The Maine Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration say a controversial, drawn-out proposal for a new road connecting Interstate 395 and Route 9 would have minimal effects on the surrounding environment. By Nick McCrea, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story BREWER, Maine — The Maine Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration say Read More
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Wildlife Action Plan Protects Maine’s Diversity
By Wayne Hooper Seacoastonline.com news story Maine has a plan for conserving its most rare and vulnerable fish and wildlife species. Maine’s Wildlife Action Plan, created in 2005, focuses on voluntary measures that can assist many of the state’s most vulnerable species. It highlights natural area conservation efforts, and sets the course for the future Read More
Lead Alternatives: Given Toxicity, Should the Metal Be in Ammunition?
Bangor Daily News editorial In mid-November, a bald eagle found in Howland died of lead poisoning, according to the rehabilitation center that was caring for the sick bird. X-rays showed several pieces of birdshot were in the eagle’s stomach. Lead has long been known to be toxic, so lawmakers and sportsmen should consider a plan Read More
Setting Rivers Free: As Dams are Torn Down, Nature is Quickly Recovering
By Doug Struck, Contributor Christian Science Monitor cover story BENTON FALLS, Maine — “Look underneath you,” commands Nate Gray, a burly biologist for the state of Maine. He reaches down to the grate floor of a steel cage perched on a dam straddling the Sebasticook River, and pulls back a board revealing the roiling river Read More
Without Edwards Dam, Fish and Birds Thrive on the Kennebec
Augusta city officials who initially opposed the removal of the dam now say it’s been good for the city. By Keith Edwards, staff writer Kennebec Journal news story AUGUSTA — The first water to flow through when Edwards Dam was breached 15 years ago was brown and thick with mud from the earthen cofferdam built Read More
A Kennebec for the Generations
Fifteen years ago, the efforts of the passionate souls at the Natural Resources Council of Maine resulted in the removal of the Edwards Dam in Augusta. I didn’t work here then but I’m quite certain that, just as it is today, the culture here was one of steadfast resolve to protect the nature of Maine. Read More
How Unlikely Partners Came Together on a Maine River
Decades of dam building had decimated migratory fish populations that had long sustained local wildlife and people on the Penobscot River. After years of contentious battles, local stakeholders struck a deal. Today, for the first time in 200 years, river life is rebounding. And the power company has not lost any hydropower generation. By Laura Read More
Humans Changed Behavior, and Alewives are Rebounding in Kennebec, Penobscot, St. Croix
By Lisa Pohlmann, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed For the last few weeks sea-run fish known as alewives have been heading up Maine’s rivers to lay their eggs. Their journey is a breathtaking force of nature to behold, as they fight strong currents, heading upstream in droves. While probably hundreds of millions Read More
Creature Feature: Brook Trout
Mainers are lucky. Very lucky. Almost all of us live within a bike ride of streams or ponds where brook trout live.
