Press
Herald - The Supreme Court will decide later this month whether to hear
a lobster fisherman’s challenge to a government requirement that boats use
electronic tracking devices. That case could have broad consequences for the
American commercial fishing industry.
Maine lobsterman Frank Thompson filed a federal lawsuit
against the head of his state’s marine resources department over a requirement
that he install a GPS tracker on his boat to keep his fishing license.
In 2023, the state, where lobster fishing is a critical and
historic industry, required all federally permitted lobstermen to do so to
comply with a new U.S. rule aimed at data collection.
Thompson asserted that the monitoring constituted
unreasonable search and seizure, but a federal appeals court denied his claim
last year. He appealed to the Supreme Court, which is set to review the claim
on Sept. 28.
….Many U.S. commercial fishermen are monitored at sea by
human observers and electronic devices to collect data that regulators say is
crucial to keeping the industry and fish populations sustainable and healthy.
Fishing groups have used the courts over the years to try to curtail monitoring
requirements with mixed results. Authorities have said the lobster boat
monitoring program is important to improve understanding of the valuable
crustacean’s population at a time when it appears to be declining in New England.
The U.S. lobster industry is based mostly in Maine, where
fishermen caught more than 78 million pounds of the crustaceans last year. That
was on par with the industry’s typical annual catch in the 2000s but a sharp
decline from a decade ago, when catches routinely topped 120 million pounds a
year.
Press
Herald - Maine forests are proving to be more resilient to changing
climate conditions in the fall than in the spring and summer, with scientists
predicting the colorful canopy will be providing a steady stream of food and
photos to wildlife and tourists alike for years to come.
There will still be off years,
when the vibrant reds, yellows and oranges of the maples and oaks are dulled by
drought or dropped by an early frost, ecologists say, and over time, global
warming will drive the onset of the color change deeper into the calendar year.
“But we’re talking days, not
weeks,” said Jay Wason, an associate professor of forest ecosystems physiology
at the University of Maine. “The pace of fall change is so much slower than
what we are seeing in our springs and summers.”
Maine Morning Star - The average Maine household has paid an average of $4,300 more for goods and services since President Donald Trump began his second term, according to an analysis released last week, which attributes much of that increase to the war in Iran, tariffs and rising healthcare costs.
The left-leaning Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP) released a summary of cost increases last week, relying on analysis from Democrats on the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee and other sources that have tracked price increases due to Trump administration policies.
Healthcare is the biggest variable: since Congress allowed enhanced premium tax credits for marketplace health plans to expire at the beginning of this year, some families saw much more than the average $4,300 increase, while those with employer-sponsored health insurance have not seen such dramatic price hikes.
But other increases — such as gas, which now costs more than $4 per gallon, and heating oil, which is now $5.15 per gallon — are more ubiquitous, and expected to add more than $2,000 to household budgets by the end of the year.
Friends
of Casco Bay - Maine’s Superior Court has upheld key provisions in a
federal stormwater permit that applies to the state’s most urban areas. The
court’s action upholds a requirement that regulated municipalities must adopt
low impact development (LID) ordinances. This is good news for Casco Bay and
many other waters in the state because stormwater is one of the largest sources
of pollution into our waters.
The permit is called the
Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Permit, or “MS4" permit. It is required
under the Clean Water Act and covers thirty municipalities in Maine, including
thirteen that are in or influence the Casco Bay watershed.
Friends of Casco Bay has long
advocated for the LID ordinance requirement in the permit because it is one of
the few tools towns have to preserve the natural flow and filtration of water
as land is developed. Once those features are lost, it is nearly impossible to
restore water quality.