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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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Letter: Build refineries, not pipelines, and create jobs
Kennebec Journal - Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Has anyone in their right mind actually asked why does a pipeline have to be built for thousands of miles? Why can't a refinery be built close to the oil? If the studies are true, [the Keystone] pipeline will pass over a reservoir of fresh water the size of the Great Lakes. Clean water is vital. Why take a chance of polluting it with pipes that will leak? If it is a border issue, build a refinery on both sides, share the cost and share the profits. Doing this will save millions of acres of land, protect vital drinking water and put thousands of people to work. ~ Ed Morris, Benton |
Another natural gas proposal
Kennebec Journal - Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Three proposals could bring natural gas to the Augusta area:
* Kennebec Valley Gas Company's plans for an $86 million, 56-mile pipeline, stretching from an existing Maritimes and Northeast compressor station in Richmond to Madison. The state Public Utilities Commission last year granted preliminary approval.
* A town of Madison proposal to bond $72 million to build a pipeline similar to what's proposed by Kennebec Valley Gas, also from Richmond to Madison. The town has set a ballot vote March 13 on whether the town should bond for $72 million, even though residents rejected the bond proposal in a vote last November.
* Maine Natural Gas announced plans Monday to bring a natural gas distribution line from the existing Maritimes and Northeast pipeline in Windsor, about 10 miles along Route 17 to Augusta. The company says it is talking with potential large customers and, if those are successful, will file for state and local permits this spring. An estimated project cost was not disclosed.
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Underwater turbines could pose safety risk to mariners, say attendees at Lubec hearing
Bangor Daily News - Monday, January 30, 2012
The U.S. Coast Guard fielded comments and suggestions Monday evening from Cobscook Bay fishermen and others attending a public hearing in Lubec to discuss a proposal to test five experimental underwater turbines. Portland-based Ocean Renewable Power Co. has been engineering and field-testing its turbine designs in waters off Eastport since 2004. It now wants to submerge five turbines in 82 feet of water with a 61-acre footprint between Goose Island and Grove Point. If an eight-year pilot project permit is approved by FERC, placement of the first of the units would happen sometime next year. The Coast Guard has determined that the submerged turbines would not pose a hazard to vessels at the surface, but would pose a “significant” hazard to underwater activities such as dredging, dragging, anchoring and diving. |
Maine Group Pushing Renewable Energy Initiative Short of Signatures
Maine Public Broadcasting Network - Monday, January 30, 2012
Maine Citizens for Clean Energy had planned a press conference today to announce they had the required number of signatures for a referendum on renewable energy this November. But this morning, they called it off. It turns out the group doesn't have enough signatures, and they will have to push the ballot initiative ahead to next year. Chris O'Neil, the president of Friends of Maine Mountains, says, "Pretty much the only generation sources that would have stood to fulfill this newer, acceleraged, increased mandate would be mountain-top windpower. And that's something that we find wholly unsustainable and wrong for Maine." |
Maine PUC Chair: Maine's Energy Price 'Gap' Closing
Maine Public Broadcasting Network - Monday, January 30, 2012
High energy prices are often cited as one of the main obstacles to doing business in Maine. In fact, the issue surfaced again in last week's State of the State address by Gov. Paul LePage. "The electricity prices in Maine are the 12th highest in the country," LePage said. "We pay 42 percent above the national average." According to Tom Welch, however, Maine's situation may no longer be as a bad as the governor and others are saying. "I'm pretty sure that number is not 42 percent anymore," he says. "I'm not sure what it is but I think it's moving back towards the national average." |
See Maine Black Bear Cubs Live in Their Den!
George Smith Maine Nature Blog - Monday, January 30, 2012
See a Maine black bear live in her den with her cubs right now. You can see it all, 24/7, at a new website established by the Wildlife Research Foundation, founded by the Goodmans of Patten. When I led the 2004 referendum campaign to save Maine’s bear hunt (with my sister Edie Smith who managed our campaign and who is helping the Goodmans with this project), against large national animal rights groups that put an initiative on Maine’s ballot to end bear hunting and trapping in our state, I had to raise $1.5 million to educate Mainers about hunting and bear conservation in this state. Most of that money went to brief TV ads. I’ve always wished we could have put that money into wildlife conservation projects to benefit the wild critters we all love. |
Eastbrook man convicted of shooting deer on MDI
Bangor Daily News - Monday, January 30, 2012
At the end of a brief trial Monday, an Eastbrook man was found guilty of shooting a deer on Mount Desert Island in November 2010. Stephen S. Smith, 64, was convicted by a jury of eight men and four women of a single count of hunting or possessing deer in closed season. Deer hunting at any time of year is not permitted on Mount Desert Island. |
Opinion: A moment to reconsider solid waste policies
Bangor Daily News - Monday, January 30, 2012
Controversy surrounding the proposed Juniper Ridge Landfill expansion and the state’s recent acquisition of the Dolby landfill have elevated the debate on proper management of Maine’s solid waste and reawakened the ire that Mainers feel toward policies that create incentives for the importation of out-of-state waste and the disposal of waste that could be reused or recycled. Gov. Paul LePage, members of our Legislature and relevant state agencies should seize this opportunity to analyze where the solid waste policies of the past 30 years have left us and define a proper direction to take from here. ~ Greg Cunningham, Conservation Law Foundation, Portland |
Group seeking more renewable energy in Maine misses 2012 deadline
Bangor Daily News - Monday, January 30, 2012
Supporters of a citizens’ initiative that would require utilities to produce more clean and renewable energy failed to gather enough signatures to put a question on the November ballot. Maine Citizens for Clean Energy was scheduled to meet at the State House on Monday afternoon, presumably to announce that it had gathered more than the 57,000 signatures needed for a citizens’ initiative. Instead, the group canceled its event early Monday and announced later in the day that it will continue to gather signatures with the intent of bringing the issue back in 2013. |
Opinion: A critical flaw in Governors plan for 100MW hydropower plants
Dirigo Blue Blog - Monday, January 30, 2012
There is a critical flaw in Gov. LePage’s call to allow 100MW hydropower plants to qualify as a renewable source of electricity. There are no hydroelectric plants in Maine larger than 100MW and that was the point when that limit was put in place during the restructuring of our electricity market. This protected our indigenous hydroelectric resources from being forced out of the market by subsidized Canadian power from HQ. HQ can sell into the Maine market, but they could use the premimum to reduce the sales price that is charged to Canadian businesses competing with Maine companies such as our paper and sawmills. This would put our economy at a further disadvantage to our northern neighbors. ~ Rep. Stacey Fitts, R-Pittsfield |
Wind shelter
Al Diamon Maine Media Mutt Blog - Monday, January 30, 2012
Maine Public Broadcasting’s “Maine Watch” show has earned its reputation as the softest news show on local television. A typical example of Rooks’ softball approach is the Jan. 26 program on energy policy. She interviews Jackson Parker of Reed & Reed construction company about the initiative that would require an increase in the amount of renewable energy in Maine’s electric grid. Rooks never mentions that Parker’s business, which could benefit if the measure becomes law by winning contracts to build wind farms, is one of the largest donors to the political action committee backing the referendum. Then there’s George Smith, columnist for the Morning Sentinel and Kennebec Journal. In his Jan. 25 newspaper piece, he gushes at length about the advantages of the clean-energy proposal without ever disclosing that First Wind, a major wind-power developer, is a sponsor of his website. |
Opinion: Just say no to growth
Forecaster - Monday, January 30, 2012
A lot of people are beginning to realize, however, that it may be time to stop growing. Despite the conventional wisdom, we don’t need more businesses, more jobs, and more people in Maine. We just need more self-sufficiency and sustainability. We have come to the end of the era of economic growth based on consumption and waste. In "The End of Growth," no-growth guru Richard Heinberg writes that “instead of more, we must strive for better.” ~ Edgar Allen Beem |
Vassalboro farmer has new use for hay
Morning Sentinel - Monday, January 30, 2012
Peter Bragdon proudly showed off his prototype "hay log" at the kitchen table. Bragdon, who has been haying for 30 years on his 170-acre farm, said his hay log -- a solid fuel that can be burned in place of wood in furnaces, stoves, fire pits, chimeras and camp fires -- is good news for farmers. The production of the tightly compressed 4-by-12-inch grassy logs will be an outlet for their excess hay. |
Maine Citizens for Clean Energy
Portland Press Herald - Monday, January 30, 2012
Maine Citizens for Clean Energy is expected to deliver signatures to the Secretary of State's Office today in hopes of putting a ballot measure before voters in November. The citizens initiative would require 20 percent of Maine's electricity to come from renewable sources such as solar, wind, and hydro. It also would require utilities to invest in energy efficiency. Gov. LePage has repeatedly criticized the measure. Assuming the backers have the 57,277 required signatures, expect a vigorous debate through the summer and fall. |
Letter: Wind’s tourism opportunity
Bangor Daily News - Monday, January 30, 2012
I was surprised that Lynne Williams (Jan. 24 BDN OpEd) thinks that our 170,000 tourism jobs might be at risk if we allow more wind turbines in Maine. This is scaremongering. While we should not underestimate the importance of tourism to areas of the state with wind farms, visitmaine.com‘s 2010 report states that “the southern Maine coast, Greater Portland and the Down East and Acadia regions remain the most widely visited regions in Maine.” In fact, we may be missing an opportunity to increase tourism in wind farm areas by promoting ecotours. ~ Frank John, Brooklin |
Land trust to open community garden in Brunswick
Portland Press Herald - Monday, January 30, 2012
The Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust announced plans today to open a 60-plot community garden this year on land that is now part of Crystal Spring Farm on Pleasant Hill Road in Brunswick. Executive Director Angela Twitchell says creating a community garden has been a goal of the Land Trust since it acquired the farm in 1994. “This garden will give people who don’t have access to land the opportunity to grow their own food and be part of a community of gardeners,” Twitchell said. |
Barriers to brook trout passage in Bear River, Sunday River watersheds evaluated
Sun Journal - Sunday, January 29, 2012
Work is under way to rehabilitate barriers to brook trout passage at high-priority sites in the Bear and Sunday river watersheds in Newry and Riley Township. The Sunday River and Bear River watersheds support important populations of wild brook trout. Last summer, the Androscoggin River Watershed Council surveyed all of the culverts, bridges, dams and fords at perennial stream crossings in both watersheds from headwater brooks downstream to their confluence with the Androscoggin River. Only 6 percent of the culverts were in good shape. |
Opinion: Down the Road a Piece
Village Soup Journal (Waldo County) - Sunday, January 29, 2012
Cougar in Maine, to be or not to be. To be is my answer. Not only because I’ve seen one in Maine, but because other knowledgeable Maine residents have shared their cougar-sightings with me. But it’s extinct in Maine, according to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologist. |
Report: Evidence lacking to support claims that wind turbines harm health
Bangor Daily News - Sunday, January 29, 2012
A study panel of health and environmental experts commissioned by the state of Massachusetts found insufficient evidence to support claims that noise from commercial wind turbines directly cause health problems or disease. But the report, which is garnering attention from both advocates for and opponents of grid-scale wind power in Maine, cautioned that not all potential side effects of living near turbines are fully understood. |
Opinion: Time to abolish LURC
Sun Journal - Sunday, January 29, 2012
No other state has half its area ruled by seven unelected functionaries. It is patently unconstitutional. It has been more than four decades since LURC was created by one vote. It is time to simply abolish it. On Jan. 10, the LURC Reform Commission presented its recommendation to the Agriculture and Forestry Committee in Augusta. The result was astoundingly arrogant. A careful analysis of the commission’s recommended bill reveals a LURC that would be bigger, stronger and meaner than the one that just celebrated its 40th anniversary. It is a huge affront to northern Maine. ~ Roger Ek, Lee |
Trail conditions improving, but take precautions
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, January 29, 2012
There is snowmobile riding and grooming going on across the state, now that many parts of Maine have received substantial snowfall, but the snow is patchy in some places. The warm fall and a few days of warmer than normal weather in January have resulted in open water -- not all lakes and ponds are frozen enough for riding. |
Daydreaming about favorite fishing spots
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, January 29, 2012
We're approaching midwinter, and snowmobiling, ice fishing, rabbit hunting and self-propelled options like skiing, snowshoeing and hiking boom. A few hard-core types even backpack with a tent or fish a handful of open-water rivers or streams that have year-round fishing regs. In the dead of the cold season, some folks opt for more sedentary pastimes such as tying flies, building a fly rod or cleaning angling equipment for spring outings, and they daydream -- and daydream a lot. I'm looking forward to the green season, even though plenty of joys wait between now and then. ~ Ken Allen |
Mild winter does help, but deer still facing significant challenges
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, January 29, 2012
Another Maine winter has set in, and sportsmen and wildlife managers alike hold their collective breath waiting to see how it will affect our deer herd. So far, winter conditions have been relatively mild, and despite a poor mast crop, there is hope the deer may come out of it OK. But a mild winter alone may not be enough. Three major factors stand out as key obstacles to deer management in the Northeast. They include winter severity, predation and habitat quality. |
Ice fishing depends on the locale
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, January 29, 2012
The warm weather and thin ice Downeast has made for the strangest Maine winter in 25 years, said veteran fisheries biologist Greg Burr in Jonesboro. Meanwhile to the north and west, ice fishing fun is everywhere. In southern Maine, ice fishing season is not a total bust, but definitely a venture that requires caution this year. Ice is spotty or nonexistent. |
The trail less traveled
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, January 29, 2012
A century ago, Maine was a hub of snowshoe racing. In the 1920s, Lewiston had two dozen snowshoe clubs and was the site of snowshoe conventions that featured parades and concerts. The first international snowshoe congress was held in Lewiston in 1925. The clubs had French names and their programs were written in French. Snowshoe clubs in Maine had hundreds of members in other Franco-American communities. They were social clubs that operated year round. What Peter Kenney of Bar Harbor is trying to do in eastern Maine is a bit different, less cultured, more outback. The loosely formed Acadia Trail Runners, led by Kenney, run two snowshoe races every year and a trail running contest in the fall.But he'd love the hundreds who used to attend the races. |
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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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