Maine Association of Conservation Commissions 

www.meaccme.org

Opinion: Maine farms have key role to play in combating climate change
Portland Press Herald - Thursday, March 7, 2019 
Many people understand that woodland can sequester carbon, yet don’t realize how beneficial well-managed farmland can be. In Maine Farms, the journal of Maine Farmland Trust, three years ago I wrote, “Farming…has the potential to help mitigate climate change….The right farming practices applied in the right places can make a real difference.” I now have a deeper understanding of the role agriculture can and must play: First, agriculture can reduce its own greenhouse-gas emissions. Second, farmland can sequester vast amounts of carbon. Lastly, farmland that remains in farming can prevent higher future emissions. In all these areas, Maine has a key role to play. ~ John Piotti, president of American Farmland Trust and past president of Maine Farmland Trust

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Maine Launching Urgent Effort To Survey Insect Population Following 'Stunning' Declines Globally
Maine Public - Thursday, March 7, 2019 
Maine is launching an urgent effort to assess the state's insect populations. The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is undertaking the initiative after new studies showed a steep decline in populations of insects across the globe. It's expected to take several months to get a snapshot of how Maine's insect populations are faring, and much longer to determine whether they are also in rapid decline.

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Column: A catastrophic decline of insects
Kennebec Journal - Thursday, February 28, 2019 
A study published last month of insect population research states unequivocally that “the demise of major insect taxa … (has) attained alarming proportions globally over the last two decades.” At the current rates of decline, the study says, 40 percent of the Earth’s insect species could go extinct in the next few decades. What is killing the insects? Habitat loss, pollution, biological factors, climate change. Is there any hope? Yes, if humans make changes. “Habitat restoration, coupled with a drastic reduction in agro-chemical inputs and agricultural ‘redesign’, is probably the most effective way to stop further declines,” the study says. ~ Dana Wilde

Editor’s Note: Here’s a link to the study: file:///C:/Users/HP/Downloads/1-s2.0-S0006320718313636-main.pdf   and a link to a chart from the study: https://3c1703fe8d.site.internapcdn.net/newman/gfx/news/2019/chartsshowin.jpg

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Churches ask members to give up plastic for Lent

Washington Post - Thursday, March 7, 2019 
Chocolate, alcohol and Twitter are some of the popular indulgences many Christians give up during the period of Lent leading up to Easter. But this year, some churches are encouraging congregants to give up plastics. The Rev. James Martin, a popular author and priest who is an editor at large for America magazine, said encouraging giving up of plastics for Lent would be in the spirit of Pope Francis’s major document on the environment that came out in 2015. “Giving up plastic would benefit the common good more than giving up chocolate,” Martin said.

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State: Now is the time to start fighting browntail moths
Times Record - Friday, March 1, 2019 
This National Invasive Species Awareness Week, entomologists from the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry are reminding Mainers that now is the best time to remove browntail caterpillars from trees that are accessible. Browntail caterpillars cause a poison ivy-like rash and they are impacting a broad swath of Maine. “NOW is the time to look for the bright white silk tying a few leaves to the TIPS of oak and fruit tree branches,” according to the Maine Forest Service. “If you see a web CLIP IT OUT and destroy the web by dropping it in a bucket of soapy water and soaking it overnight; do not just leave it on the ground."

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Opinion: Green New Deal offers a possible route to conquer climate challenge
Bangor Daily News - Monday, February 25, 2019 
Conquering the climate challenge will not be easy. But as long as we keep moving, we will get there eventually. The Green New Deal offers a major step forward. Finally, at long last, we have a plan that shows the way out of base camp, and now we need to go up the mountain. ~ Paul Mayewski, Climate Change Institute, University of Maine

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Maine could be among first in U.S. to ban plastic bags statewide
Maine Sunday Telegram - Sunday, February 24, 2019 
With a growing patchwork of local restrictions and the rising cost of improperly disposed-of bags, Maine may become one of the first states – and the first in New England – to ban single-use plastic bags. Even retailers who once opposed bans or fees on plastic bags say it may be time to consider a comprehensive state policy.

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‘Skip the Straw’ campaign gains momentum in Kennebunk
Journal Tribune - Wednesday, February 20, 2019 
Since last fall, representatives of The Planeteers of Southern Maine, a grass roots environmental action alliance, have visited 100 restaurants and coffee houses in Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, Arundel and Wells and asked owners and managers to agree to forgo plastic straws. Friday is National “Skip the Straw” Day and the project coincides with that effort to bring attention to the environmental impact of single-use plastic items and curb litter and plastic ocean pollution.

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Maine Reps. Take Next Steps in York River 'Wild and Scenic' Designation
Maine Public - Saturday, February 16, 2019 
Maine Rep. Chellie Pingree-D, has introduced legislation that advances a years-long effort to designate the York River as a Wild and Scenic River System, a program managed by the National Park Service. The moves follows a three-year study on the York River watershed, as well as advancement measures passed in the towns of York and Eliot in November, and supportive resolutions adopted in Kittery and South Berwick. Pingree says the designation could mean more federal funding and technical assistance for the waterway and its tributaries, and she says that being part of the NPS program could help raise the region's profile as a visitor destination. Maine Rep. Jared Golden-D, has signed as co-sponsor.

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Falmouth gets grant to create watershed management plan
Forecaster - Tuesday, February 12, 2019 
Falmouth has received a $15,000 grant to help evaluate the health of its watersheds and provide a foundation for future management. The funding came from the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and will be administered by the Greater Portland Council of Governments. The hope is that this work will provide a case study for other municipalities to follow.

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Scientists: 2018 was 4th-warmest year on record
Associated Press - Wednesday, February 6, 2019 
While 2018 was the fourth-warmest year on record, British meteorologists are predicting the next five years will be much hotter, maybe even record-breaking. Two U.S. agencies, the United Kingdom Met Office and the World Meteorological Organization analyzed global temperatures in slightly different ways, but each came to the same conclusion Wednesday: 2018 was the fourth-warmest year on record behind 2016, 2015 and 2017.

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