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Here’s how experts want to see Maine combat climate change in the next four years • Maine Morning Star

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Here’s how experts want to see Maine combat climate change in the next four years • Maine Morning Star


Maine’s climate action plan is due for an update later this year, and experts have already put forward a draft of what they’d like to see included. 

The Maine Climate Council has until December 1 to update “Maine Won’t Wait,” the state’s four-year plan that outlines strategies for reducing carbon emissions and introducing cleaner energy sources in the state. In June, the council’s working groups dedicated to housing, transportation, coastal and marine sectors and more put forth suggestions for new and refined strategies the state should include in the updated plan. 

Gov. Janet Mills created the climate council in 2019 to establish an action plan to help the state achieve carbon neutrality by 2045 and combat climate change. A recently-released assessment of climate change and its impacts on Maine showed that the state’s climate is getting warmer and seeing more severe weather. According to the report, each year from 2020 through 2023 ranked among the ten warmest years on record for Maine. 

Many of the suggested strategies build on the efforts outlined in the original climate action plan, but there are a few new proposals  — such as resiliency measures to address increasingly common spills from residential heating oil tanks and bolstering local food production. 

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Here’s a closer look at a sample of the strategies that the council is suggesting to implement in the next action plan.

Drive fewer miles, and do it with electric vehicles

As a rural state with limited public transportation, the last climate action plan underscored transportation — particularly personal vehicles — as the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Maine. 

The proposed plan suggests accelerating the transition to light-duty electric vehicles, including plug-in hybrids. Likewise, the climate council is proposing a faster switch to zero-emissions medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.

In its proposal, the council’s Transportation Working Group outlined ways to aid in that transition including rebate programs to lower the cost and an education campaign for Maine communities and car dealerships to teach about the technology involved with electric cars and the incentives for buying one.

Maine toyed with the idea of ramping up electric vehicles earlier this year, but the Board of Environmental Protection rejected a rule in March that would have required clean, electric vehicles to make up the majority of new car sales by 2030. The board rejected it because of lingering questions about the policy, and said they believed such a large decision would be better placed in the hands of elected officials. 

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However, the state has and continues to expand charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. Maine plans to add more than 50 new high-speed EV chargers near busy highways and outdoor recreation areas in the next year. Currently, Maine has more than 1,000 EV charging ports across nearly 500 locations, according to a map from Efficiency Maine. 

Even with cleaner cars, the proposed plan still suggests reducing the number of vehicle miles traveled. 

Conserve more land, consume more local food 

The climate council’s working group dedicated to Natural and Working Lands proposed to further three of its original goals in the new action plan. These include conserving more acreage of land, consuming more food grown in Maine and incentivizing woodland owners to do more carbon removal and storage. 

The proposal notes that Maine has conserved about 50,000 acres annually in recent years, with a total of more than 4.3 million acres permanently conserved. That accounts for a little more than 22% of the state’s total acreage, but the working group is proposing to bump that up to 30% by 2030. To achieve that goal, the proposal said the annual conservation rate would need to increase nearly fivefold. 

Since about a third of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions are linked to food, there’s also a suggestion to increase the amount of food consumed in Maine from state food producers to 30% by the end of this decade. 

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To do that, the proposal outlines ways to bolster local food production by strengthening Maine farms and creating more markets to increase access to local food. 

Make our buildings more resilient

To this point, climate strategies pertaining to buildings have focused on reducing the emissions coming from them. But the council’s Building, Infrastructure and Housing Working Group proposed an emphasis on resilience. 

From homes to offices, buildings in the state are susceptible to climate-driven hazards such as large storms that can cause damage and create power outages. The proposal said buildings are even at an increased risk for wildfires. Flooding has also increased the number of oil spills from residential heating oil tanks, the working group wrote in the proposal. 

That’s why the proposal has suggestions for increased resiliency measures like flood insurance and sump pumps with battery back-ups. The working group also recommends creating a new program to properly drain, remove and dispose of high-risk residential heating oil tanks and considering a comprehensive management plan for what to do with those tanks as the state transitions to cleaner energy sources. 

Public feedback

A survey is available on the council’s website for people to share suggested updates to the state’s strategies to address climate change. The written proposals and video presentations from all of the working groups are also available on the council’s website.

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This Classic New England-Style Cottage in Maine Has 200 Feet of Atlantic Ocean Frontage

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This Classic New England-Style Cottage in Maine Has 200 Feet of Atlantic Ocean Frontage


A waterfront home with open ocean views on the coast of Maine came to market Tuesday asking $4 million. 

Built in 1978, the three-bedroom cottage is at the southern point of Cape Elizabeth, less than 10 miles from downtown Portland. The 1.1-acre property on Sunny Bank Road features 200 feet of south-facing water frontage on the wide open Atlantic. 

It is bordered by a rocky sea wall that’s about 28 feet high, according to listing agent Sam Michaud Legacy Properties Sotheby’s International Realty

“The views are like a Monet painting,” he said via email. “The water sparkles and the waves are endless.”

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MORE: Laid-Back Costa Rica Is Getting a $7 Million Mega-Penthouse

The 3,364-square-foot home was built in classic New England style, with shingle siding, a single sloped roofline and large windows—complemented by white-washed walls, exposed-beam ceilings and wide-plank flooring on the interiors. 

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The main common area features cathedral ceilings with a step-down between the living and dining room, and a partial wall divides the dining room from the kitchen. There is also a wood-paneled family room off the kitchen, a gym and a covered porch. 

The sellers purchased the property in 2010 for $1.562 million, according to property records accessed through PropertyShark. They could not immediately be reached for comment. 

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“I have received quite a few inquiries since hitting the market two days ago,” Michaud said. “Buyers understand that this is a golden opportunity to own over an acre with 200 feet of bold oceanfront in Cape Elizabeth.”

MORE: Iranian Strikes on Dubai Put the City’s Roaring Real Estate Market to the Test

There are currently just seven three-bedroom homes available for sale in Cape Elizabeth and fewer than five waterfront properties, according to Sotheby’s and Zillow data. It is also the most expensive listing in the town, with another waterfront property on a tiny lot just south of Portland coming in a close second, according to Zillow. 

Michaud sold the former Cape Elizabeth home of Bette Davis this past summer for $13.4 million, the priciest sale on the cape in at least a decade—and even those views can’t compare. They’re “just magical,” he said. 



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NECEC conservation plan will not protect Maine’s mature forests | Opinion

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NECEC conservation plan will not protect Maine’s mature forests | Opinion


Robert Bryan is a licensed forester from Harpswell and author or co-author of numerous publications on managing forests for wildlife. Paul Larrivee is a licensed forester from New Gloucester who manages both private and public lands, and a former Maine Forest Service forester.

In November 2025, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) approved a conservation plan and forest management plan as mitigation for impacts from the NECEC transmission corridor that runs from the Quebec border 53 miles to central Maine.

As professional foresters, we were astonished by the lack of scientific credibility in the definition of “mature forest habitat” that was approved by DEP, and the business-as-usual commercial forestry proposed for over 80% of the conservation area.

The DEP’s approval requires NECEC to establish and protect 50,000 acres to be managed for mature-forest wildlife species and wildlife travel corridors along riparian areas and between mature forest habitats. The conservation plan will establish an area adjacent to the new transmission corridor to be protected under a conservation easement held by the state. Under this plan, 50% of the area will be managed as mature forest habitat.

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Under the forest management plan, a typical even-aged stand will qualify as “mature forest habitat” once 50 feet tall, which is only about 50 years old. These stands will lack large trees that provide wildlife denning and nesting sites, multiple vegetation layers that mature-forest birds use for nesting and feeding habitats and large decaying trees and downed logs that provide habitat for insects, fungi and small mammals, which in turn benefit larger predators.

Another major concern is that contrary to the earlier DEP order, the final approval allows standard sustainable forestry operations on the 84% of the forest located outside the stream buffers and special habitats. These stands may be harvested as soon as they achieve the “mature forest habitat” definition, as long as 50% of the conserved land is maintained as “mature.”

After the mature forest goal is reached, clearcutting or other heavy harvesting could occur on thousands of acres every 10 years. Because the landowner — Weyerhaeuser — owns several hundred thousand acres in the vicinity, any reductions in harvesting within the conservation area can simply be offset by cutting more heavily nearby. As a result, the net
mature-forest benefit of the conservation area will be close to zero.

Third, because some mature stands will be cut before the 50% mature forest goal is reached, it will take 40 years — longer than necessary — to reach the goal.

In the near future the Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) will consider an appeal from environmental organizations of the plan approval. To ensure that ecologically mature forest develops in a manner that meets the intent of the DEP/BEP orders, several things need to change.

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First and most important, to ensure that characteristics of mature forest habitat have time to develop it is critical that the definition include clear requirements for the minimum number of large-diameter (hence more mature) trees, adjusted by forest type. At least half the stocking of an area of mature forest habitat should be in trees at least 10 inches in diameter, and at least 20% of stands beyond the riparian buffers should have half the stocking in trees greater than or equal to 16 inches in diameter.

Current research as well as guidelines for defining ecologically mature forests, such as those in Maine Audubon’s Forestry for Maine Birds, should be followed.

Second, limits should be placed on the size and distribution of clearcut or “shelterwood” harvest patches so that even-aged harvests are similar in size to those created by typical natural forest disturbance patterns. These changes will help ensure that the mature-forest block and connectivity requirements of the orders are met.

Third, because the forest impacts have already occurred, no cutting should be allowed in the few stands that meet or exceed the DEP-approved definition — which needs to be revised as described above — until the 50% or greater mature-forest goal is reached.

If allowed to stand, the definitions and management described in the forest management plan would set a terrible precedent for conserving mature forests in Maine. The BEP should uphold the appeal and establish standards for truly mature forest habitat.

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Rage Room in Portland, Maine, Developing ‘Scream Room’ Addition

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Rage Room in Portland, Maine, Developing ‘Scream Room’ Addition


For a lot of people throughout Maine, there’s some built up frustration that they’ve just been keeping inside.

That frustration can come in a lot of different forms. From finances to relationships to the world around you.

So it makes plenty of sense that a rage room opened in Portland, Maine, where people can let some of that frustration out.

It’s called Mayhem and people have been piling in to smash, crush and do dastardly things to inanimate objects that had no idea what was coming.

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But Mayhem has realized not everyone is down with swinging a sledgehammer. So they’ve decided to cook up something new.

Mayhem Creating ‘Scream Room’ at Their Space in Portland, Maine

Perhaps the thought of swinging a baseball bat and destroying a glass vase brings you joy. The thought of how sore your body will be after that moment makes you less excited.

Mayhem Portland has heard you loud and clear and is developing a new way to get the rage out. By just screaming.

Mayhem is working on opening their very first scream room. It’s exactly what you think it is, a safe place to spend some time just screaming all of the frustration out.

There isn’t an official opening date set yet but it’s coming soon along with pricing.

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Mayhem in Portland, Maine, Will Still Offer Rage Rooms and Paint Splatter

While a scream room is on the way, you can still experience a good time at Mayhem with one of their rage rooms or a paint splatter room.

Both can be experienced in either 20-minute or 30-minute sessions.

All the details including some age and attire requirements can be found here.

TripAdvisor’s Top 10 Things to do in Portland, Maine

Looking for fun things to do in Portland, ME? Here is what the reviewers on TripAdvisor say are the 10 best attractions.

This list was updated in March of 2026

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Gallery Credit: Chris Sedenka

Top 15 of The Most Powerful People in Maine

Ever wonder who the most powerful players are in Maine? I’ve got a list!

Gallery Credit: Getty Images





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