Environment and Outdoors

Environmental news

Seeking Relief From The Pandemic, Mainers Head To State's Campgrounds

By • 7 hours ago
Patty Wight / Maine Public

For Mainers looking to get away - safely - for part of this pandemic summer, camping has been the answer.  Popular state campgrounds, like Sebago Lake in southern Maine and Lamoine near Acadia National Park, are pretty full.  But there's plenty of weekday availability at several other state campgrounds in locations you might not expect.

Maine Removes Beach Restrictions In Wake Of Fatal Shark Attack

By • Aug 3, 2020

Maine parks officials have removed some water activity restrictions in the wake of a fatal shark bite off Harpswell. 

Fates Of Endangered Whales And Fishermen On The Line In Case For More Protections

By • Aug 3, 2020
Michael Dwyer / Associated Press/file

Oral arguments are scheduled Monday morning in a federal lawsuit that could spell the fates of the endangered North Atlantic right whale - and of New England's lobstermen.

Weather Service Says Hurricane Isaias Could Bring Wind And Heavy Rain To Maine Mid-Week

By Judy Harrison - Bangor Daily News • Aug 2, 2020
Tim Aylen / AP Images

The National Weather Service in Caribou has issued a hazardous weather outlook for much of Maine in anticipation of Hurricane Isaias’ arrival next week.

State Officials Urge Caution After Another Shark Sighted Off Maine Coast

By • Jul 31, 2020
Marine Patrol

Following a confirmed sighting of a great white shark Friday near the site of Monday’s fatal attack, along with two unconfirmed sightings along the coast Thursday, the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) continues to urge people recreating in and around Maine coastal waters to use caution.

UMaine Receives Patent For Tech To Create Environmentally Friendly Construction Materials

By • Jul 30, 2020

The University of Maine has received a patent for a process to create more environmentally friendly construction materials using a slurry of tiny cellulose fibers derived from wood.

Portland Breaks Temperature Record Amid Heatwave

By • Jul 29, 2020

PORTLAND, Maine - The temperature in Maine's largest city broke a decades-old record this week. The National Weather Service reported the low temperature in Portland, Maine, was higher on Monday than it had ever been on July 27 in any year.

The temperature never dipped below 78 degrees Fahrenheit. That shattered the old record of 69 degrees, which was set in 1979 and equaled in 1989.

Maine is in the midst of a sustained heatwave. Temperatures are expected to reach above 90 degrees on Tuesday and remain above 80 degrees for the rest of the week.

Penobscot Nation Opposes CMP Transmission Project

By • Jul 28, 2020
"SAY NO TO 145-MILE CMP TRANSMISSION LINE THROUGH MAINE" VIA FACEBOOK

The Penobscot Nation is coming out in opposition to Central Maine Power’s proposed transmission line through Maine’s western woods.

Scientist: Increase In Seal Population Likely Attracting More Sharks To Maine Waters

By • Jul 28, 2020
Courtesy Nick Whitney

The Maine Department of Marine Resources has identified Julie Dimperio Holowach, of New York City, as the victim of a shark attack near Bailey Island yesterday. She was pronounced dead after being helped to the shore following the attack.

Officials: Woman Killed By Great White Shark Off Maine Coast

By • Jul 28, 2020
Pat Wellenbach / Associated Press/file

Authorities confirmed Tuesday that a New York City woman was attacked and killed by a great white shark off the coast of Harpswell earlier this week. It’s the first recorded fatal shark attack in the state’s history.

Cause Of 45-Acre Baxter State Park Blaze Still Undetermined

By • Jul 27, 2020

Maine forestry officials say the source of a May wildfire that consumed 45 acres in Baxter State Park remains undetermined, but it was not caused by lightning.

Scientists Investigate Deaths Of Rarely-Seen Beaked Whales Stranded On Maine Coast

By • Jul 27, 2020
Jun Dumaguing / Associated Press

The coast of Maine is home to a number of whales. Humpback, minkee and pilot whales are a familiar sight. Less common, however, is the beaked whale. Yet, just in the last few weeks, two beaked whales - a Blainville's beaked whale, which had never been seen here before, and a Sowerby's beaked whale - stranded and died on beaches in York and Phippsburg. Maine Public's Jennifer Mitchell spoke with Linda Doughty, director of Marine Mammals of Maine, about what's known about the unusual strandings at this point.

Parts Of Maine Face Severe Drought

By • Jul 24, 2020
National Weather Service

Hot conditions since May coupled with very little rainfall have caused not just drier than average conditions in Maine, but actual drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Popular Portland Beach Closes After Sewage Discharges Into Casco Bay

By Nick Sambides Jr. - Bangor Daily News • Jul 20, 2020
Willis Ryder Arnold / Maine Public File

The popular East End Beach in Portland was closed Monday after a malfunction at the East End Wastewater Treatment Plant caused a wastewater discharge into Casco Bay, officials said.

Maine Joins Coalition Of States Aimed At Increasing Use Of Electric Vehicles

By • Jul 15, 2020
Toby Talbot / AP Images

Maine is joining a coalition of 15 states in setting aggressive new goals to increase the number of electric trucks and buses on the region's roads. The states agreed this week to ensure that within a decade 30 percent of all new medium and heavy-duty vehicles sold in their jurisdictions are electric vehicles, and that 100 percent of those new sales be zero-emission only by the year 2050.

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