A bill now awaiting action by Gov. Janet Mills would create a 100-foot no-disturbance protection zone around Maine’s vernal pools, among other protections.
Penelope Overton
Staff Writer
Penny Overton is excited to be the Portland Press Herald’s first climate reporter. Since joining the paper in 2016, she has written about Maine’s lobster and cannabis industries, covered state politics and spent a fellowship year exploring the impact of climate change on the lobster fishery with the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team. Before moving to Maine, she has covered politics, environment, casino gambling and tribal issues in Florida, Connecticut, and Arizona. Her favorite assignments allow her to introduce readers to unusual people, cultures, or subjects. When off the clock, Penny is usually getting lost in a new book at a local coffeehouse, watching foreign crime shows or planning her family’s next adventure.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Schools and Education
EPA restores $1.6M UMaine PFAS grant
The federal agency’s reversal comes 1 month after it declared that the University of Maine’s research into ways to reduce the effects of forever chemicals on farms was inconsistent with the EPA’s funding priorities.
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Posted inUncategorized
UMaine professor wins $1M grant to take a new look at old plants
The open source computer model that Jose Meireles is developing will use genetic analysis and reflective light to study already collected plants, saving field and lab time and money and protecting rare plants from destruction.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Federal cuts may hurt Maine’s ability to meet climate goals, scientists say
Reduced federal funding and staffing could hinder the Maine Climate Council’s ability to prepare for and track climate change, as well as the state’s ability to meet greenhouse gas reduction goals.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Maine’s next wildlife protection plan will consider climate threats
The once-a-decade conservation blueprint will weigh climate change threats, include plants as well as animals and emphasize habitat protection.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Maine tree spraying will kill any caterpillars, not just forest pests
While not toxic to people or most animals, pesticides to protect spruce and fir trees against budworm could also hurt the caterpillar form of two threatened butterflies. Spraying supporters say plans call for a targeted approach.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Tracking Maine’s wild mussel beds: Declining or retreating into the deep?
The Gulf of Maine Research Institute would like the public to help hunt for wild mussel beds below the low-tide line.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Peregrine falcons show signs of national decline, but not in Maine
The deadly avian flu killing falcons in other states hasn’t hit here, but biologists still worry about Maine’s peregrine population because it’s so small.
Posted inLocal & State, News
After hailing them as important, EPA cancels PFAS research grants
Termination notices to Maine grant recipients said the work was ‘no longer consistent with EPA funding priorities.’ At least 2 of the 3 Maine recipients plan to appeal the termination.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Plan to loosen federal habitat protection seen as threat to iconic Maine wildlife
Maine has its own state endangered species law, but environmentalists say a proposed change in federal law could hurt some Maine species the state has worked to protect.