Maine Environmental News

News Items

Maine biomass plant offline for third straight month, forfeiting taxpayer cash
Bangor Daily News - Friday, July 7, 2017
A Jonesboro biomass plant was offline for the third straight month in June, prolonging a temporary shutdown the company previously attributed to a boiler leak and, later, “mud season.” The shutdown comes after the company qualified for taxpayer subsidies that intended to keep the plants open, preserving a market for loggers hit hard by the collapse of Maine’s pulp and paper industry. Jonesboro plant operator Stored Solar also did not operate its West Enfield plant for the second half of June, missing out on hundreds of thousands in potential taxpayer subsidies. Last month, the company said it’s hit “some impediments” getting a federal loan guarantee for a $240 million biorefinery in East Millinocket. It received $50,000 from the Maine Technology Institute last year to support that application.

Public Overwhelmingly Supports Maine’s National Monument
Natural Resources Council of Maine - Friday, July 7, 2017
The Natural Resources Council of Maine today announced that public comments submitted to the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) as part of a review of national monuments initiated by President Trump reveal “nearly unanimous” support for Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. Of the 192,052 comments submitted to the DOI as of 11:59 p.m. July 4 that specifically mention Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, 191,976 (99.96%) support the Monument. Only 67 (.03%) oppose the Monument. Nine comments (.01%) supported protection of the land through a designation other than a monument. “The public comments amount to a nearly unanimous endorsement of Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument,” said NRCM Executive Director Lisa Pohlmann.

Darkness as a tourist draw? Believe it
John Holyoke Out There Blog - Friday, July 7, 2017
For many of us who grew up in small towns, the allure of the bright lights in big cities serve as an inexorable draw. We travel to those hotspots for business and on vacation, and take advantage of offerings our country-mouse hometowns might not provide. But city folks often strive to visit those special, quiet places that we sometimes take for granted. Places where things move slower. Places where nature is on display. Places where, when the sun sets at the end of a busy day, it gets really, really dark. Maine, as it turns out, is full of places like that. Such as the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument.

Blog: Conservation Camps: Teaching a New Generation of Outdoor Enthusiasts, Thanks to Moose Hunters
Bangor Daily News - Friday, July 7, 2017
Kids at camp in Maine learn a vast range of skills in all sorts of settings. And thanks to Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, some of those youngsters have the chance to participate in conservation camp, coming away with certifications building a foundation for lifelong participation in outdoor recreation. IFW supports tuition assistance at three camps in different parts of the state. They are funded by moose hunting permit proceeds. The State has authorized the auction of 10 such hunting permits annually; this year about $140,000 was raised, ranging from between $11,000 and $14,000 per permit. That love of moose hunting is benefitting hundreds of kids who attend conservation camp at Bryant Pond 4-H Camp in Bryant Pond, Tanglewood 4-H Camp in Lincolnville, and Greenland Point Center in Princeton.

Feds to buy $10 million in wild Maine blueberries to help absorb glut
Bangor Daily News - Friday, July 7, 2017
The U.S. Department of Agriculture approved buying up to $10 million in Maine wild blueberries to help farmers deal with an oversupply heightened by competition from cultivated berries. The USDA’s Commodity Supplemental Food Program acquires surplus agricultural goods and distributes them to food banks and other charitable organizations. Early this year, the Maine Wild Blueberry Commission asked the federal government to buy up 30 million pounds of frozen berries to clear up some of the oversupply from the harvests of the past two years. Nancy McBrady, the commission’s executive director, said that while the purchase will help Maine producers in the short term, the surpluses will continue if the state doesn’t start to combat the conditions that caused gluts in the first place.

Northern Maine Development Commission Hopes for Tourism Grant
WABI-TV5 - Friday, July 7, 2017
The Northern Maine Development Commission is hoping they'll receive a major grant through the Maine Office of Tourism. $150,000 is up for grabs. Tourism numbers are on the rise in Aroostook County. "That will be aimed at marketing both printed media, as well as online media and we're looking now at this whole world of videography, we want to expand our outreach not only using the digital media in the form of writing and photos but also we want to get into the video world," says NMDC Planning & Development Director, Alain Oullette. The commission expects to hear by next week if they received the grant.

For second day in a row, rescue team helps injured hiker off Maine mountain
Bangor Daily News - Friday, July 7, 2017
Paulina Pope, 44, of South Berwick was hiking with a friend Thursday afternoon when she fell and suffered a broken leg on a steep section of trail on Borestone Mountain, according to the Maine Warden Service. A team of game wardens, medics from Mayo Ambulance, volunteer firefighters and workers from the Maine Audubon Society carried Pope off the mountain on a litter to a waiting ambulance that took her to Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft. On Wednesday, a group of rescuers helped get a teenage Canadian hiker off a rugged section of the Appalachian Trail east of Greenville after he fell and suffered a broken leg. A helicopter lifted him out of the woods and took him to an ambulance.

Boa Constrictors slither freely in Maine
George Smith BDN Outdoor News Blog - Friday, July 7, 2017
Imagine finding a 5-foot boa constrictor on your porch. That’s what happened to a Biddeford resident last week. You might be surprised to know that anyone can possess a boa constrictor without a permit, nor do they have to let their neighbors or anyone else know when their snake escapes. I tried to change that with a bill sponsored at my request by Senator Scott Cyrway, but DIF&W opposed the bill and it was reduced to a simple hike in fines for those who don’t get permits for exotic animals that require a permit or who fail to notify the Maine Warden Service if that animal gets loose.

DEP cites multiple violations at popular Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
Portland Press Herald - Friday, July 7, 2017
The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay was cited by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection late last month for multiple violations, including improperly displacing soil and filling natural wetlands, and for doing work without obtaining proper permits. The violations were discovered this spring after multiple inspections of a major expansion underway at the popular gardens. The state cited Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens as the landowner, Wright-Ryan of Portland as the construction manager and Crooker Construction of Topsham as the site contractor.

Letter: Don’t cut research programs that protect our coastal waters
Portland Press Herald - Friday, July 7, 2017
Last Thursday night, I attended a roundtable at USM on the disastrous impact of federal budget cuts on Maine fisheries. The proposed cuts would eliminate the monitoring and research capacities necessary for our coastal towns and fisheries to adapt to the radical changes likely to occur from ocean acidification and warming and to prevent the nutrient loading that results in fish kills. It’s outrageous that the Trump administration focuses narrowly on jobs in the coal industry when the jobs in our fisheries are at risk because of climate change fueled by coal and fossil fuels. As Curtis Bohlen from the Casco Bay Estuary Partnership said at the USM roundtable, “When the bay turns green, it doesn’t matter if you’re red or blue – you need to be able to fix it.” ~ Nancy Anderson, Cumberland

Woman accused of hitting cyclist in Oxford charged with drunken driving
Associated Press - Thursday, July 6, 2017
A Maine woman who police say hit and seriously injured a bicyclist has been charged with drunken driving. Kerstin Thorne, 37, was taken into custody after hitting a man early Wednesday in Oxford. The bicyclist, who was wearing a reflective vest, was tossed onto the hood of Thorne’s SUV and landed on the other side of the road. He suffered broken bones and a concussion.

Law professors comment on national monuments review
Maine Environmental News - Thursday, July 6, 2017
A group of 121 environmental, natural resource, and administrative law professors just submitted a comment to the Secretary of Interior arguing that the President does not have power to eliminate or shrink national monuments, and raising some important questions about the review process. In addition, the letter says, "...we also note that existing evidence suggests that the creation of national monuments enhances, rather than impairs, local economies by attracting visitors to these unique lands. In some cases, this economic boon may come very swiftly. Two Maine politicians formerly opposed to Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument have become supporters because “[a]lthough the monument is less than a year old, already some businesses in the region have experienced an uptick in activity."

Return of green slime threatens Greater Portland mudflats
Mainebiz - Thursday, July 6, 2017
Green slime caused by nuisance algal blooms has returned to Casco Bay's mudflats, threatening shellfish harvesting in the affected coves. Friends of Casco Bay's staff, including Casco Baykeeper Ivy Frignoca, Research Associate Mike Doan and Intern Emily Haggett spotted bright green algal mats on Mill Cove and Antoine Creek in South Portland and Back Cove in Portland last week, according to a news release. "These blooms can smother clams and other critters in and on the mud," Frignoca said.

USDA To Buy Surplus Maine Blueberries
Maine Public - Thursday, July 6, 2017
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it will buy up to $10 million in surplus frozen Maine wild blueberries. Nancy McBrady, executive director of the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine, said wild blueberry processors in Maine will bid on the opportunity to supply berries to USDA.

Brunswick police close streets to escort mother duck and ducklings to the river
Bangor Daily News - Thursday, July 6, 2017
Brunswick police say they temporarily closed Stanwood and Pleasant streets Thursday to help a mother duck and her family of about 10 ducklings cross. With assistance from multiple officers, police were also able to rescue one of the ducklings that had fallen into a storm drain. Police said the whole family was able to safely make it to a river.

Traffic triggers closures of Cadillac Mountain summit road
Acadia On My Mind Blog - Thursday, July 6, 2017
Acadia National Park temporarily closed the road to the Cadillac Mountain summit to incoming vehicles seven different times on Sunday and Monday. Even a quieter side of the park – the Schoodic section – saw a closure for about 90 minutes on Sunday. Ocean Drive, which provides access to Sand Beach, was closed a little more than 15 minutes on Monday afternoon. The National Park Service is developing a new transportation plan and considering several preliminary ideas to relieve Acadia traffic congestion and boost safety during peak visitation, including a reservation system for cars to drive up Cadillac or to park at Jordan Pond.

Round the Mountain Project Receives Major Gift
Free Press - Thursday, July 6, 2017
Allen Insurance and Financial has given a substantial gift in support of the Round the Mountain Collaboration, a community-based project led by Coastal Mountains Land Trust to permanently conserve over 1,400 acres of land on Ragged Mountain, protect the water supply for six midcoast communities and establish the proposed nine-mile four-season Round the Mountain Trail. In total, the Round the Mountain Collaboration has a goal of raising $4.2 million, of which nearly half has been already committed. To meet the first easement deadline, the Land Trust needs to raise an additional $865,000 in cash by December 31, 2017.

Appalachian Mountain Club opens largest Maine wilderness lodge to date
Bangor Daily News - Thursday, July 6, 2017
Standing on a wooded hill above Second Roach Pond, deep in the Maine wilderness, the new Medawisla Wilderness Lodge and Cabins opened to the public on July 1, offering its guests comfortable beds, hot showers, home-cooked meals, and a beautiful basecamp for outdoor adventures. The off-the-grid campus of log buildings, a construction project that cost more than $6 million, is the most recent addition to Appalachian Mountain Club’s ever-growing network of wilderness lodges and trails east of Moosehead Lake. And with room to house more than 75 guests, it’s AMC’s largest facility in Maine yet.

Column: Where did barn swallows live before barns were invented?
Bangor Daily News - Thursday, July 6, 2017
The answer is caves. But once humans started erecting barns, the birds quickly adopted them, and now the barn swallow is the most abundant species of swallow in the world. It nests throughout North America. Barn swallows also range across most of the Old World, just about any place there are buildings. Our barn swallows will be leaving soon. They are long distance migrants, with a wintering range throughout South America, all the way down to the southern tip of the continent. It’s a little sad to think that our fall migration is already about to begin, but when birds make a living by snatching bugs from the air, they can take their time traveling southward. There’s bugs the whole way. Insects aren’t declining, but barns sure are. My next question to ponder: Whose ironic idea was it to put a hyphen in the word non-hyphenated? ~ Bob Duchesne

Opinion: Drilling in the Arctic will ruin one of America’s last wild places
Bangor Daily News - Thursday, July 6, 2017
Public lands also spur spending and jobs that help to sustain gateway communities near our parks and other natural attractions. For evidence of this, we need not look any further than Maine’s coastal communities surrounding Acadia National Park and those in the Katahdin region now realizing economic benefits from the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. The Trump administration hopes to begin oil drilling in perhaps the wildest, most pristine and treasured refuge in the United States — the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in the northeastern corner of Alaska. This is perhaps the very last place on earth that should be paved, pumped and polluted by oil drilling. ~ Kay Henry, co-founder, Mad River Canoe Co. and Northern Forest Canoe Trail, Harpswell

Scientists are starting to clear up one of the biggest controversies in climate science
Washington Post - Thursday, July 6, 2017
How much Earth will warm in response to future greenhouse gas emissions may be one of the most fundamental questions in climate science — but it’s also one of the most difficult to answer. But new research is helping to lay these suspicions to rest. A study, just out Wednesday in the journal Science Advances, joins a growing body of literature that suggests the models are on track after all. And while that may be worrisome for the planet, it’s good news for the scientists working to understand its future.

Wolves in Maine bring murder and mayhem
George Smith BDN Outdoor News Blog - Thursday, July 6, 2017
When wolves show up in Maine’s north woods, landowners and others launch a major, but secretive, effort to kill them. And that’s just part of the complex plot in Sandra Neily’s novel, Deadly Trespass. I first got to know Sandy many years ago when she worked for one of our state’s major environmental groups. She’s had a lifelong passion for conservation, environmental protection, and our native wildlife. That passion – and her strong views about everything from clearcuts to devious politicians – comes through loud and clear in this novel.

What Feels Like A Lot Of Mosquitoes Is Just Getting Back To Normal, Experts Say
Maine Public - Thursday, July 6, 2017
It may feel like the number of mosquitoes in Maine this year is way up, but it’s just getting back to normal. Maine Medical Center vector ecologist Chuck Lubelczyk says the dry weather over the last two summers led to an unusually low number of mosquitoes, but this year is more normal and the population is rebounding. Lubelczyk says they’re a particular problem on the coast, where this year’s very high lunar tides have flooded salt marshes and created a mosquito baby boom.

The Global War on Lobster The Global War on Lobster
Free Press - Thursday, July 6, 2017
Maine’s lobster industry is big business, bringing in $1.5 billion a year. Maine fishermen provide 88% of all lobsters nationally, and many of those lobsters are part of a global trade. The local ancestors could tell today’s fishermen about the boom-and-bust nature of making a living on Maine’s coast in a global trade. Granite, limestone, sardines: they all soared and they all crashed. And there aren’t many around who know the Maine lobster fishing industry better than Dave Cousens. So, when he lays down a solid argument for why the lobster boom that has made fishermen’s fortunes over the past two decades happened and why lobstermen and the rest of us need to act to keep the industry from being wiped out, it’s worth listening to. Cousens is calling on fishermen to speak out in favor of the U.S. involvement in reducing carbon emissions and signing on to the Paris climate agreement.

“The Seinfeld shutdown”
Free Press - Thursday, July 6, 2017
Following a three-day state government shutdown, a week of angry protests and tense negotiations, late Monday evening Gov. Paul LePage finally agreed to sign a $7.1 billion biennial budget and reopen state government. The governor had a list of demands, including to require land trusts to report how much land they have taken off the tax rolls, though 96 percent of land trust land is on the tax rolls. The governor’s behavior was certainly reckless throughout the negotiations, but backing him every step of the way was an army of 60 steely-eyed foot soldiers willing to disrupt state services and put the livelihoods of 12,000 state employees on the line to prove their fealty to their erratic leader. The unfortunate lesson for future budget negotiations is clear: hostage taking gets the goods. The big question is whether their constituents will reward them or punish them next year for putting pointless partisan politics over the welfare of the state.

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