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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. |
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. |
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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Applications for energy projects sought
Sun Journal - Saturday, February 04, 2012
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is seeking applications to provide assistance to agricultural producers and rural small businesses to complete a variety of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. |
Building a region’s story: Group ponders how best to use Grindstone Scenic Byway
Bangor Daily News - Saturday, February 04, 2012
Where most people see the Grindstone Scenic Byway, Fred Michaud, a Maine Department of Transportation policy analyst, sees a story to be told. The question, Michaud said, is: how do people along the byway best use the 59-mile national landmark to reflect the area it runs through? |
Opinion: Failure to OK pipeline bad for central Maine's future
Kennebec Journal - Saturday, February 04, 2012
The natural gas pipeline proposal that is before local governments for approval in the Kennebec Valley area is the most important economic development opportunity for this region in this generation. Natural gas is already available in most of the country, and will be available in many other regions in Maine. Central Maine without natural gas will become an economic backwater in the next generation. It's OK to dicker, but in the end, approve the pipeline. ~ Frank O'Hara, Hallowell |
Outdoor enthusiasts converge on Bangor Camping and RV show
Bangor Daily News - Saturday, February 04, 2012
The dead of winter is apparently a good time to start getting ready for summertime fun. That’s what people at the Bangor Camping and RV Show said on Saturday, the second day of the three-day event that features recreational vehicles, fifth wheels, campers and pop-ups as well as camping and backpacking gear. |
Maine wardens get TV show
Portland Press Herald - Saturday, February 04, 2012
The Maine Warden Service has worked to protect the state's fish and wildlife for 132 years, but not until now has its full story been told. Starting March 16, it will be on national television. Animal Planet's new series "Northwoods Law" will devote six episodes to the duties, adventures and risks inherent in the work of Maine's wardens. And that may be only the start of the show, which its producers think could be a hit. "Maine is the favorite playground of the East Coast, and everyone comes here to recreate outdoors," said Cpl. John MacDonald, spokesman for the Maine Warden Service. "We are the people that give people something to hunt and fish for. Giving us that national exposure is good for us." |
State treasurer responds to ethics panel
Portland Press Herald - Saturday, February 04, 2012
State Treasurer Bruce Poliquin says he didn't report income from his Popham Beach Club on a disclosure form last year because the club didn't make any money. He said that he "overlooked" his son's income from a summer internship in 2010 and he did not recall a partnership in a real-estate investment that netted him about $13,000 in non-cash income. Poliquin also said he found some parts of the disclosure form "unclear and confusing." This week, Maine's Majority questioned Poliquin's use of the Maine Tree Growth Tax program to lower his property taxes on oceanfront land he owns in Georgetown. Because of the tax break for tree production, the assessment on the 10-acre waterfront parcel was cut from $1.8 million to $725,500. Poliquin has not responded to Maine Majority's complaints.
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Letter: Wind is business
Bangor Daily News - Saturday, February 04, 2012
We’re excited to welcome First Wind’s planned Oakfield project to our town. It will mean jobs, more tax revenues for the community and more business in town. We’ve worked for more than four years to build real public support for a wind project. The staff of the Maine Public Utilities Commission recommended against a proposed business venture between First Wind and Emera. I am concerned that rejecting this deal could jeopardize investment in Maine and small communities would stand to lose. ~ David Gordon, Katahdin Forest Products Company, Oakfield |
Maine man rescued from NH mountain
Associated Press - Saturday, February 04, 2012
New Hampshire officials say a 24-year-old Maine man has been rescued after being blown off a trail and getting stranded in deep snow on Franconia Ridge. Evan Embrey of Buxton, Maine, had become fatigued in heavy winds and deep snow. He called his family in Maine on a cellphone to report his predicament after his snowshoes broke. Two NH Fish and Game Department officers traversed Franconia Ridge and brought a pair snowshoes to Embrey, who had kept warm in his sleeping bag. The three of them were able to make their way back to the trailhead. Winds were estimated at 40-50 mph and visibility was less than 5 feet due to blowing snow. |
Opinion: No Evidence Against Poliquin in Hysterical Tree Growth Campaign
As Maine Goes Blog - Saturday, February 04, 2012
There is no evidence of any abuse by [State Treasurer Bruce] Poliquin in this hysterical campaign against him. The forestry management plan under the tree growth program does not require a harvesting plan for logging. The goals of the woods management also do not have to be logging at all. Their charges of him being "unethical" are a false re-packaging of "ethics" as meaning their own class envy politics and sacrificial collectivism. ~ Erich W. Veyhl |
Wind projects get past federal review process
Associated Press - Saturday, February 04, 2012
Offshore wind farms from New Jersey to Virginia took a big step closer to reality with the completion of a review that showed the renewable energy source would not cause major environmental damage, officials said Thursday. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said his department was trying to speed up the process for issuing renewable energy leases. Wind projects off the coasts of Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and New Jersey are being studied. The Mid-Atlantic lease proposal follows the Cape Wind project in Massachusetts that was given the go-ahead in 2010 after years of federal review. That project is still in development and Salazar said the department had learned from that experience. |
Editorial: Secrecy offers the ‘gift’ of accusations
Sun Journal - Friday, February 03, 2012
Under fire for placing 10 acres of his 12.3-acre Georgetown property in so-called tree growth, Maine State Treasurer Bruce Poliquin has been reluctant to answer the accusation that perhaps he doesn’t qualify for the property-tax break. The Forest Management and Harvest Plan filed in his hometown is confidential and, in the absence of any explanation, assumptions — true or false — have bloomed. It’s no wonder. The tax break Poliquin receives under the management plan totals $5,000 a year. Over time, that’s a lot of money. Our towns are losing revenue as landowners shield forestland they never intend to harvest, and there’s really no enforcement to hold them accountable. One more suggestion: Define harvest management plans as public records, forcing them into the light of public scrutiny. |
Activists Fight Green Projects, Seeing U.N. Plot
New York Times - Friday, February 03, 2012
Across the country, activists with ties to the Tea Party are railing against all sorts of local and state efforts to control sprawl and conserve energy. They brand government action for things like expanding public transportation routes and preserving open space as part of a United Nations-led conspiracy to deny property rights and herd citizens toward cities. They are showing up at planning meetings to denounce bike lanes on public streets and smart meters on home appliances — efforts they equate to a big-government blueprint against individual rights. In Maine, the Tea Party-backed Republican governor canceled a project to ease congestion along the Route 1 corridor after protesters complained it was part of the United Nations plot. |
Sebago derby scrapped, statewide tourney prizes increased
John Holyoke Out There Blog - Friday, February 03, 2012
First, the bad news: The Sebago Lake Rotary Derbyfest, which was scheduled to be held Feb. 18-19, has been canceled. And the good? The prize money that was to have been up for grabs on Sebago — including $100,000 to anyone who catches a state-record lake trout — will be available to participants of the statewide tourney, which will be held March 3-4. |
Things that can ruin winter hiking
Aislinn Sarnacki Act Out Blog - Friday, February 03, 2012
This incomplete list of things that can ruin winter hiking is based of my outdoor experiences so far this winter. |
No Safe Place
Citizens Task Force on Wind Power - Friday, February 03, 2012
Dr Robert McMurtry speaks of his concerns about the impacts of industrial wind power on human health and community well-being. [video] |
Opinion: Maine Winter Paddling
Village Soup Journal (Waldo County) - Friday, February 03, 2012
My Dad is fond of saying, “That is no joke!” He uses this line to refer to anything that is in fact- no joke. Such topics as global warming, my 3-decade long battle with athlete’s foot and the need for land conservation are all examples of topics that are “No Joke.” I would state that winter ocean paddling in Maine is no joke. ~ Thor Emory |
Efficiency Maine to award $2.5M for energy projects
Mainebiz - Friday, February 03, 2012
Efficiency Maine is accepting applications from commercial, municipal and nonprofit organizations for the second round of its competitive program, which will dole out $2.5 million to large electrical energy-efficiency and generation projects. |
Opinion: Magic power
Bar Harbor Times - Friday, February 03, 2012
Just ask the folks who’ve allowed wind farms in their towns how much their property taxes have gone down. Or their electric bills. Affordable alternative energy is a lovely idea. Particularly, if you’re in the business of selling the equipment it requires or building the facilities to produce it or marketing this scam to an unwary public that’s inclined to believe the basic principles of economics have been suspended by little solar-powered fairies. Otherwise, it’s not so lovely. Trying to artificially alter the electricity market through the referendum process won’t create real jobs — or cheap power — because once you’ve finished constructing all the windmills it’ll take to get us to the 20 percent mark, there’ll be nothing more for those workers to do. ~ Al Diamon |
Independent film to shoot in Lincoln this weekend
Bangor Daily News - Friday, February 03, 2012
An independent feature film, “Bluebird,” which will start production in Lincoln this weekend, Lincoln town officials said Friday. Slated for release at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, the film also will be shot in East Millinocket and Millinocket. Filmmaker Lance Edmands, a Kennebunk native, described the project as a dramatic feature centered on a small town dealing with the aftermath of a tragedy. The movie is inspired by the isolated northern Maine landscape. |
Plum Creek Timber earnings flat
Other - Friday, February 03, 2012
Daily Finance - Plum Creek Timber reported earnings this week, with net income flat year over year. Weak timber prices in the South offset firmer pricing in the North, and the company's forecast for 2012 earnings -- $1 to $1.25 per share -- came in below analysts' estimates of $1.35. |
Environmental study under way
Mount Desert Islander - Friday, February 03, 2012
The Hancock County Planning Commission will work with the Friends of Blue Hill Bay organization and towns including Ellsworth, Mount Desert, Tremont, Surry, Blue Hill, Trenton and Brooklin to engage communities, businesses, residents and local organizations in a program to assess the resources and threats to the bay. A grant of $35,000 from the Maine Coastal Program of the Maine State Planning Office will support the project. |
Maine sees spike in rabid animals due to mild winter weather
Bangor Daily News - Friday, February 03, 2012
With the recent addition of two rabid foxes found in a York County neighborhood, the state confirmed 11 cases of rabies in January, compared with just one in the same month last year. Three of those cases resulted in exposure to humans, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. This year’s cases also occurred in Knox, Lincoln, Androscoggin, Cumberland, Kennebec and Oxford counties. The lack of significant snowfall this winter may be enabling infected animals to come in greater contact with each other and with pets, livestock and humans, according to state veterinarian Dr. Don Hoenig. |
Black bear can be viewed on Maine web cam
Associated Press - Friday, February 03, 2012
Maine's game department says a black bear named Lugnut can be viewed live on a webcam. The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and newly formed Wildlife Research Foundation are streaming video 24/7. It's on the foundation's website at http://www.wildliferesearchfoundation.org. |
Biologists plant Atlantic salmon eggs in Winterport’s Cove Brook
Bangor Daily News - Friday, February 03, 2012
Cove Brook, which flows into the Penobscot River in Winterport, was among the first Maine waters where Atlantic salmon were listed by the federal government as “endangered” more than a decade ago. And though salmon can swim freely into the stream upon their return from the ocean, biologists are hoping to jump-start a salmon run by seeded the streambed with eggs provided by Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery in Orland. “This is the first time that we’ve [planted] eggs in the Penobscot drainage,” said biologist Norm Dube, who works out of the Bangor office. Dube said introducing Atlantic salmon eggs, rather than the small, hatched fry, or larger smolts, could turn out to be a key tool in restoration efforts. |
Going green
Kennebec Journal - Friday, February 03, 2012
Boilers for a new wood pellet heating system were lifted into place with a crane Thursday at Gardiner City Hall. The boilers, installed by Heutz Premium Pellet Systems, are expected to replace the 40-year-old heating system that burns about 7,000 gallons of heating oil at the fire station and city headquarters. The city received a $61,000 grant for the $122,000 project as part of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009. |
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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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