I grew up in Maine, near Portland and the gorgeous coast bordering the Atlantic Ocean. My mother is a forest ecologist and my father an angling author and Maine fly-fishing guide, so it comes as no surprise that I am passionate about Maine’s environment. In fact, my very first summer internship was with the Natural Read More
Penobscot River
Canoeing the East Branch of the Penobscot River: September 13-18, 2015
by Bruce & Hartley Spencer We were introduced to this wild part of Maine when our parents took us to Baxter State Park in 1955. This visit and subsequent visits impressed upon Hartley and me what a magnificent gift Percival Baxter gave to the people of Maine. Our first canoe was named Wassataquoik for this Read More
Exploring Katahdin Woods and Waters
In February I spent five days with students from Chewonki’s Maine Coast Semester exploring Katahdin Woods and Waters, the area east of Baxter State Park proposed for inclusion in the National Park system. The Maine Coast Semester is a four-month-long program for high school juniors. In the fall and again in the winter/spring, 42 participants Read More
Gulf of Maine’s Cold-craving Marine Species Forced to Retreat to Deeper Waters
by Colin Woodard, staff writer Portland Press Herald news story For 178 years, dams stood across the Penobscot River here, obstructing salmon and other river-run fish from reaching the watershed’s vast spawning grounds, which extend all the way to the Quebec border. Now, two years after the dam’s removal, the salmon’s proponents fear the fish Read More
Maine’s North Woods Have Precisely What Most of the World is Missing
By Alexandra Conover Bennett, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed Several decades ago, as a young Registered Maine Guide, one of the first canoe trips I led was along the rolling waters of the East Branch of the Penobscot River just east of Baxter State Park. Nowadays, the river and surrounding land is Read More
Two Years After Dams’ Removal, Penobscot River Flourishes
Alewives, shad and even whitewater paddlers have returned as the largest river restoration endeavor in U.S. history starts to yield results. By Kevin Miller, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story VEAZIE — For nearly four decades, Barbara Wilson could watch from her deck as the waters of the Penobscot River cascaded over the 30-foot Read More
A New Maine National Park: The “Wow” Factors
As I travel around the state and call or email my fellow Mainers about my main current, focus area here at NRCM, the National Park and Recreation Area proposal, I am sometimes met with a question best summarized recently by a friend (who wholeheartedly supports the idea of a park, by the way): “Where is the Read More
Judge Orders Mallinckrodt Manufacturing to Fund Mercury Cleanup Plan for Penobscot River
The ruling is a step toward requiring the company to pay to clean up pollution from the former HoltraChem site – a cost estimated at $130 million. By Kevin Miller, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story A federal judge ordered Mallinckrodt Manufacturing Co. on Wednesday to pay to develop a detailed plan to clean Read More
This Year Could be a Triple Birthday for Our National Parks
By Lisa Pohlmann and W. Kent Olson, Special to the BDN Bangor Daily News op-ed Tuesday, Aug. 25, is the 99th birthday of the National Park Service, and our Acadia celebrated its 99th in July. Take a moment to sing happy birthday to “America’s best idea.” Think of the spectacular places the park service manages Read More
