28, 2012
This year’s Family Winter Ecology Festival will offer a variety of free indoor and outdoor activities for the entire family. At Merryspring Nature Center, Camden, Feb 4, 10 am to 12:30 pm. |
Protect Maine’s Clean Elections System
Action Alert - Friday, January 27, 2012
Many conservation organizations strongly support Maine's Clean Elections law because it promotes fairer elections, allows more citizens to run for office, and helps to balance the influence of well-funded special interests, which too often work to weaken our state’s environmental and public health standards. But now the Clean Elections law is in serious danger. Due to a recent court decision, adjustments need to be made to the program. If the Maine legislature does not act, the system that empowers voters and keeps big money out of state elections will be in jeopardy. You can help by signing the petition urging lawmakers to strengthen the Maine Clean Elections law.
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Baxter State Park Scientific Forest Management Area, Feb 3
Event - Posted - Friday, January 27, 2012
Rick Morrill, resource manager of Baxter State Park, will speak about managing the current and future forest in the BSP Scientific Forest Management Area. At UMaine at Fort Kent, Nadeau Hall teleconference room, Feb 3, 11 am to 12 pm. |
Maine Environmental Priorities Coalition 2012 Priorities
Announcement - Friday, January 27, 2012
With the dust barely settled from last year’s contentious debates on the future of Maine’s environment, lawmakers have returned to Augusta to take up some of the most controversial proposals that were put on hold until this year. Here is the Maine Environmental Priorities Coalition's 8th annual shared environmental agenda. |
Viles Arboretum Super Bowl Sunday Table Tour, Feb 5
Event - Posted - Friday, January 27, 2012
Over 300 participants gather on the Viles Arboretum grounds in Augusta for this fun winter time event. They snowshoe, ski and hike on groomed trails. The fun involves healthy outdoor activity, supporting the Arboretum, and perhaps best of all lots of delicious hot food. Tickets are available by contacting the Arboretum. Last year’s event was sold out so don't delay. Feb 5, trails open at 11 am, trail food will be served till 1 pm.
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AMC Field Trips
Event - Posted - Friday, January 27, 2012
The Appalachian Mountain Club Maine Chapter runs an extensive series of outdoor trips in all seasons. Check out the winter/spring schedule. |
Land Conservation Projects in the Works, Feb 1
Event - Posted - Friday, January 27, 2012
Reps from the Trust for Public Land, Forest Society of Maine, Downeast Lakes Land Trust, and Appalachian Mountain Club will describe the land acquisitions they are working on and challenges they face. At Fields Pond Audubon Center in Holden, Feb 1, 6:30 pm. Co-sponsored by AMC Maine Chapter and Maine Audubon. |
In The Blood, Feb 3
Event - Posted - Friday, January 27, 2012
"In The Blood" uses film, photography, interviews, sound design and a live musical score to illustrate the life, skills and character of 19th century Maine lumbermen and river drivers. A discussion with director/composer Sumner McKane and fellow composer Joshua Robbins will follow. At Olin Arts Center, Bates College, Lewiston, Feb 3. |
The Penobscot Undammed, Jan 26
Event - Posted - Thursday, January 26, 2012
A thousand square miles of river habitat will open up when the Veazie and Great Works dams on the Penobscot River come down. With the construction of a fish bypass on a third dam, 11 species of sea-run fish will be able to return to their historic spawning grounds. Dr. Steve Coghlan from the UMaine's Department of Wildlife Ecology will discuss the impacts of dam removal and answer the question: Can we restore the Penobscot to its historic natural state? At MERI Center for Marine Studies, Blue Hill, Jan 26, reception at 6 pm, presentation at 7 pm. Sponsored by Cornerstones of Science. |
Help Wanted: Public Affairs and Policy Director
Announcement - Thursday, January 26, 2012
The Environmental Health Strategy Center is looking for a lead advocate to craft and advance policy solutions that keep families healthy and remake the way things are made. |
LURC Reform, Jan 26
Announcement - Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Lisa Pohlmann, Executive Director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM), will discuss LURC reform on the call-in radio program "The One on the Right," WRFR-FM 93.3 Rockland and 99.3 Camden, Jan 26, 1 pm. |
Debating Energy, Jan 26-29
Announcement - Tuesday, January 24, 2012
The debate over Maine's energy future continues. Governor LePage believes the free market will bring power costs down. But a coalition of environmentalists and industry is pushing a renewable energy referendum. What's best for the state? Maine Public TV, Jan 26 at 8 pm, Jan 27 at 9 pm, Jan 29 at 5 pm. |
KLT winter fun at Curtis Homestead, Jan 28
Event - Posted - Tuesday, January 24, 2012
The Kennebec Land Trust will host an afternoon of winter fun at the Curtis Homestead Conservation Area in Leeds, the childhood home of Rebecca Curtis Meredith and former Maine Gov. Kenneth M. Curtis. Jan 28, 1-3 pm. |
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Pipeline Has Promise, But Will It Happen?
Maine Townsman - Saturday, January 28, 2012
Will Maine town and cities build a natural gas pipeline or will they help finance one? That’s one way of looking at attempts to bring the nation’s hottest fossil fuel to the Kennebec Valley, potentially involving 12 towns and cities from Richmond to Madison. And it is only one of several such plans. The proposal currently getting most of the attention comes from Kennebec Valley Gas Co. It received the go-ahead to seek financing in August from the Maine Public Utilities Commission. The pipeline would run more than 52 miles from Richmond to Madison and involve up to 120 miles of transmission and distribution lines, at a cost of $85 million. The Town of Madison would also like to build the same pipeline, in part as a means to bring a reliable source of generation to its municipal electric company – one of only two municipally owned electric utilities in Maine. |
Addressing energy and education will create jobs
Village Soup Journal (Waldo County) - Saturday, January 28, 2012
Next month, you will hear about an energy proposal that will lower electricity rates for Maine residents and businesses. Not only does our high electricity cost have an effect on the economy and our job creators, but it also hurts Maine families. In addition to our plan, you’ll hear more about the administration’s support to encourage expanded investments in alternative sources of energy and efficiency. I also support all forms of renewable energy including hydropower. We must remove the 100 megawatt restriction on this renewable green energy. ~ Governor Paul LePage |
Making Smart Choices for Maine in 2012
Dirigo Blue Blog - Saturday, January 28, 2012
Even though Maine’s cost of electricity is the lowest in New England, it still too high. We know the cheapest kilowatt hour and gallon of oil are the ones we don’t use. That’s why we must invest and encourage energy efficiency so we will use less energy and lower our bills. We cannot ignore what got us here—for too long we have been dependent on fossil fuels. Just this week, an independent study pointed out that Maine can create nearly 12,000 jobs by developing new renewable energy. This is a win-win for our economy. ~ Sen. Seth Goodall |
Letter: Wind venture would be boon to state
Portland Press Herald - Saturday, January 28, 2012
We at James W. Sewall Co. have had the opportunity to work on more than 90 percent of wind turbine sites now operating in Maine. Wind farm development creates jobs for engineers, surveyors and biologists; construction workers and electricians; suppliers, ports and truckers; hotels, restaurants and stores. It boosts not only the economy of the region during construction, but also the community tax base. It attracts investment to the state. ~ David T. Edson, James W. Sewall Co. |
Letter: Population decline’s consequences
Bangor Daily News - Saturday, January 28, 2012
It’s hard to believe that Beedy Parker (Jan 10 letter) still believes in the overpopulation myth, while worldwide birthrates are in free-fall. World economies are also in free-fall as their workers fail to replace themselves, while being burdened with supporting aging populations. It takes 2.1 children per couple just to replace existing populations. Eighty countries, representing over half the world’s population, suffer from below replacement fertility. The economic consequences of population aging will cause closing schools, shrinking tax revenues, declining stock markets, dying economies. More caskets than cradles obviously is the problem, not the answer. ~ Ron J. Stauble, Unity |
Green Happenings at the York County Shelter Programs
Other - Friday, January 27, 2012
This slideshow is an overview of the many green practices that have taken place at the York County Shelter Programs including recycling, composting, energy evaluations, the incorporation of solar and alternative technologies, and various green ventures. |
Smiles and Sadness at Tourism Conference
George Smith Maine Nature Blog - Friday, January 27, 2012
Visits to Maine were up 8.5 percent in 2011 over 2010. But the coast got most of that increase. Inland tourist-based businesses continued to struggle. The state grabbed $400 million in taxes from tourists in 2011, a return of $8 for every $1 invested. 9.5 million overnight visitors and 13.8 million day visitors enjoyed our state last year, and 35 percent did so to experience some kind of outdoor recreation – the leading reason tourists come to our state. Tourism is a competitive market and our investment, specifically in marketing our state, is minimal. |
Opinion: Gulls of Portland, elder carnivores of the air
Portland Daily Sun - Friday, January 27, 2012
Drop your hot dog in Monument Square and the five second rule will do you no good. A seagull's probably got it within two. It's likely that one's been hovering above you like a hummingbird since his hawk eyes spotted you with your arms full trying to stuff your lunch into your mouth. They're a very smart bird, and focused like you wouldn't believe. There would be no way to verify it by empirical data, I'm sure, and the world's major religions would probably resist the notion, but I know that seagulls have emotions and a firm belief in the afterlife. ~ Cliff Gallant |
A vision for 2020: John D. Judge to become AMC's fourth president
Other - Friday, January 27, 2012
Conway Daily Sun (NH) - Effective Feb. 1, the 136-year-old Appalachian Mountain Club will welcome a new president. John D. Judge, 44, of Boston replaces Andy Falender. Judge will be tasked with leading the AMC into a decade of growth and new objectives, including broadening the impact of AMC's Maine Woods Initiative in the 100-Mile Wilderness region.
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Bears on the air: Den camera sheds light on Maine bruins
Bangor Daily News - Friday, January 27, 2012
The Maine Departement of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has been visiting bear dens since the 1970s. This year a partnership with the Wildlife Research Foundation has resulted in video link to a bear den in northern Maine, with real-time video available on the Internet. |
Opinion: Frankfort’s wind ordinance deserves court challenge
Bangor Daily News - Friday, January 27, 2012
This unfair course of conduct by the town of Frankfort and its Wind Energy Ordinance committee is now before the Waldo County Court. I fully expect that the court will find the persistent trampling of the plaintiff’s “due process” rights to be unacceptable — and that the product of this misbehavior, Frankfort’s Wind Facility Ordinance, will be declared void. ~ Orlando E. Delogu, emeritus professor, UMaine School of Law |
Developer of Clifton wind farm signs agreement to supply Bangor Hydro with electricity
Bangor Daily News - Friday, January 27, 2012
With the push for renewable energy part of the national agenda and the Maine Public Utilities Commission directing local utilities to enter into long-term contracts with Community-based Renewable Energy projects, it’s no surprise that small industrial wind projects such as the one planned for Pisgah Mountain are popping up around the state. The PUC has directed Bangor Hydro-Electric Co. to enter into three 20-year contracts for renewable energy projects — one with Pisgah Mountain LLC, the others with Jonesport Wind LLC and Lubec Wind. |
Clifton farmers lose latest round in battle over wind farm
Bangor Daily News - Friday, January 27, 2012
Walk through Rebel Hill Farm and the nearly 60 acres of woods that surround it, and it’s easy to see the “enchanted forest” that Peter and Julie Beckford call their backyard. The couple, who grow and sell native perennial plants on their small farm, say the $25 million five-turbine wind farm planned on nearby Pisgah Mountain threatens their very livelihood. To fight the wind farm project, the Beckfords asked the town’s board of appeals to review the planning board’s approval of the project, citing 11 items they contend the planners did not fully consider. The appeals board decided late Wednesday to deny their appeal. |
Group opposes Howland fish bypass
Bangor Daily News - Friday, January 27, 2012
State Rep. Paul Davis, R-Sangerville, thinks the fish bypass planned for the Howland dam should be stopped and is organizing a meeting for others who feel the same way. The Penobscot River Restoration Trust plans to install a bypass at the Howland dam and decommission that dam while removing dams in Veazie and Old Town as part of a $50 million project over the next three years. The project’s goal: to help Atlantic salmon, shad, alewives and other fish to migrate farther into northern and central Maine waterways. Davis said he fears that the bypass will also allow northern pike farther up the Penobscot and into other waterways. The Maine DEP permit for the project issued in 2010 said the “bypass channel operation should not result in any significant harm to resident fish resources provided that the applicant takes appropriate measures…to create and-or maintain barriers to the upstream movement of northern pike and other invasive fish at strategic locations." |
State senator pitches east-west highway proposal
Bangor Daily News - Friday, January 27, 2012
Sen. Douglas Thomas, R-Ripley has submitted a bill to fund a feasibility study of an east-west highway across Maine. Thomas said his bill seeks approximately $300,000 for the feasibility study, using some federal planning money but no state funds. “It will be a four-lane highway and it’s going to be a private road,” Thomas said, noting that a group of investors would fund construction, and tolls along the travel way would provide funding for the highway. |
School costs, changes at Verso mill to adversely affect Bucksport budget
Bangor Daily News - Friday, January 27, 2012
Preliminary figures suggest that Bucksport may be facing a $375,000 shortfall in next fiscal year’s municipal budget, in part because of rising education costs and the loss of tax revenues from a mothballed paper machine at the Verso mill. Verso’s decision to shut down a papermaking machine last year will result in an estimated $80,000 loss in tax revenues tied to the value of that machine. Additionally, the town anticipates losing $75,000 due to tax increment financing for a new biomass project planned at the plant, Raymond said. |
Coastal Planning Grants Awarded
Maine Government News - Friday, January 27, 2012
The Maine Coastal Program at the State Planning Office announces the award of $291,000 in grants for eight projects along the Maine coast. The grants will help enhance public access to the shore, reduce clam flat closures, and improve water quality. |
The Dam That Pine Built
Maine Government News - Friday, January 27, 2012
Nestled on the northeast shore of Chamberlain Lake is a historic dam that changed the course of water that originally flowed down the Allagash and into the St. John River; this water now flows south down the East Branch of the Penobscot. |
Algonquin Power Announces Withdrawal from Wind Investment
Other - Friday, January 27, 2012
Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. today announced that it plans not to proceed with the previously announced investment in First Wind Holdings, LLC's wind portfolio in the North East U.S. The initial joint announcement with Emera Inc. in April 2011 had contemplated APUC acquiring a minority interest of approximately 12.5%, representing an approximate $83 million investment. Ian Robertson, Chief Executive Officer of APUC, said, "Notwithstanding this decision, we remain solidly focused on gaining regulatory approval in Maine for the advancement of our Strategic Investment Agreement with Emera." |
Cell firms urged to Cooperate
Ellsworth American - Friday, January 27, 2012
Acadia National Park superintendent Sheridan Steele has formally asked wireless communication companies AT&T and Verizon to cooperate with the park, area towns and each other to create a plan for maximizing coverage while minimizing the number and visual impact of towers on Mount Desert Island. |
West Paris forest conserved in memory of former owner
Sun Journal - Friday, January 27, 2012
Another large parcel of land in West Paris has been saved from development under a conservation easement between the family of the late Maurice G. Benson and the Western Foothills Land Trust. Late last month, Marcia Benson of Saugus, Mass., donated a conservation easement protecting 182 acres of managed forest lands in West Paris and Woodstock in memory of her father. This is the third conservation easement the Trust holds in West Paris and the first in Woodstock. |
Heat efficiency program on the move
Other - Friday, January 27, 2012
Kennebunk Post - Katie Poole, York County’s Green Sneakers representative, said the time has come to move forward from canvassing into guiding residents through the home weatherization process. Maine Partners for Cool Communities founded the Green Sneakers project in 2010 when 125 volunteers canvassed 14 communities in the state. Maine Partners for Cool Communities is an organization that educates Maine’s communities on energy efficiency and other ways to reduce global warming. |
Pipeline tax deal hinges on line to business park
Kennebec Journal - Friday, January 27, 2012
The city of Gardiner has given final approval to a tax break for a natural gas pipeline project, but there's a catch. Tax increment financing districts will be created in areas of the city where the pipeline would extend only on the condition that Kennebec Valley Gas Co. build a distribution line to the city's struggling business park. |
Vt., Maine, NH open their snowmobile trails
Associated Press - Friday, January 27, 2012
Registered snowmobilers in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine can roam trails in all three states this weekend. Any snowmobile legally registered in one of the participating states is allowed on trails in all three from Friday through Sunday. All other host state regulations apply, including speed limits, youth laws and Vermont's mandatory liability insurance. |
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Penobscot River Restoration Trust |
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Natural Resources Council
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Maine Organic Farmers and
Gardeners Association
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The myth of the self-made yeoman |  By Gene Logsdon – No figure is more endearing and enduring in agriculture than the lonely plowman out there on the horizon who raises himself by his own bootstraps to financial success. Only problem is, there is no occupation more dependent on the cooperation of society and nature to achieve success than farming. | | 11/2/2011 12:00:00 AM |
Sharp, careful eye brings Maine mushrooms from forest to table |  By Avery Yale Kamila – On a crisp morning at the end of October, chef David Ross and I step off a dirt road in Kennebunk and head into a forest dominated by pines and smaller hardwood. Our objective: To track down a few chanterelles and any other wild mushrooms we can find this late in the season. This trip will mark one of the last of the year for Ross, who is an avid mushroom forager and the owner of 50 Local in Kennebunk. | | 11/2/2011 12:00:00 AM |
New climate prediction: ‘Weird’, getting weirder |  By Seth Borenstein (AP) – For a world already weary of weather catastrophes, the latest warning from top climate scientists paints a grim future: more floods, more heat waves, more droughts, and greater costs to deal with them. A draft summary of an international scientific report obtained by The Associated Press says the extremes caused by global warming could eventually grow so severe that some locations become “increasingly marginal as places to live.” | | 11/2/2011 12:00:00 AM |
What to feed your chickens to get the best eggs |  By Nina Lalli – "I have a theory, and I don't think you're gonna like it." Justin was seated across from me at a communal table in a "Secret Restaurant." We had met not half an hour before, but were now deep in discussion about what chickens should eat to produce the best-tasting eggs – an obsession of mine recently. | | 11/1/2011 12:00:00 AM |
Factory farming: not just on land anymore |  By Wenonah Hauter – When most people think of factory farming they typically think of feedlots, hog factories or chicken operations–not massive open net pens growing millions of fish in our oceans. However, factory fish farming will soon pose many of the same threats to the environment and to consumers as its land-based counterparts. | | 11/1/2011 12:00:00 AM |
Bt resistant rootworm spreads | | By Dr Eva Sirinathsinghji – Bt is a toxin from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, which produces a large family of similar proteins that target different insect pests; and quite a few of them have been incorporated in genetically modified crops to act as ‘biopesticides’. Unfortunately, the pests soon develop resistance to it. | | 10/31/2011 12:00:00 AM |
Cranberry juice beats extract at fighting infection |  By Christine Lepisto – Just between you and me, ladies, what do you do when you feel that irritating burn, knowing it can only mean a urinary tract infection? Do you run to the doctor's office for antibiotics, only to fight the yeast infection that sets in when drugs knock other systems out of balance? Then you probably haven't heard yet that cranberries can fight infections naturally, and very effectively. | | 10/30/2011 12:00:00 AM |
‘Hobby farm’ couple do part, feed hungry |  By Bill Nemitz – It's not uncommon for someone to show up at the Bread of Life Soup Kitchen in Augusta with a bag full of fresh broccoli, tomatoes or other leftovers from their garden. In recent months, however, Glenn and Rachel Powers have taken that kind of community support to a whole new level. They're giving away the farm. | | 10/30/2011 12:00:00 AM |
New England shrimp target cut in half | | AP – Portland: Fisheries regulators have set the start date for the shrimp season and halved the target for the amount of shrimp to be caught by New England fishermen. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission on Friday set a target of 2,000 metric tons, compared with 4,000 metric tons the year before. | | 10/29/2011 12:00:00 AM |
The life of a seaweed gatherer |  By Daniel Klein – Most of the seaweed we get these days is farmed. But way up in northern Maine, Larch Hanson is still harvesting it wild in its many varieties on the rugged coast. This video isn't about the details of that process, however. It's about the essence of life for Larch, who rises at dawn to cut seaweed and then writes Zen poems about it. | | 10/28/2011 12:00:00 AM |
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