#ProtectTheForest

2025-10-21

This summer, Indigenous land defenders in “Quebec” made the logging lobby eat shit—blockades, pressure, the whole nine. But the state will try again. The Atikamekw are digging in for winter with a permanent camp to watch their forests and stop illegal cuts. Cold’s coming fast. Kick in so they’ve got what they need to hold the line.

Donate: gofund.me/fd5d9f6e2

#Atikamekw #LandBack #ProtectTheForest #StopLogging #Quebec #NoConsentNoContract

2025-09-25

#EmeraldAshBorer and Other #TreeHealth Concerns
#Maine #DACF Update for Cities and Towns

September 11, 2025
#MaineForestService

"On September 11, 2025, The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and the City of Belfast hosted a workshop to update city and town tree and forest managers and public works staff along with interested community members on the known status of emerald ash borer in Maine, local and state management efforts, municipal support opportunities, as well as a Q&A session."

Watch:
youtube.com/watch?v=JXFuktJRzS

#SaveTheForests #SaveTheAshTrees #Basketry #ProtectTheSacred #ProtectTheForest #AshTrees #MaineForests #MaineDepartmentOfAgriculture #MaineDepartmentOfAgricultureConservationAndForestry

2025-08-24

How #Guatemala, #Mexico, and #Belize plan to protect 14 million acres of #Mayan #Forest

Mexico, Guatemala and Belize have announced plans to create a huge reserve of tropical forest spanning across the three countries. Pushing out criminal gangs and protecting the land from ranchers, miners and loggers won’t be easy.

By Sonia Pérez D. And María Verza, Aug. 21, 2025

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — "Mexico, Guatemala and Belize have announced plans to create a huge reserve of tropical forest spanning across the three countries. Pushing out criminal gangs and protecting the land from ranchers, miners and loggers won’t be easy.
The nature reserve announced last week and called the #GreatMayanJungleBioculturalCorridor would stretch across jungle areas of southern Mexico and northern parts of the two Central American nations, encompassing more than 14 million acres (5.7 million hectares). It would become the second largest reserve in the Americas, behind only the Amazon.
In interviews this week, the environment ministers of Mexico and Guatemala emphasized the need for security, while also expressing the intention of administrations in both countries to avoid destructive projects in the area.

" 'The first thing is that the security forces begin to have a presence,' because the region has been abandoned and left to organized crime, Guatemala Environment Minister Patricia Orantes said. 'This is not primarily an environmental battle. We’re talking about the Guatemalan state needing to retake control of its territory.'

"#Environmental groups have long said that the jungle on both sides of the Mexico-Guatemala border is dotted with clandestine landing strips for cocaine-laden planes, smugglers moving migrants north and illegal loggers.

"Mexico Environment Secretary Alicia Bárcena said that all three countries will need to boost their security presence in the reserve. 'We’re not going to protect the forest ourselves, the security secretary has to help, the army,' Bárcena said.

Communities as allies

"Just sending troops will likely be insufficient, as Mexico’s experience along another part of its southern border in Chiapas has shown. Organized crime has infiltrated economically-strapped communities with few options and it has been difficult to root them out.

"Guatemalan lawyer and environmental activist Rafael Maldonado said it will be vital 'to convert communities that are believed to participate in drug trafficking into allies of the park.'

"To do that, Orantes said the government must offer economic alternatives to those residents.

"One proposal from Mexico is the expansion of its '#PlantingLife' program, which offers landowners money to grow certain kinds of #trees either for #fruit or #timber. The program has a $2 billion budget, Bárcena said.

"But the program, which dates to ex-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has faced criticism. In 2021, the World Resources Institute reported that it had actually incentivized deforestation in Campeche state. Bárcena said the program is being adjusted to better meet environmental objectives.

"Mexican sustainability and climate action expert Juan Carlos Franco, who works in southern Mexico, said security is crucial and requires the government to act as 'guarantor.' But the work has to be carried out with civil society in the #LocalCommunities, including in places where locals have found ways to coexist with the illegal activity surrounding them, he said.

" 'Communities oriented toward the #biocultural management of the territory can overcome despite the crime, that’s the most revealing message,' he said.

No #megaprojects

"Another challenge will be holding governments over the long term to commitments to forgo big projects that promise economic development but threaten environmental damage, such as Mexico’s tourist rail operation, the Maya Train, which Belize is interested in extending to its territory.

"Orantes, the Guatemala minister, said that Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo would not allow megaprojects in the reserve because when access is opened in the forest it becomes difficult to control everything that follows.

"Arévalo recently declined to renew the contract of a #petroleum company that had been operating for 40 years in a Guatemalan reserve known as the #Maya Biosphere.

"Guatemala is making the largest land contribution to the reserve, encompassing 27 existing protected areas. Arévalo had already made clear that he would not run an extension of the Maya Train proposed by Mexico’s last president through protected areas.
In Mexico, Bárcena noted that the 950-mile (1,500-kilometer) train line, which started running in late 2023 and goes in a rough loop around the Yucatan Peninsula, lies outside the new reserve’s territory.

"She said her agency was working to alleviate some of the environmental impacts of the train line, in collaboration with companies operated by the Mexican Army, which built a large portion of the rail line and operates the train.

"To avoid destructive projects in the new reserve, the three governments agreed to create a council made up of environmental authorities, as well as an Indigenous advisory council, Bárcena said. Any proposed projects in the reserve would have to pass through them.

"Some Mexican activists, like Pedro Uc who lives in the Yucatan, remain skeptical of the government’s commitment to conservation considering the same political party that brought the Maya Train remains in power in Mexico. Others like Franco are willing to move ahead and keep the pressure on the three governments to maintain their commitments."

Read more:
thestar.com/news/world/america

Archived version:
archive.ph/GyXR8

#SolarPunkSunday #ForestsAreLife #ProtectTheForest #PreserveNature #CentralAmerica

David Anthonytheactivistuk
2025-08-14
Greenpeace Internationalgreenpeace
2025-04-02

The consent check aims to ensure that timber from unsustainable sources does not enter the company's normal product flow. Such timber cannot be sold as sustainable or certified.

Let’s tell the shareholders the real story, not the SCA greenwashed version of events.

Continuity forests are important as carbon sinks, for biodiversity and contaisn lichen for grazing. If the current pace of logging in Sweden persists no continuity forest will eb left in a few decades. This would mean the death of raindeer herding which is the lifeblood of the Indigenous Sami community Timber trucks failing the control will be redirected to the headquarters. SCA Should be held accountable  for engaging in damaging practises with no regard to indigenous rights.
2025-03-14

Bills revive debate over #SearsIsland port plan

Maine Public | By Peter McGuire
Published March 12, 2025

"Lawmakers heard more than five hours of testimony Wednesday from both sides of a debate over preserving Sears Island in the Town of #Searsport.

"A pair of bills from state representative Reagan Paul would extend a #ConservationEasement across the island and restore #SandDuneProtections in a 330-acre parcel set aside for development.

"The Winterport Republican said it's time to end decades of controversial port proposals for the island in the town of Searsport. The latest plan is a floating offshore wind port by the Maine Department of Transportation that has so far failed to attract federal funding.

"'And yet #MDOT refuses to face reality, doubling down on failure and proving this is not about offshore wind, it is about pushing #IndustrialDevelopment at any cost,' Paul told members of the legislature's Environment and Natural Resources Committee.

"Local #conservationists support the proposal and said the highest and best use of the island is as a wild area. Any commercial development, including the wind port, can be done at nearby #MackPoint, a fuel and materials terminal."

Read more:
mainepublic.org/climate/2025-0
#SaveSearsIsland #ProtectNature #Maine #WindTurbines #WindPort #PenobscotBay #ProtectSearsIsland #ProtectTheForest #ProtectTheDunes #WindTerminal #SandDunes #ProtectWahsumkik #EndangeredSpecies

2025-03-07

YES! VICTORY! Public pushback makes a difference!

#MaineTurnpikeAuthority drops controversial #GorhamConnector project

by WGME Staff Thu, March 6th 2025 at 7:56 PM

GORHAM (WGME) – "The Maine Turnpike Authority is now dropping its controversial Gorham connector project.

"The project would have built a new highway from South Portland to Gorham, with the goal of easing heavy road congestion.

"The MTA paused the project last year after receiving backlash from local residents.

"The project would have required the demolition of nearly a dozen homes and confiscation of #farmland."

"'There was a lot of concern, and people wondered if it's the right-sized tool for the job, a lot of people have concerns that, building another highway, there's concerns that it will just fill up,' MTA Director of Communications Erin Courtney said.

The MTA says it's heading back to the drawing board to re-examine traffic conditions and review past mobility studies to find better ways to ease congestion in the area." [Like #LightRail, #RapidTransitBusLines and more #BikeLanes!]

wgme.com/news/local/maine-turn
#Maine #SaveSmilingHillFarm #SmilingHillFarm #InducedSprawl #GorhamConnector #MainersForSmarterTransportation #Maine #MaineNews #GorhamBypass #GorhamSpur #Maine #RapidTransit #SaveTheFarms #ProtectTheForest #InducedDemand #Sprawl #SaveRedBrook #ProtectTheWetlands #BrookTrout #SaveTheForest #Wildlife #HuskyLine #RapidBusTransit

Greenpeace Internationalgreenpeace
2025-02-03

"I really wish that the wider public would wake up to what we are leaving behind for those who come after us." – Pär Mikael Åhrén, Chairman of Ohredahke Sámi Community.

Here are testimonies from the reindeer herders of Ohredahke Sámi Community about how SCA, Sweden's and Europe's largest private forest owner, is systematically logging high conservation value forests in Sápmi.

2024-11-25

#Denmark will plant 1 billion #trees and convert 10% of #farmland into #forest

November 18, 2024

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — "Danish lawmakers on Monday agreed on a deal to plant 1 billion trees and convert 10% of farmland into forest and natural habitats over the next two decades in an effort to reduce fertilizer usage.

"The government called the agreement 'the biggest change to the Danish landscape in over 100 years.'

"'The Danish nature will change in a way we have not seen since the wetlands were drained in 1864,' said Jeppe Bruus, head of Denmark’s Green Tripartite Ministry, created to implement a green deal reached in June among farmers, the industry, the labor unions and environmental groups.

"Under the agreement, 43 billion kroner ($6.1 billion) have been earmarked to acquire land from farmers over the next two decades, the government said.

"Danish forests would grow on an additional 250,000 hectares (618,000 acres), and another 140,000 hectares (346,000 acres), which are currently cultivated on climate-damaging low-lying soils, must be converted to nature. Currently, 14.6% of land is covered by forests.
Advertisement

"The deal was reached by the three-party Danish government — made up of the Social Democrats, the Liberals and the center Moderates — and the Socialist People’s Party, the Conservatives, Liberal Alliance and the Social Liberal Party.

"A vote in parliament on the deal is considered a formality.

"In June, the government said livestock farmers will be taxed for the greenhouse gases emitted by their cows, sheep and pigs from 2030, the first country to do so as it targets a major source of methane emissions, one of the most potent gases contributing to global warming."

apnews.com/article/denmark-for

#ProtectTheForest #Rewilding #GlobalWarming #GreenhouseGases #Livestock #Forests

2024-10-23

Good! Build it on #MackPoint, not #SearsIsland! Feds reject Maine’s request for $456 million to build proposed wind port at Sears Island

by Stephen Singer
October 22, 2024

"Rolf Olsen, vice president of the board of #FriendsOfSearsIsland, which manages a portion of the island set aside for #conservation, and an opponent of the Sears Island proposed site, said the federal decision 'would appear to be a significant financial blow' to develop the manufacturing facility.

"'We’re somewhat encouraged that the state’s port development grant application was turned down, especially since it only considered developing Sears Island and not Mack Point,' he said.

Source:
pressherald.com/2024/10/22/fed

Archived version:
archive.md/ej9E4

#SaveSearsIsland #ProtectNature #Maine #WindTurbines #WindPort #Maine #PenobscotBay #ProtectSearsIsland #ProtectTheForest #ProtectTheDunes #WindTerminal #SandDunes
#ProtectWahsumkik #EndangeredSpecies

2024-10-03

#ScarboroughMaine Town Council rescinds support for #GorhamConnector

The 6-1 vote on the resolution follows increasing opposition among town residents to the controversial $331 million, 5-mile highway, which would affect 35 property owners in town.

by Drew Johnson
10/2/2024

"The vote was not unexpected; a majority of councilors had voiced support for the resolution at a meeting last month.

"Myles Smith, a member of the #MainersForSmarterTransportation group that organized a rally outside Town Hall Wednesday night, commended the council for taking up the resolution.

"'We’ve heard a lot of people say, ‘There’s nothing we can do about this project,’ ‘It’s a done deal,’ or ‘It’s decided by the state,’ ' Smith said. 'But that’s not true. When people come together and stand up for what they believe in, and our elected leaders listen to their concerns, we can make changes that people want to see in their community.'

"The resolution rescinds the council’s support for the connector, citing the failure of the #MaineTurnpikeAuthority to fulfill the terms of its agreement with Scarborough and three other communities, as well as town residents’ widespread opposition to the project.

"The resolution is not binding on future councils and leaves open the possibility of collaborating with state and regional transportation groups to resolve traffic issues should such efforts garner significant public support.

"The Maine Turnpike Authority, Scarborough, Gorham, South Portland and Westbrook signed an agreement in May 2022 pledging support for the project. While those other communities have not officially considered withdrawing their support, officials in the other municipalities have been watching the Scarborough council’s deliberations closely as public opposition to the project mounts.

"The project, estimated to cost at least $331 million, was proposed by the turnpike authority to alleviate traffic congestion through the Gorham area and has been contentious from the outset.

"The four-lane, 5-mile connector would stretch from Route 114 at the Gorham Bypass into Scarborough with interchanges at County and Running Hill roads before linking up with Interstate 95 at Exit 45 in South Portland. It’s designed to alleviate traffic in other parts of those communities, such as on Route 114 and Route 22, which provide connections to the highway.

"According to a turnpike authority presentation to the Scarborough council in February, about 50 landowners would be impacted by the project via easements, 35 of them in Scarborough. The connector also would weave through #wetlands in the northern portion of town, sparking #environmental concerns.

"The preferred path also is set to cut through a portion of #SmilingHillFarm in #WestbrookMaine, a family-owned farm on 500 acres that has been in the Knight family for 13 generations, which spurred widespread opposition to the project.

"'I’m hoping today that the Town Council members decide to put a pause on this and to talk to the MTA about finding alternate routes or scrapping this project altogether,' Ben Wallace, a 12th-generation farmer at Smiling Hill Farm, said ahead of the vote."

Original article:
pressherald.com/2024/10/02/sca

Archived version:
archive.md/dkvkB#selection-248

#Maine #MaineNews #SaveSmilingHillFarm #GorhamBypass #SaveSmilingHill #GorhamSpur
#Maine #RapidTransit #LightRail #SaveTheFarms #ProtectTheForest #InducedDemand #Sprawl #SaveRedBrook #ProtectTheWetlands #BrookTrout

2024-10-02

UPDATE: Scarborough withdrew their support for the Gorham Connector!

So, the word I'm hearing is that so many people showed up at a recent meeting voicing their opposition, the #ScarboroughMaine Town Council has no choice but to withdraw their support.

Scarborough council to vote on withdrawing support for #GorhamConnector

by Aysia Reed, WGME
Wed, October 2nd 2024

wgme.com/news/local/scarboroug

#Maine #MaineNews #SaveSmilingHillFarm #GorhamBypass #SaveSmilingHill #GorhamSpur
#Maine #RapidTransit #LightRail #SaveTheFarms #ProtectTheForest #InducedDemand #Sprawl

2024-08-31

Upcoming meeting! Find out about alternatives to the #GorhamConnector in Southern #Maine! #LessCars, #MorePublicTransportation!

Gorham Notes: Aug. 29, 2024
by Robert Lowell

"Gorham connector forum
#MainersForSmarterTransportation have a community forum planned from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5, at the #WestbrookMaine Community Center on the proposed Gorham Connector to the #MaineTurnpike.

"The #MaineTurnpikeAuthority is proposing a 5-mile, four-lane connector from the roundabout on Gorham’s South Street to Exit 45 in South Portland.
The plan calls for the connector to slice through #SmilingHillFarm and has generated an extensive public outcry. The connector is aimed at easing the heavy commuter traffic in the routes 22 and 114 corridor through #GorhamMaine, #ScarboroughMaine and Westbrook."

Original article [may be behind paywall]:
pressherald.com/2024/08/29/gor

Archive:
archive.md/qDpDR#selection-239

#SaveSmilingHillFarm #GorhamConnector #GorhamBypass #SaveSmilingHill #GorhamSpur
#Maine #RapidTransit #LightRail #SaveTheFarms #ProtectTheForest #InducedDemand #Sprawl #SaveRedBrook

2024-08-20

#Searsport information session addresses questions about offshore #WindPort

By Marleigha Clipston
Published: Aug. 13, 2024 at 9:11 PM EDT

SEARSPORT, Maine (WABI) - "The Searsport Select Board held an informational meeting with representatives from #MaineDOT and the Maine Port Authority to discuss the state’s proposed offshore wind port.

"At Tuesday night’s meeting the select board asked questions that were submitted ahead of time regarding the wind port and the impacts it would have on the area.

"In February, the state announced the preferred location for the wind port is #SearsIsland.

"Many residents have spoken out against the wind port being built on Sears Island suggesting #MackPoint as an alternative location.

"Representatives from the state say they are still very early in the process which will take years.

"'Local people should be listened to in this process and heard that we really need to have an undeveloped Island to go to and for the animals and plants,' said Chris Buchanan, Campaign to #ProtectSearsIsland.

“'You know, we talked about carbon sequestration, having mature ecology, like an intact ecosystem, is way more important than building out offshore wind. We could do that on industrial sites that already exist,' said Buchanan.

“'Its still an ongoing process. I mean, the permitting process here, we anticipate to take a minimum of two years. We hope to do that concurrently with the NEPA process,' said Matthew Burns, Maine Port Authority’s Executive Director.

“'And I mean, ultimately, you know, the final decision is to find the least #environmentally damaging, practical alternative. We’re committed to doing that. and have devoted a lot of resources to make sure we do right,' said Burns.

"Over 70 questions were submitted and many were not addressed due to time constraints.

"The town and the state plan to hold more meetings going forward."

wabi.tv/2024/08/14/searsport-i

#ProtectSearsIsland #WindTerminal #SandDunes
#Searsport #ProtectWahsumkik #MackPoint #Wahsumkik
#EndangeredSpecies #ProtectTheDunes #GovernorJanetMills #ProtectTheForest #CorporateColonialism #Wassumkeag

2024-08-20

CALL TO ACTION!

Can you attend this event for
#Wahsumkik / #SearsIsland?

"Floating Offshore Wind 101 - An Educational Panel with Q&A."

Wednesday, August 21st
Bucksport 5:30-7:30pm

Center for Professional Mariner Development
24 Mariner Way
Bucksport, #Maine

FMI -
facebook.com/events/8262715729

#WindPort #MackPoint ProtectSearsIsland #WindTerminal #SandDunes
#Searsport #ProtectWahsumkik #EndangeredSpecies #ProtectTheDunes #GovernorJanetMills #ProtectTheForest #CorporateColonialism #Wassumkeag

A flyer for an event, showing an island covered in trees at the bottom of the flyer.

The text reads:
Call to Action!
Can you attend this event for
Wahsumkik / Sears Island?
"Floating Offshore Wind 101 - 
An Educational Panel with Q&A."
Wednesday, August 21st
Bucksport 5:30-7:30pm
Center for Professional Mariner Development
24 Mariner Way
Bucksport, Maine
2024-07-26

Proposed offshore #WindPort on #SearsIsland raises new conflicts for coastal Mainers, environmental activists

Residents concerned about both #ClimateChange and preservation are conflicted over plans for a facility on Sears Island that could be key to launching Maine's offshore wind industry

Annie Ropeik, The Maine Monitor
July 14, 2024

"Dow and activists like Huber want the port built instead at a #SpragueEnergy-owned oil and logistics terminal across the water known as #MackPoint. It was considered as an alternative in lengthy public processes in recent years, and Sprague and opponents of the Sears Island proposal have continued to urge reconsideration for it so far this summer.

"Offshore wind has taken some big steps forward in Maine this year. Federal regulators approved a state research array of floating turbines, which generate power in deep waters far offshore, and are nearing leasing for commercial projects.

"A new state law calls for #Maine to procure 3 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2040, using union- standard labor to build the projects and a floating wind-focused port.

"Formal environmental assessments and site analyses are still pending. But state port authority director Matthew Burns wrote in June that Mack Point’s 'physical and logistical constraints, need for significant dredging, and increased costs to taxpayers for land leasing and port construction would result in an expensive and inferior port for Maine compared to a versatile, purpose-built port on Sears Island.'

"Still, opponents worry that #wetlands and #forests on Sears Island could be disrupted by port construction, even if most of the surrounding #ecosystem remains intact.

"'Because we have to sacrifice something, let’s sacrifice something irreplaceable, instead of cleaning up a dirty old existing port?' Huber said outside the event. 'That’s just ridiculous.'"

pressherald.com/2024/07/14/pro

Archived version:
archive.md/HBPgT
#ProtectSearsIsland #WindTerminal #SandDunes
#Searsport #ProtectWahsumkik #MackPoint #Wahsumkik
#EndangeredSpecies #ProtectTheDunes #GovernorJanetMills #ProtectTheForest #CorporateColonialism #Wassumkeag

2024-07-23

#Kayapó #ForestDefenders Urge #UnitedNations to Help Halt Illegal #GoldMining in #Brazil

By #BrendaNorrell, #CensoredNews
July 23, 2024

GENEVA -- "#Indigenous from Brazil urged the United Nations to join them and demand Brazil halt illegal gold mining, and its #mercury #contamination, now destroying the ancestral homelands of #Kayapó, #Yanomami and #Munduruku Peoples, during the U.N. Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

"Doto Takak Ire, Mebêngôkre, said, 'The Kayapó are still warriors and we will always be defenders of the forests.'

"'We do not want any kind of #exploitation of #NaturalResources in our territories. We want the #Amazon protected, so that our children and all the children of the world can grow up healthy.'"

Read more:
bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2024/07

#NoGoldMining #NoMining #NoMiningWithoutConsent #ProtectTheForest #ProtectTheAmazon #IndigenousPeoples #IndigenousRights #CulturalGenocide #WaterIsLife #Pollution

2024-07-17

Common #Wildlife of #Wassumkeag Island (#SearsIsland)

"This is an ongoing list of the types of wildlife found on Wassumkeag (Sears) Island. It is based on reported observations. There are many other animal species on Sears Island, however, that have not been seen so are not included in this list. The list does not include most aquatic or tidal organisms. Please see our other guide for birds. New species will be added in future updates so check back.

American Mink

American Red Squirrel

American Toad

Common Garter Snake

Common Porcupine

Common Raccoon

Deer Mouse

Eastern Chipmunk

Eastern Cottontail

Eastern Gray Squirrel

Harbor Seal

Moose

Northeastern coyote

Ribbon Snake

Smooth Greensnake

Spring Peeper

Striped Skunk

White-tailed Deer

Wood Frog

Yellow-Spotted Salamander"

Source:
inaturalist.org/guides/3233

"We welcome your submissions of observations! Please visit our website at friendsofsearsisland.org/explo to log observations. You may also add species to our Inaturalist Project, 'Plants and Animals of Sears Island.'"

#SaveSearsIsland #ProtectNature #WednesdaysForWildlife #Maine #WindTurbines #WindPort #PenobscotBay #ProtectSearsIsland #ProtectTheForest #ProtectTheDunes #WindTerminal #SandDunes
#ProtectWahsumkik #EndangeredSpecies #GovernorJanetMills #GreenEnergy #MackPoint

2024-07-17

#SearsIsland Bird Images
by Karl Gerstenberger

"To date, birders have spotted 222 species of birds on Sears Island, representing 47% of all bird species recorded in #Maine. In Derek Lovitch’s 2017 book #Birdwatching in Maine, he states that 'Sears Island…is by far the shining gem of Maine coastal birding' in the area of #coastline between Rockland and Mount Desert Island..'"

friendsofsearsisland.org/explo

#ProtectSearsIsland #WindTerminal #SandDunes
#Searsport #ProtectWahsumkik #MackPoint #Wahsumkik
#EndangeredSpecies #ProtectTheDunes #GovernorJanetMills #ProtectTheForest #CorporateColonialism #Wassumkeag #WednesdaysForWildlife

2024-07-17

#SearsIsland: The Answer to Green Energy, Or Home to #Biodiverse #Wildlife?

by Freyja Grey
Jul 16, 2024

"The #Wabanaki people indigenous to the area named Sears Island #Wassumkeag, or Shining Beach. The tribes used the island to hunt and fish for centuries.

"McCarthy said, 'They've been documented archeologically to have had a presence here for at least thirty-five hundred years.... There's a bio-regional perspective that considers all the relations: the #insects, the #grasses, the #trees, the #eelgrass, the #birds, the critters that roam these woods — if you really want to speak for Sears Island, it's incumbent, not just for poets and photographers and old hippies, it's incumbent for all of us to be mindful of all that is happening here.'

"McCarthy said he gets why the island is an attractive place for development. 'We're in a time where wind energy is important,' he said. 'We need to find green sources of power, but the narrowness of that human perspective needs to be challenged.'

"Both McCarthy and Lawless join the group #FriendsOfSearsIsland in maintaining that #MackPoint is better situated for development.

"Even though 600 acres of the island are protected by a conservation easement, industrial disruption to the peaceful island could lead to #environmental impacts that may not be fully realized until after development, according to McCarthy."

Read more:
freepressonline.com/news/sears

#SaveSearsIsland #ProtectNature #WednesdaysForWildlife #Maine #WindTurbines #WindPort #Maine #PenobscotBay #ProtectSearsIsland #ProtectTheForest #ProtectTheDunes #WindTerminal #SandDunes
#ProtectWahsumkik #EndangeredSpecies #GovernorJanetMills #GreenEnergy

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Server: https://mastodon.social
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