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May 23, 2013
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Press releases, events, publications released, etc. from Maine environmental organizations and agencies. Submit content.
Maine Environmental News
Announcement - Thursday, May 23, 2013
Thanks for visiting Maine Environmental News, the most comprehensive online source available for links to Maine conservation and natural resource news stories and events. I have posted links to more than 23,000 news articles and announcements. I also post breaking stories and exclusives. Be sure to check not only today's news, 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. Will Sugg is the website developer. ~ Jym St. Pierre, RESTORE: The North Woods |
15th Annual Acadia Birding Festival May 30-Jun 2
Event - Posted - Thursday, May 23, 2013
The combination of lectures, walks, and adventures will connect you to Downeast Maine’s many bird species, diverse habitats and local birding experts. Acadia National Park region, May 30-June 2. |
Understanding the Risks of Tar Sands for Maine, May 30
Event - Posted - Thursday, May 23, 2013
Dylan Voorhees, Clean Energy Project Director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine, will present the basic background on what tar sands is and why Maine finds itself in the center of controversy regarding tar sands and tar sands pipelines. At Gilsland Farm Audubon Center, Falmouth, May 30, 7-9 pm. |
Stop the Merger of Maine's Depts. of Agriculture and Conservation
Action Alert - Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Last session, lawmakers passed a proposal to merge the Maine Departments of Agriculture and Conservation. The current Legislature must pass another bill to finalize the merger. In the past year, it has become clear that strong separate departments can best meet the needs of all Mainers. We oppose LD 837 and the proposed merger. ~ Maine Audubon |
Stop the Merger of Maine's Depts. of Conservation and Agriculture
Action Alert - Wednesday, May 22, 2013
In the coming weeks the Maine Legislature will decide whether or not to merge Maine's Department of Agriculture and the Department of Conservation. LD 837 — the “merger” bill — would boost agricultural programs at the expense of conservation programs and shift the focus away from stewardship and toward marketing and development. ~ Natural Resources Council of Maine |
Stop the endangered species delisting of wolves
Action Alert - Wednesday, May 22, 2013
More than 111,000 wildlife lovers have signed an emergency petition to stop the premature delisting of nearly all gray wolves across the U.S under the Endangered Species Act. To keep the pressure on, Defenders of Wildlife is starting an ad campaign targeting Capitol Hill, the White House and the Department of the Interior. We need to raise $30,000 in the next 24 hours to make this happen. On May 24, we will run an open letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell as a full page ad in the Washington Post Express. Not one Congressmen, Capitol staff or Department of Interior official will miss the message. Help deliver a message that Washington can't ignore. ~ Jamie Rappaport Clark, Defenders of Wildlife |
Grassland Birds of Kennebunk Plains, May 29
Event - Posted - Wednesday, May 22, 2013
In heavily forested Maine, large grasslands are uncommon, and so are the birds for which they provide habitat. Kennebunk Plains is an ecologically significant area hosting several state endangered species, and providing habitat for some of the rarest breeding birds in Maine. May 29, 7-10 am. Maine Audubon members $25, non-members $35. |
High Peaks, May 29
Event - Posted - Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Peter McKinley, conservation planner for the Wilderness Society, will speak about the High Peaks Landscape which includes approximately 200,000 acres north and south of the Appalachian Trail, spanning Saddleback Mountain and Mount Abraham in western Maine. This is the largest block of unfragmented high elevation forest habitat as yet unprotected in the state of Maine. At UMaine at Farmington, Roberts Learning Center, Room C 23, May 29, 7 pm. |
Invasive Plant Identification and Control, May 29 & 30
Event - Posted - Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Two workshops will provide participants with an introduction to identification of common upland invasive plants and different control strategies for invasive plants, including both mechanical and chemical methods. At Falmouth Memorial Library, May 29, 1 - 5 pm; and at Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, May 30, 8 am - Noon. |
Cathance Preserve Birds and Ecology Photography, May 28
Event - Posted - Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Ecologists and photographers Ben Williamson and Eric Berube will share their stunning photography of the Cathance River Preserve's captivating nature scenes and abundant wildlife. At Topsham Public Library, May 28, 6:30 pm. Sponsored by Cathance River Education Alliance. |
Thorne Head Birding, May 25
Event - Posted - Saturday, May 18, 2013
Thorne Head Preserve in Bath, on the Maine Birding Trail, is rich in migrating warblers and vireos. Meet at CVS, Bath, May 25, 7:15 am to carpool. Sponsored by Merrymeeting Audubon, Kennebec Estuary Land Trust, and Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust. |
Pond Life: Gills, Webbing and Air Bubbles, May 25
Event - Posted - Saturday, May 18, 2013
Families are invited to the museum to dip nets in the pond and go on an exploration of wildlife that lives in the wetlands. See and learn how animals adapt to water. At L.C. Bates Museum, Hinckley, May 25,1 pm. |
10th Annual Down East Spring Birding Festival, May 24-27
Event - Posted - Friday, May 17, 2013
The annual Down East Spring Birding Festival provides a unique birding experience during spring migration and the breeding season with four days of self-guided explorations, guided hikes, boat tours and presentations led by area experts. May 24-27. |
Scarborough Marsh Full Moon Canoe Tour, May 24 & 25
Event - Posted - Friday, May 17, 2013
Experience the sights and sounds of marsh creatures under the full moon. At Scarborough Marsh, May 24 and May 25, 7:30–9:30 pm. Maine Audubon members $11, non-members $13. |
Birding at Hedgehog Mountain, May 24
Event - Posted - Friday, May 17, 2013
Hedgehog Mountain is a gem owned by the town of Freeport. See migrating songbirds, including warblers, sparrows, grosbeaks, tanagers and more. May 24, 7–9 am. Maine Audubon members $5, non-members $8. |
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Thanks for visiting Maine Environmental News, the most comprehensive online source available for links to Maine conservation and natural resource news stories and events. If you are a regular visitor we strongly encourage you to make an annual donation of $35 or more to keep this service going.
Jym St. Pierre, RESTORE: The North Woods, Editor, Maine Environmental News.
Maine Environmental News is provided with free hosting and development by Planet Maine.
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Opinion: The best Mother’s Day present: No BPA in food packaging, healthy children
Bangor Daily News - Tuesday, May 07, 2013
Mothers are diverse. And yet, I believe that we all want the same thing this Mother’s Day: healthy children. This is why, as a mother of two young children, I support LD 1181, An Act to Further Strengthen the Protection of Pregnant Women and Children from Toxic Chemicals. The proposed bill would close a loophole that currently exempts most food packaging from Maine’s Kid Safe Products Act, so that pregnant women and toddlers can be protected from bisphenol A and other toxic chemicals in their food. ~ Robin Barstow, Lamoine |
Parasitic Flies to the Rescue?
Maine Government News - Tuesday, May 07, 2013
Starting Tuesday, Maine state entomologists will be releasing parasitic flies in an effort to try to control and minimize the damage to trees and shrubs done by the Winter Moth. “It is important that we protect our natural resource economy from invasive pests like the winter moth, which can damage blueberry, apple and cranberry crops,” Maine Governor Paul R. LePage said. |
Renewable Electricity Standards Deliver Economic Benefits
Other - Tuesday, May 07, 2013
A report released by the Union of Concerned Scientists today shows that state renewable electricity standards (RES) are costing ratepayers little to nothing and the standards are boosting local economies. |
GMO limbo
Steve Mistler Capitol Ticker Blog - Tuesday, May 07, 2013
Lawmakers on the Agriculture Committee last week delayed a work session on the bill that would require food retailers to label products containing genetically modified organisms. Lawmakers are awaiting an opinion from Democratic Attorney General Janet Mills about whether the proposal would violate the constitutional provision governing interstate commerce. Opponents of the bill, including agribusiness giant Monsanto, have said the bill is unconstitutional and have threatened to sue the state if the bill is enacted. Similar threats have been made in other states considering GMO-labeling legislation, including Vermont and Hawaii. In March the Hawaiian Senate helped spike a GMO labeling bill. An opinion by AG David Louie that a similar bill was unconstitutional factored in the decision. |
Portland moves toward ban on Styrofoam packaging
Portland Press Herald - Tuesday, May 07, 2013
Next month, political leaders in Maine's largest city will consider implementing a ban on the commercial use of all polystyrene packaging — better known by the brand name Styrofoam. Members of a special task force, which was created by the Portland City Council earlier this year, voted 9-6 Monday night in favor of a ban. |
After no sex for 17 years, cicadas to turn East Coast into love nest
Associated Press - Tuesday, May 07, 2013
Any day now, billions of cicadas with bulging red eyes will crawl out of the earth after 17 years underground and overrun the East Coast. The insects will arrive in such numbers that people will be outnumbered roughly 600-to-1. Maybe more. |
Editorial: Maine has food crisis, but not food shortage
Morning Sentinel - Tuesday, May 07, 2013
Maine ranks seventh in the nation for food insecurity. Too many people live in homes where they literally may not know where the next meal is coming from. Emergency services are not enough to meet this need. In the long term, the nation must rethink its agricultural policies. We continue to subsidize commodity crops that are turned into cheap but unhealthy foods, making fruit and vegetables relatively more expensive. |
Portland Press Herald Poll: Tar sands moratorium
Portland Press Herald - Monday, May 06, 2013
Should the state adopt a two-year moratorium on transporting tar sands oil through Maine? Results of this non-scientific poll: Yes 47%, No 53%, Total Votes: 707. |
Letter: Get BPA out of baby products
Times Record - Monday, May 06, 2013
As a mother of two young boys making every effort possible to keep my children healthy and safe, I am writing to urge the Legislature to support two bills that will get BPA out of baby food and finally allow for reporting on BPA and other toxic chemicals in all food packaging and other products. I am asking legislators and others to please help protect our children from potential harm by getting BPA and other toxic chemicals out of our products by passing the BPA rule, LD 902, and State Senator Seth Goodall’s bill, LD 1181. ~ Tahnthawan M. Coffin, Brunswick |
Maine becoming more puffin friendly
Times Record - Monday, May 06, 2013
The puffin is an amazing animal. It can carry up to 60 fish in its beak at once and hydrates itself while out at sea by drinking saltwater. Its waterproof feathers insulate it from the freezing water found 200 feet below the surface, the depth to which it dives in search of food. Puffins spend winters in the icy waters of the North Atlantic, but when the weather becomes warm, they flock to the rocky islands off the coast of Maine to breed and raise their young. However, Maine hasn’t always been a haven for puffins. During the 1900s the American puffin population was hunted nearly into extinction. The precarious status of the Atlantic Puffin has since stabilized under the watchful eye of the Audubon Society’s Project Puffin. |
Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act
Other - Monday, May 06, 2013
America's Wilderness System, encompassing over 109 million acres, was established in 1964 for the use and enjoyment of the American people. It provides many ecological, geological, scientific, educational, scenic, spiritual, economic, recreational, historical, and cultural benefits. The 757 Wilderness Areas are managed by four federal land managing agencies, the Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, and National Park Service. Wilderness50, a coalition of more than 25 non-profit organizations, academic institutions, and government agencies, is sponsoring "Wilderness Forever," a public photography competition. Approximately 50 winning entries will be chosen for display as large format prints in the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History as part of a 2014 exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act. |
Sides clash on tar sands oil moratorium
Portland Press Herald - Monday, May 06, 2013
Environmental groups and representatives of the petroleum and transportation industries faced off Monday at a legislative hearing on a proposed two-year moratorium on any transport of tar sands oil through Maine. The Legislature’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee heard from environmental advocates who called for a temporary ban on pipeline transportation of tar sands oil, particularly before its potential environmental and health risks are more thoroughly investigated. Industry representatives opposed the bill, saying that tar sands oil poses no more risk than other oil, and that a moratorium could cause higher energy prices and job losses. |
Maine committee eyes moratorium on ‘tar sands’ oil
Sun Journal - Monday, May 06, 2013
A bill creating a two-year moratorium on the transportation of “tar sands” oil in Maine pit environmental groups against those who say the ban would have far-reaching negative effects on the economy during testimony before the Legislature’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee on Monday. The bill, LD 1363, calls for a legislative resolve setting the moratorium while directing the state’s Department of Environmental Protection to study the potential impacts of moving oil sands, known by environmentalists as “tar sands,” through Maine. At stake is the possibility a South Portland-based pipeline company would seek to move tar sands crude through Maine in the 262-mile Portland-Montreal Pipe Line. |
New bear referendum coming in 2014
George Smith BDN Outdoor News Blog - Monday, May 06, 2013
Ten years after Maine voters defeated an attempt to ban bear hunting with bait and dogs, a new ballot measure on the same issues may be on the way for 2014. The Humane Society of United States has filed its intentions to initiate a new bear referendum with Maine’s Secretary of State. HSUS has also proposed a bear bill in this session of the legislature. Their bill, LD 1474, will be scheduled for a public hearing later this month. It would prohibit bear hunting with dogs and bear trapping, eliminate any chance of Maine restoring a spring bear hunt, prohibit the sale of bear galls, and substantially increase penalties for bear poaching. That bill has little chance of success at the legislature. But the referendum is another story. |
Acadia National Park to open Cadillac Mountain summit road on Saturday, despite federal budget cuts
Bangor Daily News - Monday, May 06, 2013
Though some sections of the Park Loop Road will continue to be affected by federal budget cuts, park officials have decided to open the summit road to the top of Cadillac Mountain earlier than they had planned. The road and a section of the loop road between Cadillac and Route 233 in Bar Harbor will be opened early Saturday morning, May 11, in time for people to drive to the summit to see the sunrise, Acadia officials indicated Monday. |
Hunt for the Emerald Ash Borer
Maine Government News - Monday, May 06, 2013
Maine state officials expressed concern even as they took steps to implement a comprehensive, statewide survey effort and enlist public support in helping locate the Emerald Ash Borer, an invasive insect that destroys ash trees. This year’s survey has taken on greater urgency because the elusive insect has been detected in neighboring New Hampshire, a mere thirty-two miles from the Maine border. “We must do everything we can to stop this damaging insect,” Maine Governor Paul R. LePage said. |
Use of windmill power meets roadblocks in NH
Other - Sunday, May 05, 2013
The Telegraph - New Hampshire was home to the first wind farm, 20 small turbines that operated atop Crotched Mountain in 1980. And in recent years, almost a dozen wind farms have been proposed throughout the state. Yet only two wind farms of any size actually operate in New Hampshire, with a third ready to open this year. Whenever wind farms are proposed, they face stiff opposition, and they often pit two sides of the environmental movement against each other – those in favor of retaining natural beauty versus those in favor of renewable energy. |
Biddeford-Saco plan path to prosperity
Portland Press Herald - Sunday, May 05, 2013
Alix Hopkins sees the emerging RiverWalk as more than a path past old mills and along the banks of the Saco River. "I view this project as the spine of the redevelopment of Biddeford and the reconnection of Biddeford-Saco," said Hopkins, director of the coalition that is working to create a river walk through the cities' historic mill districts. "These projects build communities." |
Route 1 bridge aims to please cyclists, fishermen
Portland Press Herald - Sunday, May 05, 2013
Transportation officials on Monday will present final designs for the new $23.5 million bridge connecting Portland to Falmouth. The bridge is designed to feature a 10-foot-wide multiuse lane for cyclists and pedestrians and to have platforms for fishermen. |
National Park Service considers L-A for Groundwork USA designation, money
Sun Journal - Sunday, May 05, 2013
A team from the National Park Service will be in town later this week to see if the the Twin Cities have what it takes to be part of the Groundwork USA trust program. "They are looking for a place that has a lot of potential," said Julie Isbell of the National Park Service's Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program. Isbell will be part of the team in town Thursday and Friday evaluating Lewiston-Auburn's application to be part of the program. |
Alewives' tale
Kennebec Journal - Sunday, May 05, 2013
Thousands of the river herring are moving up the Kennebec River to various fresh water lakes to spawn, according to Maine Department of Marine Resources biologist Nate Gray. DMR is assisting the fish by carrying them by truck above the Lockwood Dam in Waterville, as well as lifting them over Benton Falls on the Sebasticook River. About 20,000 alewives have entered Webber Pond in the fourth day of the migration, Gray said, with an estimated 500,000 moving through the Benton Falls fish lift. |
Out of the Box
Other - Sunday, May 05, 2013
Dr. Lisa Radio Hour - Passionate advocates for wildlife conservation, Thomas and Lee Ann Szelog use their words — as professional speakers and authors — and Tom’s professional wildlife and nature photographs to educate and stimulate people’s environmental conscious. Their current, most ambitious and passionate project is the Maine Woods National Park Photo-Documentation Project which provides inspiration, education, and motivation to encourage society to work together to create the Maine Woods National Park. [audio] |
The Climate Circus Leaves Town
Other - Sunday, May 05, 2013
The pause in global warming—now going on 15 years—has become so obvious that many of the leading climate scientists are grudgingly admitting that global warming has stopped. James Hansen, who recently stepped down as NASA’s chief climate scientist to become a full-time private sector alarmist, is among those admitting that the recent temperature record has flatlined. After two decades of steady and substantial global temperature increase from 1980 to 1998, the pause in warming is causing a crisis for the climate crusade. |
Consensus: 97% of climate scientists agree
Other - Sunday, May 05, 2013
Ninety-seven percent of climate scientists agree that climate-warming trends over the past century are very likely due to human activities, and most of the leading scientific organizations worldwide have issued public statements endorsing this position. |
Opinion: Best label for genetically modified foods? Skull and crossbones
Bangor Daily News - Sunday, May 05, 2013
Many European countries, including Germany, Ireland and Hungary, have already banned genetically modified crops outright. But in the U.S., Monsanto has far too great an influence over the Food and Drug Administration. Monsanto has been a specialist in developing some of the world’s most destructive poisons, not the least of which includes polychlorinated biphenyls and the dioxin known as Agent Orange. Is it any wonder they spend millions on lobbying efforts to forbid the labeling of Roundup-sprayed, genetically modified foods? ~ Lee Witting |
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Maine Organic Farmers
and Gardeners Assn
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Our View: With hunger growing, not time to cut SNAP | | Editorial - Too many Americans don't have enough to eat, but the big debate in Washington seems to be how much to cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Senate and House committees have passed their own versions of a new farm bill. The Senate would cut SNAP (which used to be known as food stamps) by $4 billion over the next decade. The House version would cut it by $20 billion. | | 5/21/2013 11:00:00 PM |
ACF Committee votes Ought to Pass on Right to Know about GMOs | | By Jenna Beauliau - On Tuesday, May 21, the Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee (ACF) voted “Ought to Pass” after a final review of language in LD 718: An Act To Protect Maine Food Consumers’ Right To Know about Genetically Engineered Food and Seed Stock, which Representative Lance Harvell (R-Farmington) sponsored. This vote pushes LD 718, a bill requiring labels for many GMOs, to the House of Representatives. | | 5/21/2013 11:00:00 PM |
From Field to Table: Rights for Workers in the Food Supply Chain | | By Beverly Bell and Tory Field - The Food Chain Workers Alliance has a goal of nothing less than full rights and fair wages for the 20 million workers who grow, harvest, process, pack, ship, cook, serve, and sell food in the US. Founded in 2009, the Alliance brings together 11 organizations representing workers throughout the food supply chain. | | 5/21/2013 11:00:00 PM |
Bee Losses Paper - lost but now found | | As the debate over bee deaths and pesticides becomes more and more acrimonious, something strange is going on in the august world of scientific journal publishing. | | 5/21/2013 11:00:00 PM |
Illegal GM cotton spreads across India | | By Latha Jishnu - In the sweltering cotton fields of northern and western India, a special cotton seed that is tolerant to herbicides is spreading fast, making a mockery of the country’s ability to regulate the use of genetically modified (GM) technology. The seeds, according to reports from Gujarat, Punjab and Maharashtra, are those of biotech giant Monsanto which have been genetically engineered to withstand glyphosate, the active ingredient of its herbicide Roundup. India has yet to approve herbicide-tolerant seeds. This is a replay of how GM technology took root in the country 12 years ago. | | 5/21/2013 11:00:00 PM |
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Natural Resources Council
of Maine
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Bird-banding Science Takes Off
| | The kindergartners and first-graders can't quite believe their eyes: Live little birds in small cotton bags th... | | 5/20/2013 12:00:00 AM |
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