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May 19, 2013
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Press releases, events, publications released, etc. from Maine environmental organizations and agencies. Submit content.
Wanted: brook trout anglers
Announcement - Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Maine Audubon, Trout Unlimited and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, are seeking new volunteers to explore remote ponds with their rods and reels before the end of this year’s fishing season Sept. 30. The partners are looking for anglers willing to survey a total of 187 remote ponds for previously-undocumented populations of wild brook trout. |
Free Trees
Announcement - Monday, August 29, 2011
Through the generosity of Dutton’s Greenhouse and Nursery, more than 1,000 trees, representing 75 different species, are being offered free of charge to municipalities, schools and non-profit organizations for community planting, according to Project Canopy officials. Two distribution dates in Sep and Oct will be set aside to pick up trees at Dutton’s Nursery in Morrill. |
Most State Parks, Historic Sites Open
Announcement - Monday, August 29, 2011
Maine state parks and historic sites sustained some damage to trees and shorefronts during Tropical Storm Irene, with no buildings or facilities damaged, according to officials with the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands. All but three parks opened on Monday. |
Maine closing state parks and beaches
Announcement - Friday, August 26, 2011
All coastal Maine state parks and several inland parks will be closed for day use on Sunday in anticipation of Hurricane Irene's arrival in the state, officials announced today. |
White Mountain National Forest Closing
Announcement - Friday, August 26, 2011
The USFS is issuing a closure order for the White Mountain National Forest due to potentially dangerous conditions caused by Hurricane Irene. The WMNF will close at 6 PM on Saturday, August 27 and will remain closed through Monday, August 29. All WMNF facilities will be CLOSED to the public including the trail system. This includes all backcountry shelters, which are being vacated. The Appalachian Mountain Club will also close all eight White Mountain Huts, Joe Dodge Lodge, and Highland Lodge. |
Acadia National Park closing campgrounds
Announcement - Friday, August 26, 2011
The National Park Service announced today that it will close the Blackwoods and Seawall Campgrounds at Acadia National Park at 10 a.m. on Sunday because of the predicted path of Hurricane Irene. The campgrounds will reopen when the storm has passed. In addition, the Duck Harbor Campground on Isle au Haut will close on Saturday at 11 a.m. and will reopen when conditions are safe. |
Woodcock Q&A, Aug 26
Event - Posted - Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Chandler Woodcock, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, will lead a public question-and-answer session hosted by the Moosehead Lake Fisheries Coalition. Woodcock will answer questions about hunting, fishing and outdoors-related topics in Maine. At the Rockwood Community Center, Aug 26, 7-9 pm. |
PRRT photojournalism workshop, Sep 17 & Oct 1
Announcement - Wednesday, August 24, 2011
The Penobscot River Restoration Trust is offering a free conservation photojournalism workshop Sep 17 and Oct 1, allowing a two week period in-between to go on a “photo shoot” focused on the river and the anticipated community benefits of the PRRT Project. |
Pesticide Notification
Announcement - Wednesday, August 24, 2011
On September 28, the Maine agricultural pesticide notification registry will cease to exist. The law that created this registry was repealed by the Legislature in June. However, state law provides other options for notification about nearby pesticide spraying: (1) Self-Initiated Request for Notification; (2) Non-Agricultural Pesticide Notification Registry. |
Lessons from puffins, terns, Aug 31
Event - Posted - Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Susie Meadows, manager of Project Puffin, will discuss some of the factors limiting Maine seabird populations and will discuss how techniques developed by Project Puffin have led to the restoration of puffins and terns to historic nesting islands in the Gulf of Maine. At the Project Puffin Visitor Center, Rockland, Aug 31 at 5 pm. |
Donn Fendler talk, Aug 30
Event - Posted - Tuesday, August 23, 2011
On Aug 30, 5-6 PM, the Gardiner Public Library will host Donn Fendler as he discusses his experiences, which led to the book Lost on a Mountain in Maine by Joseph Egan. |
Wildflowers, Aug 30
Event - Posted - Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Local botanists will talk about a variety of wildflowers appearing around the state this time of year and discuss their importance. At Cathance River Education Alliance, Topsham, Aug 30, 6:30 pm. |
Wilton meeting to discuss open space, Aug 23
Event - Posted - Monday, August 22, 2011
Wilton residents are invited to participate in a discussion about municipal conservation commissions and their role in assisting towns to develop open space plans. It will be facilitated by conservation resources advisor, Marcel Polak, a land conservation consultant who is working for the Maine Association of Conservation Commissions. At the Wilton Town Office, Aug 23, 7 pm. |
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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.
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Bird-banding science takes off
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, May 19, 2013
Bird-banding has come into its own as a scientific method to monitor birds' movements and behavior. Scientists say that the migratory variations revealed by banding can shed light on such important issues as climate change, persistent toxic chemicals in the environment and habitat loss. |
Opinion: Hometown memories of – yes – East Millinocket
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, May 19, 2013
Nestled in the shadow of the majestic Katahdin, East Millinocket epitomized the village-raising-the-child mantra. Its men worked in the paper mill. Its women worked as homemakers. Its citizens lived the collective ethos of providing the best foundation in life for its children. We were all fostering the same theme: shared pride. But a digitized society and a poor economy have led to an exodus of folks from the town. Many of us left a long time ago to live our lives elsewhere, carrying with us a legacy of education, work ethic, citizenship and an indebtedness to our hometown. ~ Deborah Johanson, Yarmouth |
Letter: Exhibiting delusional thinking
Sun Journal - Sunday, May 19, 2013
There are several political figures who aspire to leadership positions who definitely exhibit delusional thinking. For instance, those who say that the earth is only seven million years old. That may be someone's belief, but it has no basis in reality because the scientific fact, that is demonstrable with radiometric dating, indicates that the earth is at least several billion years old. People are also told there is no such thing as global warming when scientific data shows that the temperature of the planet is increasing now faster than it has for several thousand years. ~ Jenny Orr, West Paris |
Letter: Mining for metals pollutes water, kills aquatic life
Kennebec Journal - Sunday, May 19, 2013
Metallic mining operations pose a major threat to Maine's rivers, lakes and groundwater. Mining for metals in sulfide rock deposits creates sulfuric acid and toxic runoff called acid mine drainage, which can devastate water quality and kill aquatic life. The type of mining proposed for Maine has never been operated successfully without polluting nearby waters. The North Woods of Maine are a national treasure and are far more valuable to the people of Maine and future generations than any minerals beneath the mountains. I encourage others to urge their legislators to save Maine from the destructive practice of metallic mining. ~ Dave Wood, Hallowell |
Column: Ready for another fight
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, May 19, 2013
Shad have made a comeback in Maine. Thanks to a hatchery program in the mid-1990s that was spearheaded by the Department of Marine Resources and aided by local hatchery in Waldoboro, returning shad are a familiar sight in the Kennebec River system. Shad are members of the herring family, and bear similar characteristics to alewives and blueback herring, with one major difference. While adult alewives are 10-12 inches in length, adult shad returning to spawn are generally in the 3-5 pound range, and can grow up to 9 pounds and 30 inches in length. The increase in the number of returning shad has sparked an interest in fishing for shad in Maine. ~ Mark Latti |
Column: Peace in life's bare necessities
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, May 19, 2013
In the soft, lightening dawn, I make my peace with the day. Now that the light comes earlier and stays later, my animal metabolism has shifted out of the sloth of hibernation to a sort of energized, eager joy. I am working my way toward nothingness, paring down to essentials, and perhaps past that grasping level, too. I am molting, shedding all I do not need in favor of something lighter and true. I am growing new feathers, a more suitable shell. ~ North Cairn |
Column: Hybrid bicycle can be a novice cyclist's best choice
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, May 19, 2013
If folks have their hearts set on riding roads, I strongly suggest getting a road bike, but I also understand how narrow tires make newcomers leery. For those folks, a hybrid bike works until they become comfortable enough on a bike to buy the equivalent of a sports car — and then they have a second bicycle for ramming highways and the first bike for forest pedaling. That's the best of both worlds, and this month is the time to start. ~ Ken Allen |
Column: Before hikers love the trail, the trails will need some love
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, May 19, 2013
Yes, it's trail maintenance time. That period each May after the snow melts but before the hikers start coming through. Time to clear away the blowdowns, clean out the water bars and clip some trailside brush. The other major work, like replacing several hundred feet of bog bridging, for example, can wait until later. The immediate goal is simply to open the trail. ~ Carey Kish |
Column: Perhaps gobblers are ignoring what would be last call
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, May 19, 2013
The basic premise of spring turkey hunting is to locate a gobbling (male) bird, then set up and call it to your position by imitating a hen turkey. Even under favorable conditions, success is far less common than failure. So many things have to work in your favor. First, the turkey has to hear your calling, usually not a problem. Then, it must respond favorably. If it gobbles back, that's a good sign. What happens next is where most hunts go awry. The gobbler must not only respond, it has to come to you. ~ Bob Humphrey |
Column: Books provide thrills for those unable to play
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, May 19, 2013
With the wonderfully mild weather we've had recently, every one of my friends has been venturing out to hike, bike, golf and kayak. Usually, I'd be right there with them. Unfortunately, I kicked off May by catching the nasty flu that's been circulating around southern Maine. If you find yourself laid up like me, don't fret. Recent years have seen the release a number of books that offer wonderful outdoor adventure, vicarious though it may be. ~ Josh Christie |
Column: Ethanol: The bane of outboard engines
Sun Journal - Sunday, May 19, 2013
No matter how hard the Green Lobby pushes ethanol in gasoline, there is no debate: it is the scourge of outboard motors, 4-strokes included. Currently all Maine gasoline contains 10 percent ethanol, which is alcohol made from corn.There is a move afoot at the national level to add an even higher ethanol content (15 percent) to our gasoline at the pump. This is crazy. Environmentalism has run amok! ~ V. Paul Reynolds |
Unity College graduates charged with stewardship of Earth, communities
Morning Sentinel - Saturday, May 18, 2013
Take care of your community, your country and the planet, an acclaimed environmental educator, writer and scholar told Unity College seniors Saturday. James Gustave Speth, law professor at Vermont Law School and former dean of Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, addressed about 500 students, faculty, staff, friends and family members who turned out for the college's 44th commencement exercises. Speth said the most important thing he learned over the years is that what we have to get us though life with "a maximum of happiness and a minimum of suffering" is each other. |
Senate committee approves dredge dump off Kennebunkport
Kennebec Journal - Saturday, May 18, 2013
Last week, the U.S. Senate passed a bill that invests in dams, ports and water projects. The Water Resources Development Act contained an amendment sponsored by Maine Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King. It would reopen the Cape Arundel Disposal Site, a federally designated dumping site for dredged materials that is located several miles off the coast of Kennebunkport. The Cape Arundel site was used for decades as the dumping spot for "clean" materials dredged from rivers and harbors in New Hampshire and Maine. The measure also needs House approval. |
Avoid this Hard Rock Cafe
Maine Environmental News - Saturday, May 18, 2013
J.D. Irving is interested in developing a massive open-pit hard rock mine at Bald Mountain in Aroostook County. In 2012, the Maine Legislature directed the Department of Environmental Protection to come up with new mining standards. Environmentalists said the directive would result in less protection for water quality. A report by the EPA documents that the mining industry does not have a great record. In "Liquid Assets: America’s Water Resources at a Turning Point" the EPA said that "stream reaches in the headwaters of more than 40% of western watersheds are contaminated by mining, much of it related to acid mine drainage." Maine has a much wetter climate than the western U.S., so acid mine pollution could be even more problematic here. |
Dirty Fuel Opponents Join Hands Across the Sand
Other - Saturday, May 18, 2013
Thousands of participants turned out to draw a line in the sand at approximately 100 events in 18 states and 9 countries today for the fourth annual “Hands Across the Sand/Land” event, to demonstrate opposition to expanding offshore drilling and the use of dirty fuels as well as support for cleaner energy choices. In Maine, events were held at Sand Beach on Echo Lake in Bar Harbor and at Crescent Beach in Cape Elizabeth. |
Letter: It's not worth it to ruin Maine's celebrated vista
Morning Sentinel - Saturday, May 18, 2013
I want to convey my support for L.D. 1059 to reverse L.D. 1085, which put leniency in laws regarding open pit-mining and mountain top removal in Maine. If not for tons of money, why else would we even consider stripping this celebrated landscape of its treasure trove of unscarred wilderness? The resources to be dug from the ground will one day run out. What then of our ruined landscape? What then of the displaced wildlife and desecrated idea that Maine is where the wild still lives? ~ It's not worth it. ~ Sarah Linneken, Benton |
Letter: Development questions
Bangor Daily News - Saturday, May 18, 2013
What happened to Plum Creek‘s real estate development plans for the area around Moosehead Lake What happened to what could have been the largest private commercial real estate development project in the history of the state of Maine? Market conservatives and tea party activists are missing what could be a showcase example of their theories of trickle-down economics and fiscal conservatism. ~ Alan M. Church, Brewer |
Letter: Paper or plastic?
Bangor Daily News - Saturday, May 18, 2013
Paper or plastic? Both create major problems. In every square mile of ocean, there are 46,000 pieces of plastic. There are huge gyres in all of the oceans, where currents bring waste plastic into an area where nothing lives. Do we move to paper? Paper production emits 70 percent more pollution than the production of plastic and much more greenhouse gas. It takes four times the energy to make a paper bag as a plastic bag, three times as much water. They create 80 percent more solid waste and, unexpectedly, degrade very slowly in landfill. We need to ban all point-of-sale packaging and move to reusable bags. In addition, all plastic should be biodegradable and recycled. ~ Jim Wellehan, Auburn |
Endangered species in Maine listed under state ESA
Maine Environmental News - Friday, May 17, 2013
May 17 is national Endangered Species Day. Here is a list of threatened and endangered species in Maine designated under the Maine Endangered Species Act. |
Old Orchard Beach butter maker faces loss of license
Portland Press Herald - Friday, May 17, 2013
The Old Orchard Beach Town Council on Tuesday will consider revoking the business license of Kate's Homemade Butter, which has operated as a home-based business in the town since 1981. Losing the license would put Kate's, which produces more than 1 million pounds of butter a year, as well as buttermilk, out of business, according to Lucas Patry, son of Kate's owners, Dan and Karen Patry. Kate's operates in about 1,000 square feet of space in a garage of an Old Orchard Beach home. Neighbors have complained that Kate's, which has trucks delivering raw materials and taking away finished products, should not be operating in a residential neighborhood. |
SAM I am not
Al Diamon Maine Media Mutt Blog - Friday, May 17, 2013
There appears to be some upheaval on the board of directors of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine. I use the word “appears” because my only source of information on the resignation of two longtime board members and one recent addition is a blog posting by former SAM executive director George Smith. Smith — who, since becoming a journalist of sorts, has had a contentious relationship with his former employer — doesn’t bother to explain why the three board members called it quits, other than to say one of them didn’t like the organization’s “new direction.” He also doesn’t provide any information on whether the resignations were related. In short, his posting comes off as a thinly veiled attack on SAM’s current administration, with whom Smith has had his differences. |
Migratory “Flyways” Decimated by Human Expansion
Other - Friday, May 17, 2013
Ahead of the International Day for Biological Diversity on May 22, focused this year on water resources, experts are calling for greater international cooperation to find sustainable and cost-effective solutions to the problem of species loss and environmental degradation. The ‘Big Five’ primary causes of biodiversity loss are habitat destruction, overharvesting and poaching, pollution, climate change and introduction of invasive species. Migratory bird species are especially vulnerable as they depend entirely on a network of well-functioning ecosystems to refuel, reproduce and survive in every ‘station’ they visit and upon unrestricted travel. These birds use wetlands to rest, feed and breed along their migration routes. However, half of the world’s wetlands have been lost over the past century. |
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Maine Organic Farmers
and Gardeners Assn
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Island gardens - veggies among the deer and rocks | | By Kaitlin Webber - Island gardens aren't that different from what I'm used to - apart from the layer of seaweed I spread last fall and the mussel shells that inexplicably keep rising to the surface. I'm also not used to having to keep all plants in maximum-security-prison mode. I left the netted gate open late last August and returned to find a vacant brown pit and a few beets with raccoon tooth marks. | | 5/16/2013 11:00:00 PM |
Genetically Modified Democracy: Monsanto and Congress Move to Stomp on Your Rights |  By Ronnie Cummins - Reliable sources in Washington D.C. have informed the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) that Monsanto has begun secretly lobbying its Congressional allies to attach one or more “Monsanto Riders” or amendments to the 2013 Farm Bill that would preempt or prohibit states from requiring labels on genetically engineered (GE) foods. | | 5/16/2013 11:00:00 PM |
Organic industry clout grows with consumer demand | | By Mary Clare Jalonick (AP): Washington - The organic food industry is gaining clout on Capitol Hill, prompted by rising consumer demand and its entry into traditional farm states. But that isn't going over well with everyone in Congress. Tensions between conventional and organic agriculture boiled over this week during a late-night House Agriculture Committee debate on a sweeping farm bill that has for decades propped up traditional crops and largely ignored organics. | | 5/16/2013 11:00:00 PM |
Old Orchard Beach butter maker faces loss of license | | By Jessica Hall - The Old Orchard Beach Town Council on Tuesday will consider revoking the business license of Kate's Homemade Butter, which has operated as a home-based business in the town since 1981. Kate's operates in about 1,000 square feet of space in a garage of an Old Orchard Beach home. The company has been building a 17,600-square-foot facility in Arundel, but that relocation has been slowed by past construction problems. | | 5/16/2013 11:00:00 PM |
Organic Valley ‘planning for a rebuild’ after fire | | By Allison Geyer - Displaced Organic Valley employees gathered outside a makeshift command post at the La Farge Community Temple on Wednesday afternoon, anxious to learn when - and how - they could get back to work. | | 5/15/2013 11:00:00 PM |
Diplomatic cables reveal aggressive GM lobbying by US officials | | By Suzanne Goldenberg - American diplomats lobbied aggressively overseas to promote genetically modified (GM) food crops such as soy beans, an analysis of official cable traffic revealed on Tuesday. The review of more than 900 diplomatic cables by the campaign group Food and Water Watch showed a carefully crafted campaign to break down resistance to GM products in Europe and other countries, and so help promote the bottom line of big American agricultural businesses. | | 5/14/2013 11:00:00 PM |
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Natural Resources Council
of Maine
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A Home Run for Maine Alewives | |
BENTON – Alewives are on pace for a record run in Benton, whose residents will celebrate their rel... | | 5/17/2013 12:00:00 AM |
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