#mainepublic — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #mainepublic, aggregated by home.social.
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#Phytoplankton found in #CascoBay can harm aquatic life
#MainePublic | By Molly Enking
Published September 9, 2026"The Maine Department of Marine Resources is monitoring an algal bloom in Casco Bay that it says can be toxic to aquatic life, but not humans.
"The phytoplankton can turn the water brown and give off an odor, which was detected in Portland Harbor on Sunday, according to a social media post by the city Harbormaster.
"The first known outbreak of the same bacteria in Casco Bay was in 2017, which led to die-offs of shellfish and lobster.
"It is not yet clear whether fisheries are at risk during this outbreak; the DMR says it will continue to test and monitor waters, from Portland Harbor to Harpswell."
https://www.mainepublic.org/climate/2026-09-09/phytoplakton-found-in-casco-bay-can-harm-aquatic-life
#Maine #MaineNews #CascoBay #ToxicAlgae #MarineLife #WaterIsLife #ClimateChange #ClimateDiaryMaine #MPBN #KareniaMikimotoi
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More of this, please!!!
#RockportME - #Midcoast nonprofits team up to preserve historic #farmland — and build new #housing
Maine Public | By Nicole Ogrysko
Published November 29, 2025 at 8:31 AM EST"Two midcoast nonprofits are teaming up to preserve a historic dairy farm in Rockport — and build new affordable housing on site.
#MaineCoastHeritageTrust has owned more than 160 acres south of Route 90 for the last 15 years. The #EricksonFieldsPreserve has #WalkingTrails and a #CommunityGarden, where students have learned to grow produce for nearby #FoodBanks.
Recently, the Heritage Trust secured the farm's remaining six acres across the street, where the old farmhouse and dairy barn are located.
When a family member living in the farmhouse passed away a few years ago, Aaron Englander with the Maine Coast Heritage Trust said the nonprofit began to think about how the property could be preserved for community benefit.
Housing, Englander said, emerged as a clear need. The Heritage Trust acquired the six-acre property and plans to preserve five of them. It has donated the remaining acre to the #MidCoastRegionalHousingTrust, which plans to develop one and two-bedroom apartments.
The housing shortage is being felt throughout the region, said Jonathan Goss, president of the housing trust. Knox County needs nearly 1,300 new homes by the end of the decade.
'Services are being cut back or being lost because of a lack of employees,' he said. 'Everybody knows someone who either grew up here or had been living here who is not able to live here any longer.'
The housing trust plans to renovate the old farmhouse on site for rental housing first, and then construct eight new apartments for working families there later on. Goss said these are families with teachers, public safety officers, nurses and others who earn too much to qualify for subsidized housing, but not enough to afford a median-priced home in the region, which now surpasses $450,000.
Housing development is sometimes pitted against land and environmental conservation efforts. But Englander with the Maine Coast Heritage Trust said this project could serve as a statewide model for balancing those interests.
'[This can] show people that yes, you can conserve wildlife habitat, you can conserve farmland, soils and agricultural know-how, and you can create access to public lands and outdoor educational spaces all in one property,' he said."
#SolarPunkSunday #LandPreservation #AffordableHousing #PreservingWildlifeHabitats #Farmland #Conservation #Maine #MainePublic #PublicBroadcasting