PRESQUE ISLE, Maine (WAGM) – This week we are taking a look at the five referendum questions on this year’s ballot. Question 3 on this year’s referendum is a bond question. It states… “Do you favor a $10,000,000 bond issue to restore historic buildings owned by governmental and nonprofit organizations, with funds being issued contingent on a 25% local match requirement from either private or nonprofit sources?”
Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said, “This question, like the other bond questions, originated with a bill put forward in the legislature to authorize a bond issue to restore historic community buildings. Now, those funds would be issued contingent on a 25% local match from either private or nonprofit sources.”
This means an organization must be able to fund 25% of the total amount they’ve requested to be eligible to receive funds. The decision on whether or not an organization would receive this funding goes through the Maine Historic Preservation Commission. Secretary Bellows, “The legislature hasn’t designated certain buildings that will receive the money or not get the money. That will be the purview of the Maine Historic Preservation Commission. This was sponsored by State Senator Rick Bennett, a Republican of Oxford County, and if it is passed by the voters, then the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, we will oversee dispersing grants.”
Voters can find more information on question three and the other referendum questions in the Maine Citizens’ Guide to the Referendum Election Questions on the maine.gov website. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows says this resource allows folks to take a deeper look at the questions before casting their ballot.
The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife expanded the hunting season for gray squirrels by a month and shifted youth waterfowl hunting dates in the north zone to start and end a week later than last year.
The bounty of food, including acorns, in the last few years has helped the gray squirrel population increase to a point that the department felt the hunting season could be expanded, especially in southern and central Maine. It will be held from the last Saturday in September through the end of January.
The season has in past years ended on Dec. 31.
Hunting of small mammals and birds is more appealing to new hunters and youths than big game hunting, according to the department’s basis statement for the rule change. It also aligns Maine’s gray squirrel season with other New England states.
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“The one-month season extension would maintain healthy gray squirrel populations, avoid the time of year when females are rearing their young, and allow additional time to hunt outside of the popular big game seasons,” the department said.
Several people expressed support for the change through emails and a Facebook page focused on small game, according to testimony from Ed Stubbs.
Bag limits will remain the same at four daily and eight in the hunter’s possession at one time.
The eight members of the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Advisory Council who attended a meeting on March 18 voted unanimously to approve the expansion. A public hearing was held on March 6, where there was no opposition.
The season change does not affect hunting gray squirrels by falconry. That season will remain from the last Saturday in September through Feb. 28.
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There is no open trapping season for gray squirrels.
In a second rule change, the department altered the dates for migratory bird seasons to comply with the 2025 calendar. Most moved by just one day, except for north zone youth waterfowl season, which will shift a week later this year from Sept. 14-Dec. 7 to Sept. 20-Dec. 13.
A long-tailed duck. Credit: Courtesy of Dave Small
For other migratory bird seasons, it was simply a day shift. For example, woodcock season was Sept. 28-Nov. 19 in 2024 and will be Sept. 27-Nov. 18 this year.
Most migratory waterfowl bag limits are the same, except the number of pintail ducks has increased from one to three daily, and those on black ducks, scaup, scoters, eiders, coots and mergansers have special exceptions to the daily bag limit of six ducks.
Be sure to check on the specific bag limits and zone restrictions in the migratory game bird laws. They can be found here.
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Hunters also were warned to be aware of avian influenza. It has been found in southern and midcoast Maine in particular. There are no confirmed cases in the Bangor area. State upland biologist Kelsey Sullivan said during the public hearing that hunters should be diligent about processing meat and cleaning.
A wood duck. Credit: Courtesy of Dave Small
The migratory game bird rules are revised to implement the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the framework for them is provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The public hearing was held March 4, and included a presentation on the migratory game bird populations.
The changes were approved on April 9 without opposition.
All changes for the gray squirrel and migratory game bird hunts will go into effect on April 14.
Jordon Hudson attends the Sports Illustrated Super Bowl party Feb. 8 in New Orleans. Amy Harris/Invision/AP
Jordon Hudson, girlfriend of former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, announced she will compete for the title of Miss Maine USA.
Hudson, a 24-year-old entrepreneur from Hancock, announced Wednesday on Instagram that she will compete in the pageant as a representative of her hometown. She was the first runner up in the 2024 pageant.
Hudson has been dating Belichick, now the head football coach at the University of North Carolina, for more than two years.
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She frequently posts on Instagram about her love for Maine and support of the fishing industry. The daughter of a fisherman, she recently posted an open letter to the White House and President Donald Trump asking him to reconsider his decision to cut the federally funded Maine Sea Grant.
“This decision only amplified the uncertainty, anxiety and existential fears that already plague the fishermen of Maine,” she wrote. “It was the reckless regulatory decisions by government officials with no stake in those decisions that forced my 9th generation fishermen father out of this industry more than 15 years ago.”
The Trump administration later agreed to renegotiate funding for the $4.5 million award, which supports marine science research, workforce development and education across the state.
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Governor Janet Mills swore in Carl Wilson as Commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) April 8, following the Maine Senate’s unanimous vote to confirm his nomination.
“I thank the Maine Senate for its unanimous confirmation of Carl Wilson as Commissioner of the Department of Marine Resources,” said Governor Janet Mills, in an April 8 news release. “Carl’s extensive experience and deep understanding of Maine’s marine industries make him exceptionally qualified to lead DMR. I look forward to working with him to support the Maine people who make their living on the water and the communities that depend on them.”
“It is an honor to be confirmed as Commissioner of the Department of Marine Resources,” said Commissioner Carl Wilson. “I am committed to leading the Department’s efforts to sustainably manage Maine’s marine resources and support the individuals and industries that rely on them.”
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Wilson, of Alna, has served as Acting Commissioner of the Department since March 14, 2025. Prior to his appointment by Governor Mills, Wilson spent a decade as Director of the Department’s Bureau of Marine Science. He joined the Department in 1999 as the agency’s lead lobster biologist.
Governor Mills announced her intention to nominate Wilson on February 26, 2025, to succeed retired DMR Commissioner Patrick Keliher. The Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources unanimously recommended Wilson’s confirmation on April 3, 2025.
