The open source computer model that Jose Meireles is developing will use genetic analysis and reflective light to study already collected plants, saving field and lab time and money and protecting rare plants from destruction.
Penelope Overton
Staff Writer
Penny Overton is excited to be the Portland Press Herald’s first climate reporter. Since joining the paper in 2016, she has written about Maine’s lobster and cannabis industries, covered state politics and spent a fellowship year exploring the impact of climate change on the lobster fishery with the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team. Before moving to Maine, she has covered politics, environment, casino gambling and tribal issues in Florida, Connecticut, and Arizona. Her favorite assignments allow her to introduce readers to unusual people, cultures, or subjects. When off the clock, Penny is usually getting lost in a new book at a local coffeehouse, watching foreign crime shows or planning her family’s next adventure.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Federal cuts may hurt Maine’s ability to meet climate goals, scientists say
Reduced federal funding and staffing could hinder the Maine Climate Council’s ability to prepare for and track climate change, as well as the state’s ability to meet greenhouse gas reduction goals.
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Posted inLocal & State, News
Maine’s next wildlife protection plan will consider climate threats
The once-a-decade conservation blueprint will weigh climate change threats, include plants as well as animals and emphasize habitat protection.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Maine tree spraying will kill any caterpillars, not just forest pests
While not toxic to people or most animals, pesticides to protect spruce and fir trees against budworm could also hurt the caterpillar form of two threatened butterflies. Spraying supporters say plans call for a targeted approach.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Tracking Maine’s wild mussel beds: Declining or retreating into the deep?
The Gulf of Maine Research Institute would like the public to help hunt for wild mussel beds below the low-tide line.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Peregrine falcons show signs of national decline, but not in Maine
The deadly avian flu killing falcons in other states hasn’t hit here, but biologists still worry about Maine’s peregrine population because it’s so small.
Posted inLocal & State, News
After hailing them as important, EPA cancels PFAS research grants
Termination notices to Maine grant recipients said the work was ‘no longer consistent with EPA funding priorities.’ At least 2 of the 3 Maine recipients plan to appeal the termination.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Plan to loosen federal habitat protection seen as threat to iconic Maine wildlife
Maine has its own state endangered species law, but environmentalists say a proposed change in federal law could hurt some Maine species the state has worked to protect.
Posted inLocal & State, News
Maine announces record $8M in state climate resilience grants
More than 150 communities across the state are included in the latest round of state climate resilience grants announced by Gov. Janet Mills in Kennebunkport, which was heavily damaged by back-to-back storms in January 2024.
Posted inBusiness, Local & State, News
USDA cancels $35M climate grant to Freeport demonstration farm
The termination letter said Wolfe’s Neck Center for Agriculture & the Environment failed to pay at least 65% of its climate-smart agriculture grant directly to farmers.