Penelope Overton

Portland

Reporter at The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram

Ink-stained journalist @PressHerald in Maine. Now: environment and climate. Then: lobster, cannabis, politics.

Articles

Maine's next wildlife protection plan will consider climate threats

1 day ago | yahoo.com | Penelope Overton

Jun. 6—Maine is in the middle of writing its once-a-decade wildlife action plan, a conservation blueprint that will guide funding decisions, science and protection efforts. And, for the first time, the plan will emphasize the critical role of habitat protection, and consider how climate change affects local plants and animals.
Tracking Maine's wild mussel beds: declining or retreating into the deep?

1 week ago | yahoo.com | Penelope Overton

May 31—The wild blue mussel beds that once blanketed Maine's dynamic intertidal zone are disappearing, driven out by warming water that not only hurts the mussels themselves but benefits one of its chief predators, the highly invasive and always hungry green crab.
Artists use midnight performance to draw attention to rising seas

1 week ago | yahoo.com | Penelope Overton

May 28—A group of painters, dancers and sculptors waded through the shin-high tidal flood waters of Portland's waterfront after midnight Tuesday to highlight fair-weather sea level rise and the need to document climate change impacts that happen when most people are sleeping. The king tide, projected to rise 11 feet, 6 inches, flooded the wharves, piers and parking lots along Commercial Street early Wednesday. Garbage truck drivers dodged puddles. Bar workers waded out to parked cars.
Peregrine falcons show signs of national decline, but not in Maine

1 week ago | yahoo.com | Penelope Overton

May 27—After rebounding from near extinction, Maine's peregrine falcons appear to be holding steady, producing more chicks than usual last year to remain seemingly unaffected by the avian flu that is killing peregrines in other shoreline states. In 2024, about 35 years after their reintroduction to Maine, 33 peregrine falcon pairs raised 46 babies to their fledgling stage, or at least 28 days of age, resulting in a productivity rate of 1.39.
After hailing them as important, EPA cancels PFAS research grants

2 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Penelope Overton

May 23—Despite hailing them as important, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has cancelled $15 million in grants to research and reduce the effect of forever chemicals on farms, including almost $5 million in local research projects to the University of Maine, the Mi'kmaq Nation and Passamaquoddy Tribe.
After hailing them as important, EPA cancels PFAS research grants

2 weeks ago | pfascentral.org | Penelope Overton

By Penelope Overton | The Portland Herald Press | May 23, 2025 Read the full article by Penelope Overton (The Portland Herald Press) "Despite hailing them as important, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has cancelled $15 million in grants to research and reduce the effect of forever chemicals on farms, including almost $5 million in local research projects to the University of Maine, the Mi’kmaq Nation and Passamaquoddy Tribe. “These funds were congressionally approved and...
Plan to loosen federal habitat protection seen as threat to iconic Maine wildlife

3 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Penelope Overton

May 15—The Trump administration wants to weaken federal habitat protections for imperiled plants and animals, and advocates in Maine say the changes could threaten some of the same species the state has been working to protect. Proposed federal changes would narrow the scope of the country's landmark Endangered Species Act, making it easier to obtain federal development permits in areas used by endangered wildlife for nesting, breeding and foraging.
Maine Sea Grant funding restored

1 month ago | yahoo.com | Penelope Overton

May 2—Federal funding for Maine Sea Grant has been restored. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration informed the University of Maine on Monday that it was reinstating all $4.5 million in federal funding it had previously cut from Maine Sea Grant. The 20-person program provides technical and research support to the state's fisheries and coastal economies.
Maine announces record $8M in state climate resilience grants

1 month ago | yahoo.com | Penelope Overton

May 1—KENNEBUNKPORT — During last winter's storms, rising seas drove the Kennebunk River to a record 11 feet and washed away dozens of local roads, sandy beaches and private homes, reaching such ferocity that it stripped the signature red shingles off a historic beachside hotel.
USDA cancels $35M climate grant to Freeport demonstration farm

1 month ago | yahoo.com | Penelope Overton

Apr. 21—After nearly three months of frozen payments, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has canceled a five-year, $35 million climate-smart agriculture grant to a Freeport demonstration farm. Wolfe's Neck Center for Agriculture & the Environment was informed last week that it had lost its grant because its overhead costs exceeded new guidelines set by the Trump administration, Wolfe's Neck communications director Harry Kimball said.