Stories
On a perfect summer day at the summit of Acadia’s Cadillac Mountain, throngs of tourists are taking in the expansive view of rocky ledges, surrounding hills and the Gulf of Maine spreading out endlessly to the south. But Chris Nadeau is focused on the tiny plants at his feet, shooting up from thin soil between…
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Today’s offshore wind turbines stand taller than the Boston skyline. Each blade is about the length of a football field, which means 50 feet have to be cut off to get one inside the state’s Wind Technology Testing Center in Charlestown. That’s where the blade for Vineyard Wind went through strength testing earlier this year.…
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Before you can save a seed, you have to find it. On a clear day this summer, our search began just a few steps off a trail near a rocky ledge in southern Connecticut. “We’re looking for muhlenbergia capillaris, which is the hair cap muhly,” said Michael Piantedosi, director of conservation at the Native Plant Trust. Piantedosi’s…
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It’s fall foliage season, and climate change has made it harder to predict the timing and the vibrancy of the leaves, according to local biologists. The season is a multi-billion dollar industry for the region. The red, orange, and yellow shades of New England make it a beloved travel destination this time of year. But some…
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There are eight Maine rivers that are federally recognized as having distinct populations of Atlantic salmon, from the Sheepscot River in the Midcoast, to the Denny’s River Down East. But salmon also once spawned further north, in Aroostook County, and the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians is trying to bring them back by restoring not…
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From his pickup truck, Robbie Irving points to a wide irrigation system providing water to hundreds of acres of plants on the Caribou potato farm that his family has harvested since 1936. Irving’s grandfather started on the system decades ago, and Irving said it’s proved to be vital as temperatures in Aroostook County, Maine, have…
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on Wednesday funding for what’s being called a potentially transformational pilot program to help forest landowners in Maine and the rest of New England mitigate climate change. The goal of the program is to remove more carbon from the atmosphere by growing more and better quality wood, verifying the…
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You may have noticed that your most recent electric bill is higher than usual — and if that change hasn’t happened yet, it’s probably coming this fall. These price spikes are occurring across New England, but bills are rising more in some places than others. Some ratepayers in New Hampshire saw the price of electricity double…
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An international seafood rating program has red-listed the American lobster because it poses a threat to the survival of endangered North Atlantic right whales. The designation from Seafood Watch means the group is urging businesses and consumers to avoid buying lobster. Seafood Watch, a program out of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, says entanglement in fishing…
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