Maine Environmental News

News Items

Maple Syrup on the Menu in State Full of Pine Trees
Associated Press - Sunday, March 24, 2019
Maine might be the Pine Tree State, but this day is all about maple. Sunday is Maine's annual Maple Syrup Sunday, in which maple syrup producers in the state open their doors to the public for a look at how the sticky stuff gets from the tree to the pancakes. Events are scheduled to take place at farms from Smyrna, near the Canadian border, to Eliot, just across the line from New Hampshire. Participating producers are planning music, games, tours and all manner of maple-flavored treats.

Rockland art center aims to create climate-change awareness through exhibit
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, March 24, 2019
Two months after it closed when a broken water line flooded the galleries with gushing water, the Center for Maine Contemporary Art has reopened with an exhibition that explores, in part, rising water levels. “Melt Down” includes stunning photographic and video work by several Maine artists who have traveled to and worked in the Arctic and Antarctica. Their photographs and videos offer undeniable evidence of climate change.

Ten invasive species Mainers should know about as we head into spring
Sun Journal - Sunday, March 24, 2019
“Invasive species have...a lot of environmental effects,” said Karen Coluzzi, exotic pest survey coordinator for the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. Invasive species, both plants and critters, take the food/water/space that native species need to survive. Some invasives leave death and destruction in their wake. Others hurt humans. This is not an exhaustive list, but these 10 are among the plants, bugs and animals to look out for:
• Giant hogweed
• Variable and Eurasian milfoil
• Hydrilla
• Chinese mystery snail
• Japanese knotweed
• Black swallow-wort
• Japanese stilt grass
• Emerald ash borer
• Brown marmorated stink bug
• Browntail moth

Five spots where you can watch them like a hawk!
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, March 24, 2019
Despite the name, hawk-watch sites are areas perfect for viewing migrating raptors of all kinds, including other birds of prey like falcons and turkey vultures. Here are Maine sites that the experts recommend. All but Bradbury Mountain are best for the fall migration.
• Bradbury Mountain, Pownal
• Cadillac Mountain, Bar Harbor
• Clarry Hill, Union
• Lobster Point, Mohegan Island
• Mount Agamenticus, York

Column: Helping the economy and the climate
Kennebec Journal - Sunday, March 24, 2019
Perhaps the greatest disruptive force that Maine has endured over the last hundred years has been in the energy field. Technology drove that change and new technologies is about to drive another. This time it will give us the opportunity to become energy independent again. Three streams of technical innovation, long flowing on parallel courses, are beginning to combine: solar power, storage batteries, and super-efficient appliances and lightbulbs. Energy independence holds the potential to become a powerful engine for sustainable prosperity. And it will come with one tremendous side benefit — the greatest contribution to climate change that our small state can make. ~ Alan Caron

Opinion: Maine can reduce emissions without CMP project
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, March 24, 2019
Former State Planning Director Richard Barringer, writing in support of the proposal to bring Canadian hydropower through Maine to Massachusetts, says that “no state is an island,” and that “we are in this existential crisis together.” But he does not say whether this project will have a net benefit in combating climate change. Maine is rapidly increasing its solar capacity. Wind’s contribution to our energy mix will skyrocket if we support the University of Maine’s effort to harness offshore wind. From all these sources, Maine can generate 100 percent of its energy by 2040 without either fossil fuels or additional hydropower. Provided that we adopt strategies to effectively utilize this energy (think heat pumps and electric vehicles), we can reduce our net greenhouse-gas emissions 100 percent by 2050. ~ Joe Hardy, Wells

Letter: Maine DIFW critic overlooks agency’s conservation work
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, March 24, 2019
Susan A. Bloomfield, in her March 17 letter, strongly complained that our Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife is doing nothing for nongame animals and plants. She is very wrong. And she made many demands on the MDIFW without acknowledging that she contributes nothing financially to that department. We have tried several times in the past to direct some tax money to MDIFW, without success. Nevertheless, they continue working on lots of nongame species, from songbirds to endangered species. I have suggested that MDIFW prepare a comprehensive report on her department’s work on nongame animals, and I have urged Gov. Mills to seek public money to pay for this. Perhaps Susan Bloomfield will join me in advocating for this. ~ George Smith, Mount Vernon

Letter: Utility’s profits aren’t staying in our state
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, March 24, 2019
When I look at my sizable electricity bills and wonder who is taking away the large part of them that must be profit, it helps me to remind myself that CMP should really be named “Central Spain Power.” ~ Mary Shaffer, Scarborough

Northern Exposure
Yankee Magazine - Saturday, March 23, 2019
In a region that has spent the better part of two decades sputtering to formulate a post–paper mill identity, a new and unexpected tourist economy, one that revolves around ATV riders, has emerged for New Hampshire’s Coos County. New businesses have opened, familiar ones have expanded, and as the dollars have rolled in. “It’s like the whore on a street,” one longtime Gorham resident told me. “Sure, the money is good. But one day nobody will want her anymore. We’re polluting with noise and dust, and we’re not thinking. We’re just taking the money.”

Into the Woods
Other - Saturday, March 23, 2019
Portland Monthly - Be amazed by who got their start among the whispering pines of Maine's summer camps, including Stephen Sondheim, John F. Kennedy, Prince Mom Tri Devakul, Lauren Bacall, J.D. Salinger, Leonard Nimoy, Lena Dunham, Lindsay Lohan, Theo Epstein, Alan Jay Lerner, Ben Stiller, Kristin Davis, Claire Danes, Jenny Bicks, Maggie Rogers, Robert Kraft, Si Newhouse, W.E.B. Dubois.

Local sugarhouses ‘pull it together’ for Maine Maple Sunday
Sun Journal - Saturday, March 23, 2019
Despite a slow start to the season, local maple syrup makers aren’t tapped out. Though Saturday is the start of the Maine Maple weekend, Sunday is expected to be the main draw.

Unity residents OK ordinance prohibiting mass balloon releases
Morning Sentinel - Saturday, March 23, 2019
Unity residents on Saturday approved a new ordinance prohibiting the intentional release of 10 or more balloons within a 24-hour period. Exceptions to the Balloon Release Ordinance include balloons released for scientific or meteorological purposes, hot air balloons that are recovered after launching, balloons released indoors and balloons that are biodegradable. The ban is “just one of those environmental baby steps towards more environmental protection,” said Penny Sampson, chairwoman of the Board of Selectmen.

Green New Deal inflames partisan debate
Associated Press - Saturday, March 23, 2019
To Democratic supporters, the Green New Deal is a call to arms to combat climate change with the full measure of the nation’s resources and technological might. To Republican opponents, the much-hyped plan is a dystopian nightmare, a roadmap to national bankruptcy in pursuit of zealous environmentalism. Lost in the clamor is the reality that, if passed, the Green New Deal would require the government to do absolutely nothing. It exists only as a nonbonding resolution.

State Seeks More Public Input On Portland-To-Lewiston Train Service
Maine Public - Saturday, March 23, 2019
The state is continuing to study the possibility of passenger rail service between Portland and Lewiston. The public is invited to a meeting Wednesday in Lewiston to see what's been learned so far, and to offer more input. Lincoln Jeffers, the economic development chief in Lewiston, says the meeting is a follow-up to public meetings held last year to begin to gauge interest. "We know from the early meetings a high percentage - I think it was 80 percent of the people who attended - said, 'Yeah, if it was there I'd certainly use it,'" Jeffers says. "But the question is, would they use it daily? Would they use it monthly? Would they use it a couple of times a year?"

100 Mile Wild
Other - Saturday, March 23, 2019
Wild Northeast - Over the course of nine days this past February, fish farmer Greg Bell, Good To-Go co-founder David Koorits and myself embarked on a Maine-grown adventure that few have attempted and fewer have completed (actually just one person). From Monson to Abol Bridge, we set out to snowshoe and ski our way through the 100-Mile Wilderness, the last hundred miles of the famed Appalachian Trail before the terminus of the trail on Baxter Peak, and arguably the most rugged and challenging section of the entire 2,100-mile AT. On day nine, we laughed about how unrelenting the trip had been. Cold. Damp. Fun. Quintessential Maine.

Outside, Millinocket
Maine. The Magazine - Saturday, March 23, 2019
The year-round New England Outdoor Center is deep in the frozen white of February when we venture to the Katahdin region to rev up, ski, and ride through a couple days of snow play.

Free the Udders
Down East - Saturday, March 23, 2019
About nine years ago, a movement began, spearheaded by a handful of other Blue Hill Peninsula farmers, to preserve the intimate grower-to-neighbor trade that’s taken place in Maine’s small towns for generations. By 2017, they had helped organize 20 communities to pass ordinances that asserted local government’s right to regulate local food systems, unencumbered by state licensing and inspection requirements that were written for much larger farms and processors. The culmination of their campaign came in 2017, when the state passed a bill permitting “direct producer-to-consumer food exchanges and other traditional foodways.” Since the law went into effect in November 2017, the number of municipalities with food-sovereignty laws has mushroomed to 47, across 14 of Maine’s 16 counties.

Great Works Regional Land Trust goes green
Seacoast Online - Saturday, March 23, 2019
Great Works Regional Land Trust is saving money, generating energy, and protecting the environment. After completing a 12-month, $15,000 fundraising campaign, Great Works Regional Land Trust installed a 4.80 kw solar electric system at the nonprofit’s headquarters location in Ogunquit. ReVision Energy estimates a solar production of 5,003 kWhs of clean, renewable electricity annually. This would offset about 5,268 lbs of carbon pollution each year.

Check out these trails that feature a variety of incredible plants
Bangor Metro - Saturday, March 23, 2019
The native plants of Maine vary dramatically, from poisonous to edible, fragrant to stinky, drab to colorful. And in one short botanical exploration, you might be surprised at all you can find.
• Hidden Valley Nature Center in Jefferson
• Beech Hill Preserve in Rockport
• Shore Acres Preserve on Deer Isle

It’s now spring. Here’s what to do when you see water pools emerge in your yard.
Bangor Daily News - Saturday, March 23, 2019
As winter thaws into spring, Mainers may notice miniature marshes cropping up in their backyards. These are known as vernal pools. The small, temporary wetlands appear in the spring when snow melt and precipitation fill shallow depressions in forested landscapes. The pools are usually dry by the end of the summer, but they play an essential role as a breeding ground for wood frogs, spotted salamanders and fairy shrimp. When Aram Calhoun, professor of wetlands ecology at UMaine, started researching vernal pool in the mid-’90s, she found that they were more than they seemed. “The more we studied them, the more integral to the functioning of the New England landscape we realized they are,” Calhoun said. “What they supply for us goes way beyond their size or abundance.”

Opinion: Wood has critical role to play in Maine’s clean-energy future
Portland Press Herald - Saturday, March 23, 2019
We encourage Gov. Mills, the Legislature and Maine citizens not to overlook the many advantages traditional wood heat has. While heat pumps are efficient, they have little to no economic benefit to the state of Maine after installation. State policy should serve the greatest number for the greatest good. Wood remains a major heating source in Maine, and because it is produced and consumed locally , it provides more economic benefits to the state than any other by keeping dollars and jobs in our state’s economy. It is also a renewable fuel that reduces Maine’s use of nonrenewable fossil fuels. Trees grow back and sequester carbon. Fossil fuels do not. ~ Dana Doran, Professional Logging Contractors of Maine

Letter: Healthy fun from watershed coalition
Bangor Daily News - Saturday, March 23, 2019
I’m writing to express my gratitude to The Belfast Bay Watershed Coalition. This February vacation, they sponsored a free winter break day camp. Each day they had a snowshoe adventure in a different location, each a preserve of Coastal Mountain Land Trust. They were led by Cloe Chunn and Jennie Judkins, both full of fun and knowledge. The kids (and adults) learned about different animals and their adaptations, how to identify tracks and their environment. What a great time they had! My grandson participated and just loved It. This same program offers nature literacy in local schools. I’m so proud to live in an area that offers such healthy fun for kids. ~ Susan Langley, Belfast

Flight Plan
Maine. The Magazine - Friday, March 22, 2019
Forty-one years ago, work on the first Maine Bird Atlas commenced as ornithologists began the arduous task of documenting birds that breed in Maine. After five years of observing birds and analyzing the data, the first atlas was published in 1983. Beyond the fact that birds are one of the few organisms to occupy every habitat in the world, birds are also huge indicators of environmental health. Tracking changes in bird population and distribution is vital to understanding how to conserve and protect wildlife for generations to come. Now, a team of researchers, biologists, and citizen scientists are helping produce the most comprehensive atlas yet. The 2018-2022 Maine Bird Atlas will provide an up-to-date understanding of bird diversity and distribution across the state and, for the first time in Maine’s history, documentation of wintering birds, too.

RLHT seeks volunteers for overnight McDeavitt Woods project
Turner Publishing - Friday, March 22, 2019
The Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust is looking for volunteers for a multi-day project on its recently acquired property in Wilsons Mills, the John J. McDevitt Woods. Volunteers are needed to assist with trail trimming and blazing, constructing a firepit, and working on the cabin itself, and many other hands-on tasks. The overnight project will take place June 12 to 15.

Ben Carson hails efforts to remove lead from Lewiston homes
Sun Journal - Friday, March 22, 2019
In whirlwind tour in Lewiston on Friday, .S. Sen. Susan Collins and Ben Carson, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, saw federal programs in action. Carson said the lead paint program has been a priority for him — and as a result its funding has gone up sharply to $240 million this year. Next year, President Donald Trump proposed hiking it to $290 million nationwide. Nobody mentioned that Carson’s proposed HUD budget would wipe out the $3.4 billion Community Development Block Grants program, a tool for cities such as Auburn and Lewiston to address local issues. It’s also a key source of funding for a major expansion at Tree Street that Carson toured.

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