By The BDN Editorial Board Bangor Daily News editorial Gov. Paul LePage says he’s giving up on the Legislature, but there’s no indication he’s backing down from his effort to cut more wood from the state’s public lands and set aside the revenue so rural, low-income households can afford to upgrade to lower cost heating Read More
wildlife habitat
No Need to Cut Public Forests to Achieve LePage’s Heating Goal
By Ralph Chapman, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed Gov. Paul LePage’s proposal to aid “fellow Mainers who are most in need” with home heating assistance deserves further consideration, as it is a worthy goal. Most of the attention to his plan has focused on problems with his proposed source of funding (increased Read More
Surry Celebration: Alewife Restoration Project Nears Completion
By John Holyoke, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story SURRY, Maine — About six years ago, a group of concerned town residents started paying attention to a problem that had been years in the making. Patten Stream, which runs through the center of Surry and empties into Patten Bay, was full of fish. And Read More
Federal Rule Will Safeguard Drinking Water for 500,000 Mainers
by Jackie Farwell, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story Drinking water for nearly 500,000 Maine residents will be protected under federal regulations announced Wednesday by President Barack Obama’s administration. The new rule aims to safeguard streams and wetlands from pollution and development. The rule, finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Read More
Maine’s Other Amazing Tide: Migrating Birds
Maine is famous for its tides, gently coming and going across mudflats and estuaries and pushing back and forth over the rocky coast. But there’s another tide, one that would likely appear just as dramatic, if you could see it. It’s the great spring movement of North America’s migratory birds.
Bouncing Back: Maine Landowners Work to Save Cottontail Rabbits
By Aislinn Sarnacki, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story Once abundant in farming communities, the New England cottontail rabbit has all but disappeared from Maine in the past few decades. Today, biologists estimate that 250 to 300 cottontails remain in the state, and they’re secluded to small pockets of shrublands south of Portland. “It’s Read More
The Real Road to Nowhere Would be the East-west Corridor
It’s time the state realizes this would be the surest path to environmental and economic degradation. By Chris Buchanan, Special to the Press Herald Portland Press Herald op-ed BELGRADE — The proposed east-west transportation, communications and utility corridor has raised important questions regarding the state’s transportation policy. Two bills have been introduced by Maine legislators to ensure Read More
Report Says Diversity of New England Plant Life is Threatened
By the Associated Press Portland Press Herald new story BOSTON — From picturesque coastal estuaries of Cape Cod to the soaring White Mountains, much of New England’s rich native flora is fighting for survival against increasing odds, according to what conservationists call the most comprehensive accounting ever made of the region’s plant life. The report, Read More
LePage Plan Could Make Forestry Top Priority in Managing Public Lands
by Mario Moretto, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story AUGUSTA, Maine — Conservationists are skeptical about Gov. Paul LePage’s budget for the natural resource departments, fearful that it would open the gates for expanded commercial harvesting of state-owned property. LePage wants to do away with the state’s Bureau of Parks and Lands, which is Read More