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February 6, 2012
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Press releases, events, publications released, etc. from Maine environmental organizations and agencies. Submit content.
Maine Environmental News
Announcement - Sunday, February 05, 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 |
Defining Wilderness: Defining Maine
Event - Posted - Sunday, February 05, 2012
This book discussion series is offered by the Maine Humanities Council. The discussions will be held at the Cary Memorial Library in Wayne on four Mondays: Feb 13, Mar 19, Apr 23, May 14. Discussion leader: Carol Kontos, English professor at UMA. |
Windfall
Announcement - Sunday, February 05, 2012
We can all agree that energy independence is a worthy objective, right? Alternative energy sources like solar power can help free the U.S. from fossil fuels and the grip of unstable Persian Gulf states. And wind power — wait, not so fast, says “Windfall,” Laura Israel’s urgent, informative and artfully assembled documentary. An account of rural Meredith, in upstate New York, when wind turbines came to town, the film depicts the perils of a booming industry and the bitter rancor it sowed among a citizenry. ~ Andy Webster, New York Times |
Intro to Winter Camping, Feb 10-12
Event - Posted - Friday, February 03, 2012
Introduction to Winter Camping with David Butler. This course will provide information about the skills to maximize your winter camping experience. At Hidden Valley Nature Center, Jefferson, Feb 10-12. |
Tracking with a naturalist, Feb 10
Event - Posted - Friday, February 03, 2012
Join naturalist Nancy Holmes to learn how to identify the animal tracks you will (hopefully) see in the snow this winter. At Damariscotta Lake Watershed Association office, Jefferson, Feb 10, 3:30 pm. |
Dirty Tar Sands Oil Coming Through Maine? Feb 9
Event - Posted - Thursday, February 02, 2012
Learn about the environmental and safety risks of this proposed project and about ways you can join the effort to prevent Portland from becoming the tar sands capital of the eastern U.S. The Canadian oil and gas giant Enbridge is proposing to pump dirty tar sands oil from Ontario to South Portland, where it would be shipped by tanker to refineries along the East Coast or Gulf of Mexico. The pipeline passes next to Sebago Lake, the drinking water supply for more than 15% of Maine people, and could endanger Casco Bay and our fishing and lobster industries. At USM, Glickman Library, Portland, Feb 9, 7-8:30 pm |
The Wildness Within: Remembering David Brower
Publication - Wednesday, February 01, 2012
The twentieth-century environmental movement owes much to a single man: David Brower. For the hundredth anniversary of David Brower’s birth, his son Kenneth Brower, an acclaimed nature writer, has brought together the testimonies of twenty environmental leaders whose lives and careers were transformed by David Brower; the result is a book in which a repertory company of path-forgers reveal their deepest values and most moving experiences. Available May 2012 from Heyday. |
Reducing coastal erosion, Feb 8
Event - Posted - Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Megan Facciolo, district manager of the Hancock County Soil and Water Conservation District, will talk about reducing coastal erosion. At Lamoine Town Hall, Feb 8, 7 pm. Sponsored by Lamoine Conservation Commission. |
Managing Your Timber Harvest, Feb 8
Event - Posted - Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Maine Forest Service District Forester Morten Moesswilde will talk about harvest planning, working with professional foresters and loggers, different harvest methods, wood values, closing out the job, and other aspects of harvesting. At Damariscotta Lake Watershed Association office, Jefferson, Feb 8, 6-8 pm. |
Birds, Bats & Blades-Wind Turbines & Wildlife, Feb 7
Event - Posted - Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Steve Pelletier, Wildlife Ecologist, Stantec, speaks about bats and wind power. At Curtis Memorial Library, Brunswick, Nov 7, 7 pm. Sponsored by Friends of Merrymeeting Bay. |
Winter Extremes: Oh, Deer, Feb 7
Event - Posted - Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife Regional Biologist Keel Kemper will discuss current wildlife issues, including the effects of severe winters on Maine's deer herd. At Sheepscot Valley Conservation Association office in Sheepscot Village, Newcastle, Feb 7, 6:30 pm. |
Great blue heron flies into Merryspring, Feb 7
Event - Posted - Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Danielle D’Auria, Maine wildlife biologist, will give a presentation on the Great Blue Heron at Merryspring Nature Center, Camden, Feb 7 at noon. |
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. |
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3 snowmobilers killed, 4 injured since Friday
Bangor Daily News - Sunday, January 22, 2012
Three snowmobilers died and four more were injured in separate accidents around the state between Friday and Sunday, according to the Maine Warden Service. Odias Bachelder, 61, of Lang Township left the trail and was thrown from his sled Saturday on Interconnecting Trail System 89 in Dallas Plantation. Mark Roux, 56, of Lee died after crashing his sled about 11:45 p.m. Saturday on the shore of Bill Green Pond in Lee. Both men were wearing helmets. Matthew Divello, 49, of Mariaville, is believed to have died Friday when his snowmobile went through the ice on Graham Lake . |
USM energy program finds drafty ‘dream home’
Bangor Daily News - Sunday, January 22, 2012
That may not have been exactly how the conversation went, but the University of Southern Maine announced this past week that the school’s applied energy program has found what a USM release called its “dream home.” It’s an old home, built in the late 19th century — fieldstone foundation and all — and it’s already owned by the school and sits at 19 Allen Ave. on the Gorham campus. Daniel Martinez, assistant professor in the USM Department of Environmental Science and proud new manager of the house, said, "This is the ideal structure in which to conduct research and teach students and community members about residential energy use and how to implement effective weatherization programs and other low-cost energy conservation measures on a typical Maine home." |
Hirundo Wildlife Refuge Offers Outdoor Opportunities for the Entire Family
Valley Voice - Sunday, January 22, 2012
Hirundo Wildlife Refuge is a 2,400 acre nature preserve, spanning Pushaw and Dead Streams, Lac D’Or, vast wetlands, including domed bog and maple and juniper swamps, and mixed hardwood and evergreen forests. Only 10 miles from the UMaine Orono campus, visitors paddle canoes free of charge and watch playful river otters, breeding wood ducks, bald eagles, and osprey in the tranquil beauty. Open 7 days a week 9 AM to dusk. |
Opinion: My “Best of” List: A Nature-Based Look at the Year Just Passed
Maine Government News - Sunday, January 22, 2012
The year has turned, and we’re now into 2012. The annual passage of ending one year and welcoming another always brings out retrospection. I want to share a few “bests” that highlight why wild places, protected lands, and general interaction with the natural world mean so much to so many. ~ Rex Turner |
Opinion: The other side of the wind power story
Sun Journal - Sunday, January 22, 2012
A recent article said: “Wind turbines came into Maine with a boom but two projects were able to go online without making a sound this month.” The truth is that many people in the vicinity of the Roxbury and Woodstock wind projects are already experiencing problems with noise emissions. Those wind facilities have most certainly not gone online “without making a sound.” ~ Christopher O’Neil, Friends of Maine’s Mountains |
Opinion: Time to drop LURC revamp plan
Sun Journal - Sunday, January 22, 2012
So we have a proposed LURC reform bill. Sort of. The Republicans stage-managing this process, from Senate President Kevin Raye to Gov. LePage’s counsel, have committed one pratfall after another as they attempt to dismantle the agency. The LURC reform commission retains an unworkable notion of governance in its recommendations. Instead of turning LURC over to the counties, it puts the counties in charge of LURC. Making LURC permitting easier and more user-friendly is perfectly sensible. But it makes no sense at all to turn over the future of the Maine wilderness to a group not elected for the purpose, and possessing no qualifications to make the decisions. The anti-LURC contingent would be wise to cut their losses while they still can. ~ Doug Rooks |
Editorial: Pipeline project falls victim to election politics
Sun Journal - Sunday, January 22, 2012
The proposed Keystone pipeline extension would move crude oil and diluted bitumen from the Athabasca Oil Sands in northern Alberta to refineries in Illinois and along the Gulf Coast. Along the way, American crude oil would also enter the pipeline. This project was first proposed in 2005, so it’s not as if U.S. regulators have not had time to think about its environmental and economic implications. But it does pit two groups within President Barack Obama’s base against each other, environmentalists, who would like to kill the project entirely, and unions, which would like to see it begin as soon as possible. This project seems nearly certain to move forward. Unfortunately, it won’t be until after the next election and until our government regains its senses. |
Opinion: Skating on thin ice?
Sun Journal - Sunday, January 22, 2012
Prudent outdoorsmen treat ice conditions the same way that the late President Ronald Reagan dealt with the former Soviet Union during the Cold War: trust but verify. Ice conditions can be as unpredictable and variable as the Maine weather. ~ V. Paul Reynolds |
Many deals available for senior skiers
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, January 22, 2012
During the 2011-12 season there are 110 ski areas around the country that invite seniors to ski free. It needs to be noted, of course, that different ski areas have wildly different definitions of who a senior actually is. Here in Maine, ski area operators are especially hospitable and sympathetic to older skiers. ~ John Christie |
For Ducks Unlimited, plenty of history of conservation
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, January 22, 2012
The mission of Ducks Unlimited, to conserve, restore and manage wetlands and associated habitats for North America's waterfowl, is funded largely through volunteer-based grassroots efforts. Maine has a very active chapter, with roughly 2,500 members in 14 regional committees. In 2010, they raised over $150,000 through 19 fundraising events. Approximately $1.8 million DU dollars have been spent in Maine, much in over 30 MARSH (Matching Aid to Restore State Habitat) projects, which qualify for matching federal funds. ~ Bob Humphrey |
Christmas Bird Counts yielded wide variety along the coast
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, January 22, 2012
This column is the second of three reviewing the results of the most recent Christmas Bird Counts in Maine. Let's visit some coastal count circles together, working our way from York County downeast to Eastport. ~ Herb Wilson |
It's just a five-minute hike to get away from it all
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, January 22, 2012
Tucked into the forest, high on a ridgetop in the hills of Montville -- about 20 miles west of Belfast -- is a unique and comfortable spot to spend a winter's night, known as Goose Ridge Yurt. Easily accessible via a five-minute hike, snowshoe or ski trek uphill from the parking area off Halldale Road, the yurt feels amazingly remote, as if it were miles deep in the woods. Other Maine yurt camping opportunities: Pleasant Mountain Yurts, Bridgton; Frost Mountain Yurts, Brownfield; The Birches, Rockwood; Hidden Valley Nature Center, Jefferson. ~ Carey Kish |
Opinion: Optimism for bustling trout fishing in Maine getting cast aside
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, January 22, 2012
Here's the good news. In my lifetime, trout and salmon fishing in Maine has improved. Here's the bad news. I seldom experience salmonid fishing in Maine that compares to a typical day of fishing in other places across this continent and south of it. ~ Ken Allen |
A clear line of vision
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, January 22, 2012
Four years ago Baxter State Park started going to an online camping reservations system. Last year, reservations could be made two weeks in advance online. After June 16 this year, online reservations can be made for any day in the park any time. Still, according to those on the Baxter Line, to really get what you want you must make the pilgrimage to headquarters for opening day. Because even with a spot toward the front of the line, there are no guarantees. |
If you're on the Baxter Line, you join a special group
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, January 22, 2012
Those in the Baxter Line are rabid about their retreat, even a bit crazy in their adoration of Baxter State Park. But a world of love comes together in a frozen parking lot in Millinocket each January. |
Seven years, seven lakes, ice-fishing derby next weekend
Fiddlehead Focus (St. John Valley, Aroostook County) - Saturday, January 21, 2012
Seven might be the lucky number for fishing enthusiasts from all over the St. John Valley and beyond who will be converging on seven area lakes for the seventh annual Long Lake Ice Fishing Derby next weekend, Jan. 28 and 29. |
Weekly Legislative Preview
George Smith's Outdoor News Blog - Saturday, January 21, 2012
The legislature’s Inland Fisheries and Wildlife tackles significant issues this week, starting on Monday with a presentation of the recommendations of a study group tasked with figuring out how to reverse Maine’s decline in nonresident hunters. Next the committee opens public hearings on three bills: An Act to Strengthen the Relationship Between Land Users and Landowners; An Act to Ensure a Reliable Funding Stream for the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife; and Act to Amend Certain Provisions of the Fish and Wildlife Laws. |
Eagle highway observed in Warren
Bangor Daily News - Saturday, January 21, 2012
“How great it is that we can get out here at 6:45 in the morning to see some eagles,” said David Farmer, a board member for the Georges River Land Trust. Huddled and shivering in a frigid bank parking lot on Route 90 in Warren, 35 people who turned out for the land trust’s fourth annual Eagle Watch burst into laughter. But when the morning light began to pierce an overcast sky, their attention turned from the weather to a steady stream of eagles making their way through the St. Georges River Valley. |
Restaurant relocation latest move in $65M resort plan
Bangor Daily News - Saturday, January 21, 2012
Matthew and Wendy Polstein had a choice: move their restaurant from Rice Farm Road in Millinocket to their proposed $65 million resort site at his Twin Pine Camps, or lose it, eventually. They chose the former. The restaurant relocation is part of ongoing plans to finish the resort. Called Ktaadn Resorts, the ecotourism site would consist of a community center and a residential and mixed-use subdivision totaling 35 residential lots and 12 mixed-use town houses on 1,450 acres of the township along Millinocket Lake. |
Dark sky sanctuary a work in progress in Washington County
Bangor Daily News - Saturday, January 21, 2012
Down East Maine’s coastline between Hancock County’s Frenchman Bay and Washington County’s Cobscook Bay offers one natural resource not found anywhere else along the thousands of Atlantic seaboard miles that stretch between Maine and the Florida Keys: Dark skies. “Having dark skies is one of the special things about areas of the Maine seaboard that have not been highly developed, making them a high-quality natural environment,” said Peter Lord, president of the new Astronomy Institute of Maine. |
Energy proposal a 'job killer'
Capital Weekly - Saturday, January 21, 2012
It’s likely you have heard about a coalition that is trying to increase your electricity bill. This plan would mandate Maine’s electricity providers to buy quadruple the amount of expensive renewable energy. The bottom line is it would force Maine consumers to subsidize special interest groups. Those who would cash in on this plan make a lot of claims, but what they won’t tell you is that Maine is currently a renewable energy leader acquiring 35 percent of its electricity from renewable sources. In fact, Maine has already the highest renewable content in the nation by far. Perhaps, what is the most disheartening aspect of their proposal is how much it will cost Mainers. ~ Gov. Paul LePage |
Cougars extinct in East? No way, say those who claim sightings
Other - Saturday, January 21, 2012
msnbc.com - Cougar sightings persist in the East nearly a year after the big predators were declared extinct in the region, a determination that some don't believe. Others want to make cougars' presence a big reality. Mark McCollough, an endangered species specialist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Orono, Maine, field office, was the lead scientist in the agency's study declaring the Eastern cougar extinct. McCollough said that there is no scientific evidence that Eastern cougars have somehow survived 150 years after being driven from the region. The last known real Eastern cougar was shot dead in 1938 in Maine, he said. |
Michaud tours KVCC energy project
Morning Sentinel - Saturday, January 21, 2012
Dana Doran shared with Rep. Mike Michaud that Kennebec Valley Community College is onto something. Doran, KVCC's director of energy programs, gave Maine's 2nd District U.S. congressman a tour Friday of the college's Northeast Solar Heating and Cooling Instructor Training Project. Michaud checked out the campus windmill, solar energy equipment, pellet boiler, wood boiler, pellet furnace, wood stove and geothermal exchanger -- technology that could help more Mainers wean themselves off oil. |
Summit timber harvest has multiple benefits
Seacoast Online - Saturday, January 21, 2012
Great Works Regional Land Trust has input to management of our joint lands in the Mount Agamenticus Conservation Region, including the summit area. We supported, and are generally thrilled with the results of, the timber harvest that was recently completed at the summit. The main purpose was to enhance views from the top of the mountain. ~ Darrell DeTour
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Natural Resources Council
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Do I Dare to Plant a Peach? | | It's a sign that Maine and the nation are getting hotter, according to a new analysis by the U.S. De... | | 1/30/2012 12:00:00 AM |
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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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