8 months ago

Biologist expects solid grouse numbers to highlight bird hunting season that begins Saturday

Over three decades helping manage the state’s bird populations, biologist Brad Allen has learned a lot about the game birds — like ruffed grouse — that Mainers like to hunt.

8 months ago

Northern Maine residents weigh in on proposed ban on aerial herbicide spraying

More than 40 residents of Aroostook County turned out for a legislative forum Tuesday night in Fort Kent to weigh in on the use of aerial herbicides by the forest products industry.

8 months ago

Study to examine debated practice of aerial herbicide spraying of forests

Late summer is the time of year when young spruce and fir tree plantations are treated with herbicides sprayed from helicopters to control competing growth of other trees and shrubs.

8 months ago

County schools go green and focus on recycling and composting

Each morning, Janice Logan prepares three aluminum water bottles for her children and fills them with ice water from her refrigerator.

8 months ago

Conservancy offers to take title, control of Forest City dam

Chiputneticook Lakes International Conservancy wants to take ownership and control of Forest City dam on East Grand Lake from Woodland Pulp.

8 months ago

State plans collection of unusable pesticides

This October, Mainers can dispose of unusable and waste pesticides thanks to a project sponsored by the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry's Board of Pesticides Control and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. 

9 months ago

How Maine tribes are adapting as climate change threatens their cultural traditions

In northern Maine, the Aroostook Band of Micmacs has for decades been trying to protect important tribal cultural resources, including traditional foods, from pollution. And warming temperatures are expected to further that threat. But the Micmacs and other Maine tribes are taking steps to adapt.

9 months ago

Irving says zoning change will not affect leaseholders negatively

One week after the Land Use Planning Commission approved J.D. Irving’s plan to rezone a portion of 51,000 acres from general management to residential and commercial, Irving says leaseholders do not have to worry about their land being sold out from under them.  

9 months ago

Mills orders flags lowered following Farmington explosion

Governor Janet Mills directed that the United States and State of Maine flags be flown at half-staff statewide immediately through sunset Wednesday, September 18, 2019, in honor of the Farmington firefighter who lost his life and those who were injured following the explosion at the Life Enrichment Advancing People or “LEAP” facility in Farmington, Maine. 

9 months ago

New cellular phone law goes into effect Sept. 19

The urge to pick up one’s phone while driving could come now with a hefty fine.

9 months ago

Commission approves J.D. Irving’s plan for rezoning 51,000 acres in Aroostook County

With little discussion and no debate, the Land Use Planning Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to approve Canada-based J.D. Irving’s plan to rezone 51,000 acres in northern Aroostook County for commercial and residential development as well as conservation.

9 months ago

Once filled with debris, Maine’s forests are getting clean thanks to outdoor enthusiasts

A few short years ago, when Maine’s game wardens and forest rangers began teaming up to fight the ugly problem of woodland dumping, the state’s forest was filled with places where people had decided to discard their unwanted tires, appliances and other debris.

9 months ago

Mills directs flags to half staff in remembrance of 9/11

AUGUSTA, Maine — Governor Janet Mills has directed that the United States and State of Maine flags be flown at half-staff statewide all day today, Wednesday, September 11, 2019, in remembrance of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack.

9 months ago

How Maine could raise $100 million more for roads and bridges — and why it needs to

As the Maine Turnpike expects 1 million travelers alone over the Labor Day weekend, policymakers are gearing up for a sprint to solve one of the state’s most intractable problems: a long-standing — and growing — transportation funding gap.

9 months ago

Is it time to change land access policies for hunters?

Today, let’s take a deep breath, appreciate what we have, and reflect on how quickly everything could change.

9 months ago

Maine and Aroostook County Red Cross responding to Hurricane Dorian

Twelve Red Cross volunteers from Maine are headed out to Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia in response to Hurricane Dorian, which recently devastated the Bahamas and now poses a threat to the Eastern United States. 

9 months ago

Police address widespread drug problem while short-staffed

Dozens of deceptively friendly, smiling faces with black eyes printed on a yellow backdrop hid the contents of a small plastic bag. It was found stashed on a shelf in the toy section of a Madawaska store. Inside, was a substance law enforcement is beginning to find more often in Aroostook County -- methamphetamine. 

9 months ago

Maine might switch to a ranked-choice presidential election. Here’s how it would look.

The Democratic-led Maine Legislature made what could be a sweeping change on Monday, passing a bill that would extend the state’s first-in-the-nation ranked-choice voting law to presidential primaries and general elections.