The Old Town City Council may be involved in controversy regarding reports of misinformation, private information doxxing and dismissal of hunting concerns. Many outlets, such as AP News, the Portland Press Herald and News Center Maine, covered the recent news that the Sunday hunting ban has been upheld by Maine’s Supreme Court. A lawsuit in 2022 argued that the state’s “right to food” amendment should permit hunting on Sundays as to give enough time to forage food. Hunters and landowners alike are engaging in this debate. 

There have been two distinct sides of the argument. Mainers who are in favor of Sunday hunting feel they are denied an important chance to acquire meat for their families. 

Given Maine’s implied land use laws, those in opposition believe hunting on Sundays should continue to be banned to allow one day a week where they can be on their land without hunters. Although, if land is not explicitly posted, anyone may hunt without permission. 

Since 94% of Maine’s forest land is privately owned with over half being publicly accessible, regulations are debated at a state-level. The local underbelly of the issue revealed how far people will go to protect their right to hunt. 

Longstanding Old Town resident Patricia Lech presented a perspective raising questions about the veracity of local government in hunting contexts. Lech holds concerns about the deer population in Old Town and public safety in the backdrop of loose hunting regulations in Maine. However, in presenting her concerns to the Old Town City Council, she was allegedly met with a level of enmity and misinformation. 

Lech initially addressed the Council with numerous other concerned citizens in September 2023 in hopes of decreasing dangerous hunting practices. In Old Town, Lech discovered a diagram indicating that there is a 100-yard limit on hunting in residential areas. 

This diagram and other residential laws around hunting sparked concern regarding health and safety of both deer populations and the residents in Old Town and Orono. 

“Prior to 2021 in Maine, there was no limit on how close you can hunt near homes. In 2021, Statute was modified to limit bow hunting on property within 100 yards of home without property owner’s permission,” said Lech.

In Lech’s opinion, 100 yards is too close in proximity to a building. 

“Hunters do not say what happens after they wound a deer. Not all shot deer are going to stay in the little one-third of an acre backyard where they are shot,” Lech said. “No one wants to watch animals die outside of their windows.” 

Given the presence of children and families, the distance does not account for what happens when shot deer cannot be tracked. In 2006, one article accredited forty-six deer to have been “harvested” on Marsh Island with four shot deer that were not found regardless of the abilities of experienced hunters and use of tracking dogs. 

Lech discusses three other concerns she has regarding the general use of hunting in suburban areas (space that is not completely rural such as Old Town, Orono and on Marsh Island). Firstly, she mentions a study from Penn State that warned of the possibility of increased deer/auto-collisions resulting from dense hunting, counterintuitive to the basic notion that hunting will decrease deer collisions. 

“When there is a heavy density of hunters, it drives the deer from that area and so I think that is what is happening. People are saying they are seeing deer having their babies in the center of Old Town. They never saw a deer there before,” Lech said,  “It [dense hunting] changes the deer migration. The deer are going to move more at night than during the day because they realize hunting is going on during the day. It is harder to avoid deer during the night.” 

Additionally, Lech referenced another point of view, that Lyme disease may not be decreasing with more hunting, as originally hypothesized. The Maine Department of Fishing and Wildlife increased deer harvest in 2017 to address Lyme disease that can be transported through deer, but Lyme continued to increase. Instead, Lech encouraged homeowners to prevent Lyme in more homeopathic ways, using permethrin treated cotton in gardens and practicing tick safety. 

Lech theorized that increased hunting in more residential areas may give way to older hunters and inexperienced hunters that do not go deeper into Maine wilderness to forage. The proximity advantage may be less demanding for a hunter with possible eyesight issues, health issues and inexperience, but in return creates risk for those who live in such areas. 

Lech addressed these issues with many others at council meetings, emphasizing the legitimacy of her concerns. In return, they were dismissed on every issue, according to Lech. Laws and regulations that limited non-permit hunting in Marsh Island were not transparent as Lech had to personally seek out many local laws and ordinances. 

Beyond getting dismissed, Lech claimed that the minutes of several council meetings were not honestly recounted. In one instance, Lech attested about six people came to council to address these issues, but only three were accounted for. In a more striking example, Lech alleged minutes were erased completely from the Oct. 16 meeting. On Nov. 20, the warden attended the meeting, but was “not available to talk” about the citizens’ concerns, according to Lech. 

Finally, Lech and other residents’ personal home addresses were released into the minutes, even though they were not once presented or asked for in the meetings themselves. At the next hearing, Lech asked for that private, confidential information to be taken off of the minutes and the city’s public database. Her request was denied. 

To Lech, the new controversy and conversation regarding the Sunday Hunting ban being protected is the result of a larger concern.  Are the interests of the people being heard by the government? For this resident, there is a denial of ordinances and dismissal of concerns yet to be addressed. 

The Maine Campus reached out to the Old Town City Council for a statement and has not received a response.

The University of Maine’s Vice Presidential debate invited Senator(s) Kyle Ricker and Memphis Peterson, who is running alongside Presidential candidate Keegan Tripp. While Ricker has seniority as the longest-running senator, Peterson has tangible support from Tripp, a prominent UMSG figure. The debate questions will give the student body a better understanding of each candidate’s prowess. Will Ricker take the underdog vote, or will Peterson continue to gauge support with Tripp’s influence?

Which student concern do you feel should be of the highest priority to the executive team? Why is this? 

Ricker asserts that the biggest concern for students is academics as a whole. He further states that since students come to university for the end goal of a degree, advocating on behalf of this is most vital. Under his leadership, he would implement a 24/7 study space and further advocate for add/drop dates to serve the student body. 

Peterson, however, believes the biggest concern as the executive government has control is to “rebuild itself as a connective tissue.” This means making student government a unified front (frats, honors, students and clubs) to the administration. Being a collective as a campus is what Peterson’s campaign relies on.

What did this year’s executive team do well, and what would you do differently? 

Peterson believes that this year has been the best as of yet on account of the fluidity of roles. The Senate worked as a group with limited drama. The problem, as he asserts, is that many members are leaving after the spring semester. This professional, friendly and communicative bunch clearing out will prove to be a test. Peterson feels that the overall connection between executives and senators could have been stronger and thus would like to see barriers broken down as communication is less restricted by normative lengthy bureaucracy.

Ricker states that the work ethic amongst senators has been of great improvement. Instead of one initiative being worked on as a group, multiple have been able to be spearheaded. Ricker thinks that bringing more people into student government and widening understanding about UMaine concerns, in general, would be of influential help to the student body. More consistency and information sharing are most important. 

Do you have any concerns about the UMaine System and its decision-making process? 

Kyle Ricker believes student voices are needed more. Students in communities “should have a more tangible impact, their voices not only heard but getting acted upon.” Ricker raises concerns about transparency on who is making decisions for the UMaine body and how these decisions are made. He continues to describe how the student-faculty relationship is sensitive. He thinks UMSG should go to faculty, not with arms-swinging, but with cohesive listening and responding. 

Peterson talks about how many promises from auxiliary services have been made but not followed up on. Decision–making seems to be isolated from the student government; therefore, there should be a priority change to the student’s quality of life. While UMaine has pushed big projects with upsides, they are dismissive of present student’s needs. Peterson boils this down to how accountability needs to be taken seriously, going against Ricker’s ideas of faculty/student dynamics. He thinks accountability is more important than appeasement, scrutinizing faculty and UMSG. 

Do you (Peterson) feel you have the advantage in this election?

Peterson admits that his association with Tripp does give him influence, and he applauds Tripp’s work, which he asserts has greatly benefited thousands of students. 

Do you (Ricker) feel you are at a disadvantage?

Ricker reminds us of the 77% participation rate in the last election. He again states the importance of getting students involved in student government and having them more actively involved with group leaders on campus. 

However, Peterson refutes that this is a misunderstanding as the UMaine government is not rebuilding but innovating. Student Government has been growing, and Peterson accredited that to his and Tripp’s involvement. 

Would you say your opponent is qualified?

Ricker asserts that his opponent is qualified to be vice president as it is a precedent in his work. Peterson says that he and his opponent are the longest–serving senators, maintaining that Ricker is dedicated to being a leader.

Given those qualifications, what makes you a better candidate?

Peterson speaks to his multiple facets, given his record as chairman of many committees. He says he is happy to step back into a moderator role, given he understands the efficiency senators are capable of. 

Ricker, too, contends his membership with committees outside of student government. He says that this gives him a much–needed perspective on government policy. He also disagrees with Peterson, saying that the vice presidency is not a management role but an outspoken, active role.

Peterson agrees that not enough people know about student government, and therefore, it is important to go above and beyond when talking to the student body. However, he also stands by his and Tripp’s work, stating that he sees results from their advocacy. While there is more he hopes to do, he is happy with his current progress.

How can students hold you and other UMSG leaders accountable for less favorable decisions made in-office?

Ricker points back to the importance of outreach and students being informed to help address this issue.

Peterson agrees with Ricker’s sentiment that “just because there are more places to go, does not mean there is no progress.” He wants to make decisions to open up healthy discourse amongst the student body. 

What can make the Senate a more inclusive environment?

Peterson talks about outreach to other colleges at UMaine to get unique perspectives.

Ricker agrees with Peterson, giving precedent to having more widespread student understanding because UMSG could be missing out on possible amazing leaders. 

For Ricker: What would your potential partnership with President Tripp look like? 

Ricker asserts he would have a great working relationship as they have similar ideas about what would be best for student government. 

For Peterson: What would your potential future working relationship with Ricker look like? 

Peterson applauds his past and current relationship with Ricker, saying they “agree on the vision and are not afraid to disagree on how to get there.” Furthermore, he states that if they do not argue, they may miss potential ideas and improvements.

How will you bridge the gap between the student body and the administration?

Peterson wants to prevent the administration from filtering information through the UMSG and have them talk directly to the student body instead. 

Ricker again states the importance of reaching out and providing dialogue as a mediator between student organizations. 

Why are you a better choice than the opposing candidate? 

Ricker again talks about how he has been very involved on campus from many perspectives outside student government. He understands what it is like being another student trying to talk with the student government as opposed to Peterson’s more internal experience. 

Peterson says that he has the best understanding of what student government is. “Not trying to put out small fires but find the source and put them out,” is what he stands by. He is not afraid to speak up when something is wrong. Peterson argues that Ricker cannot keep up with his promises.

Last week, Orono’s tight-knit community spoke out with concern and shock after local police announced the discovery of a dog’s body in the Stillwater River. With no new information, the local story took national headlines over the past few days. Orono shares its bereavement with the rest of the country, hopeful for more information and identification of the culprit.

On Thursday, Feb. 15, the Orono Police Department released a statement saying the puppy’s corpse was found in the Stillwater River near Webster Park. The male goldendoodle dog was fished out of a backpack weighed down by a concrete block. Inside the bag, the lifeless puppy was still wearing its collar, a white band with rose gold embellishments. 

As the story gained attention, more and more people rushed to the internet with theories, outcries and supposed tactics. Coming to the investigators’ aides, commentators on Facebook gave ideas, from how to track down the owner of the Planet Fitness bag that the dog was found in to offering methods on spreading the news to lost dog sites to contributing possible clues. Another individual found that the collar on the puppy could be tracked through a Bangor pet store purchase. As the police continue to turn to Orono residents for help, the internet produces more propositions, with no new information turned up.

“If the puppy was stolen before tragic events happened, maybe someone put flyers up or contacted local vets about their puppy missing?” wrote a commenter on the Orono Police Department’s Facebook. 

Other individuals, given the information of the specific breed of puppy, urge police to find Maine breeders to track down the sale of the puppy. 

“Have we checked with breeders in the area? If it’s a puppy, I’m sure you can find who has sold Golden doodles recently.” Another commenter writes.

Other commenters wrote from different, if not adverse angles, raising concern from unpopular places: “Maybe there should be some concern over the individual that at one time was wearing the backpack? Could they be in the river too, but their body not found?”

This theory has been criticized, but with police not coming up with much, conjectures rise from states of uncertainty. 

“I don’t know. It’s winter in Maine, maybe the dear little thing just died, and the owner couldn’t afford a cremation? I am trying to think of situations that don’t involve animal cruelty… clearly, someone cared about the dog enough to get it a nice collar,” was written as another Facebook comment.

However, not everyone shocked by the case carries such positive ambivalent feelings toward this case. The police have marked this an animal cruelty case, some individuals hypothesizing possibilities of layered foul play. 

“The fact that it had a collar on makes me think it wasn’t the owner that did this,” wrote another Facebook commenter. 

This tragedy left the community scrambling for reasoning and seeking closure. However, as time passes since the puppy was found and the publishing of news articles becomes further apart, the community is forced to move past this with no explanation. The Orono Police have yet to give any new information, although their helpline is still open. Anyone with information is asked to contact Orono Detective Sergeant Mike Cyr at (207) 866-4000 or via email at mcyr@orono.org.

Democratic Governor Janet Mills delivered the State of the State Address on Jan. 30, 2024, in which she addressed completed projects since her inauguration in January 2019 and plans for Maine’s future. Her highly anticipated speech went through state-related topics since COVID-19: the economy, healthcare, housing, the opioid epidemic, child safety, state tragedy and their effect on the state budget.

Mills credited herself and her administration with growth since the pandemic, announcing a 9.2% increase in the GDP, a 2.4% population increase, a 24% personal income increase and a 12% worker productivity increase. She also addressed initiatives such as the Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan, which gave $175 million to thousands of Maine businesses, and the “Made for Maine Health Coverage Act” law.

“Before I took office, Maine was frequently at the bottom of the list of states for economic growth. This improvement didn’t happen by accident. With the support of the Legislature, we have been making investments in Maine people that have helped create the conditions for robust economic growth,” said Mills. 

Mills went on to highlight her hand in creating the Emergency Housing Relief Fund, which has supported 7,000 Mainers since its enactment, and the Housing First Program, a long-term plan that addresses the needs of the homeless. Buckling down on her fight against the opioid crisis, Mills emphasized her actions since her inauguration in expanding Medicaid, distributing Naloxone, enacting a new Good Samaritan Law, creating the OPTIONS program and inflating Medication-Assisted Treatments to prisons, prioritizing recovery and prevention in the war on drugs. 

“Despite the very real challenges we have faced over the past several months, our state is getting stronger every day,” Mills said. 

For the future of Maine, Mills plans to implement various programs to supplement her existing courses of action. Of prime concern is the long-term maintenance of the economy. Budget shortfalls in states like New York, Maryland and California, were shown to negatively affect the quality of life for civilians after the federal pandemic funding ended. 

Eager to keep Maine’s projected $265 million revenue by the end of 2025, Mills plans to incorporate programs this upcoming year to balance the state budget and optimize citizen happiness. 

The Dirigo Business Incentive program will take effect next year, allowing businesses to get tax credits to make investments and train employees. Maine’s first paid family and medical leave program’s benefits will also begin two years from now. Additionally, Mills proposed dedicating $22.6 million of the revenues to public school funding and reforming MaineCare payment rates.

To optimize the previously stated Emergency Housing Relief Fund, Mills proposed $16 million to help those struggling for stability. She plans on continuing her work expanding prevention programs in schools to keep young people from abusing drugs, to which she credits these policies as the reason for an expected 16% fatal overdose decrease from 2023. 

Through a supplemental budget, Mills hopes to expand teams of caseworkers to better child welfare in Maine. Giving priority to better pay, the governor will ensure fair compensation. 

“My administration has been guided by the belief that to strengthen our state, we have to invest in our greatest asset: the people of Maine. Those investments are working, but we still have more to do to ensure that our state is the best place in the nation to live, work, and raise a family,” Mills stated.

In Governor Mills’ secondary State of the State address, Mills touched on the more recent hardships in Maine. In particular, she talked about the recent heartbreaks: the Lewiston shooting, catastrophic storms that changed the landscape of Maine and the looming effects of global warming. Nevertheless, Mills remains optimistic, saying that the resilience of Mainers gives a clear path to a more positive future. She proposed adding $5 million to the Community Resilience Partnership to give citizens the tools to improve infrastructure for weather events and increase gun purchase safety measures. 

In the wake of hardship, Mills encourages Mainers not to harden uncharitable positions of each other, to not lose themselves and to work on finding solutions in the honor “for the victims of yesterday’s horrors, for the survivors of today, and the vulnerable of tomorrow.” 

University of Maine’s beloved Bananas T. Bear was not always a person in a suit. The first mascot was a living, breathing black bear gifted to the university’s football team in 1914. From then on, a tradition that involved the lives of more than 16 black bears in a 51-year period was born.

In “The History of the Maine Blackbear,” the Sigma Xi chapter documented the chronicles of the living mascots. These archives highlighted the loose whereabouts of the bears as well as indicating possible mistreatment. The Beta Theta Pi fraternity, who took responsibility for Bananas for many years, reportedly kept the bears in a pump house on campus for hibernation. This pump house was the main livelihood site and plot of interest amongst local historians. This piece of UMaine’s history ended after the state outlawed live animal mascots in 1966. Old photos and university lore have become the legacy of the many bear mascots that once lived on campus, or so many thought.

From Aug. 21 to 25, 2023, an interdisciplinary collaboration at UMaine took up an excavation to find the documented pump house/ “bears den” on campus. This archaeological dig began as an exploratory work to add to undergraduate students’ research learning experience (RLE) curriculum. In under a week of digging, however, the finds provided a glimpse into the worlds of the original Bananas. With leadership from Professor Daniel Sandweiss and Hudson Museum Director Gretchen Faulkner, help from assorted faculty, and a more than 10-person excavation crew, Ph.D. candidates Emily Blackwood and Elizabeth Leclerc sat down to discuss their bearings operation. They used the documents in the university archives to generate questions and goals for the excavation.

“From that historical record, we identified some research questions, things that were not documented that well, or things that we wanted to know more about that archaeology can tell us. A lot of the bears only lived for a year or two while they were mascots,” Leclerc stated. “We know anecdotally that the fraternity was feeding them food scraps, leftovers, and at least several of the bears died from food poisoning. We were hoping to identify food remains so we can see in better detail what kind of things the bears were being fed, what their diets were, and how they were being taken care of.” 

Those research questions came to a head with various complications during the excavation, stemming from Maine’s climate. Preservation of organic materials relies on unchanging cold, arid or waterlogged conditions. Maine can be notoriously humid and fluctuates in its temperatures. Moreover,  the soil here is acidic and ill-suited for preserving remnants of the past. 

The pump house’s earliest map was from 1890 but disappeared in the early 1930s. While this timeline indicates the bears’ den are from recent history, Maine soil and conditions leave the site’s integrity in danger of decomposition. During the excavation, the team discovered glass bottles, shards of window panes, coal and slag, pieces of plates from the 1800s and the believed edges of the pump house foundation on the property line. Other artifacts, such as the rubber sole of a shoe, an Edison light bulb and small bone fragment particles (unidentifiable to species), all of which were subject to decay, were found.

“Maine’s soils are very acidic, so they are not the best for preservation. All those little pieces of bone, they may have been too small to identify anyway, but they are also extremely fragile because of the soil. We are talking about just over 100 years. Even over that time frame, the bones do not preserve, and they degrade really quickly,” said Leclerc.

While not the most productive for archaeologists, this climate still yielded interesting findings, particularly an overabundance of slag in the dig area. This slag, a by-product of smelting coal, produced a stratigraphic layer of black, hard-to-dig material sludge. While it is still unclear whether it was the original place where the slag was created, the pump house may have gotten so hot at some points that the slag was formed.

Additionally, the excavation team believed they had recovered a piece of bone resembling a bear’s metatarsal bone. However, inspection by the Hudson Museum’s faunal expert, Sky Heller, proved it was a piece of slag that looked like a bone. While this was a slight disappointment, the site still produced valuable information that contributes to the overall narrative of what was going on at the site. It was determined to be nothing more than bone-shaped slag. The excavated area is rich with the possibility of more findings.

This excavation is likely to become a yearly event as the archaeologists are eager to continue uncovering a piece of UMaine history. This project was developed as an opportunity for RLE students interested in undertaking an interdisciplinary approach to archaeological excavation. 

The findings in just a few days in August 2023 are promising. The outer foundation of the pump house has been pinpointed after decades of uncertainty, historical artifacts were found, and remnants of bone have been uncovered. While certain contexts are still sought out, UMaine, unlike ever before, can take a materialized view of our past. 

University of Maine’s beloved Bananas T. Bear was not always a person in a suit. The first mascot was a living, breathing black bear gifted to the university’s football team in 1914. From then on, a tradition that involved the lives of more than 16 black bears in a 51-year period was born.

In “The History of the Maine Blackbear,” the Sigma Xi chapter documented the chronicles of the living mascots. These archives highlighted the loose whereabouts of the bears as well as indicating possible mistreatment. The Beta Theta Pi fraternity, who took responsibility for Bananas for many years, reportedly kept the bears in a pump house on campus for hibernation. This pump house was the main livelihood site and plot of interest amongst local historians. This piece of UMaine’s history ended after the state outlawed live animal mascots in 1966. Old photos and university lore have become the legacy of the many bear mascots that once lived on campus, or so many thought.

From Aug. 21 to 25, 2023, an interdisciplinary collaboration at UMaine took up an excavation to find the documented pump house/ “bears den” on campus. This archaeological dig began as an exploratory work to add to undergraduate students’ research learning experience (RLE) curriculum. In under a week of digging, however, the finds provided a glimpse into the worlds of the original Bananas. With leadership from Professor Daniel Sandweiss and Hudson Museum Director Gretchen Faulkner, help from assorted faculty, and a more than 10-person excavation crew, Ph.D. candidates Emily Blackwood and Elizabeth Leclerc sat down to discuss their bearings operation. They used the documents in the university archives to generate questions and goals for the excavation.

“From that historical record, we identified some research questions, things that were not documented that well, or things that we wanted to know more about that archaeology can tell us. A lot of the bears only lived for a year or two while they were mascots,” Leclerc stated. “We know anecdotally that the fraternity was feeding them food scraps, leftovers, and at least several of the bears died from food poisoning. We were hoping to identify food remains so we can see in better detail what kind of things the bears were being fed, what their diets were, and how they were being taken care of.” 

Those research questions came to a head with various complications during the excavation, stemming from Maine’s climate. Preservation of organic materials relies on unchanging cold, arid or waterlogged conditions. Maine can be notoriously humid and fluctuates in its temperatures. Moreover,  the soil here is acidic and ill-suited for preserving remnants of the past. 

The pump house’s earliest map was from 1890 but disappeared in the early 1930s. While this timeline indicates the bears’ den are from recent history, Maine soil and conditions leave the site’s integrity in danger of decomposition. During the excavation, the team discovered glass bottles, shards of window panes, coal and slag, pieces of plates from the 1800s and the believed edges of the pump house foundation on the property line. Other artifacts, such as the rubber sole of a shoe, an Edison light bulb and small bone fragment particles (unidentifiable to species), all of which were subject to decay, were found.

“Maine’s soils are very acidic, so they are not the best for preservation. All those little pieces of bone, they may have been too small to identify anyway, but they are also extremely fragile because of the soil. We are talking about just over 100 years. Even over that time frame, the bones do not preserve, and they degrade really quickly,” said Leclerc.

While not the most productive for archaeologists, this climate still yielded interesting findings, particularly an overabundance of slag in the dig area. This slag, a by-product of smelting coal, produced a stratigraphic layer of black, hard-to-dig material sludge. While it is still unclear whether it was the original place where the slag was created, the pump house may have gotten so hot at some points that the slag was formed.

Additionally, the excavation team believed they had recovered a piece of bone resembling a bear’s metatarsal bone. However, inspection by the Hudson Museum’s faunal expert, Sky Heller, proved it was a piece of slag that looked like a bone. While this was a slight disappointment, the site still produced valuable information that contributes to the overall narrative of what was going on at the site. It was determined to be nothing more than bone-shaped slag. The excavated area is rich with the possibility of more findings.

This excavation is likely to become a yearly event as the archaeologists are eager to continue uncovering a piece of UMaine history. This project was developed as an opportunity for RLE students interested in undertaking an interdisciplinary approach to archaeological excavation. 

The findings in just a few days in August 2023 are promising. The outer foundation of the pump house has been pinpointed after decades of uncertainty, historical artifacts were found, and remnants of bone have been uncovered. While certain contexts are still sought out, UMaine, unlike ever before, can take a materialized view of our past. 

Maine has an abundance of beauty. It is known for Acadia National Park, the crown jewel of the North Atlantic Coast. Mount Katahdin, Maine’s tallest peak, invites tourism in heaps to hike and enjoy its excellence. So much love for Maine and appreciation for its natural wonders — but how much love is too much? 

On Monday, Nov. 27, 2023, Aislinn Sarnacki, an outdoor journalist for the Bangor Daily News, lectured about conservation in Maine. A born and raised Mainer, Sarnacki is an alumnus of the University of Maine who graduated in 2010. Before her decade working for Bangor Daily News, Sarnacki got her start as a journalist for The Maine Campus.

Over the past ten years, she has explored the wilderness and trails of Maine, cultivating her weekly columns, writing three hiking guidebooks and increasing her knowledge of the natural landscape. In this lecture, she discussed the impending fears around popular natural areas, specifically Katahdin and Acadia. 

“Loving the wilderness to death: that is what we are doing, especially in the national parks, our more popular state parks. Katahdin is one of the places we are concerned about. In Maine, we have a couple of really popular spots. Katahdin is one of them. There is a high demand to hike Maine’s tallest mountain. How do we spread people out?” Sarnacki said.

Sarnacki’s goal, amongst many others in this field of conservation, is to limit the amount of overpopulation in given areas. More visitors in condensed wildlife zones have critical effects on the natural environment: resource damage, environmental degradation, noise pollution, and other problems that disrupt the habitats. Naturally, the most popular areas are experiencing the most turmoil. As she states,  “In Maine, Acadia has seen a market increase in visitation in recent years. Baxter State Park [has seen] the same thing.”

Sarnacki’s mission is to show people a more broad, diverse arraignment of trails and sights throughout Maine to address overcrowding. Through her books, columns, and social media, Sarnacki pushes hikers to spread out to other trails, hike in the off-season and to be educated on “leave no trace” practices. All of these methods mitigate overcrowding. Sarnacki highlights the importance of individual change.

“Through a conservation perspective, people are who are conserving and saving the world, just as we are also destroying it. So we have to also conserve it. It is up to us. On an individual level, it takes people who care. In order to care about the wilderness, I think people need to spend time in it. Fall in love with it. Forge connections with it,” Sarnacki said.

Before greater change can happen, people on a smaller, individual scale must take heed in their actions. This idea that Sarnacki discusses is tied closely to “leave no trace,” an environmental idea made up of seven principles (plan ahead, travel and camp on durable surfaces, dispose of waste properly, leave what you find, minimize campfire impact and being considerate of other visitors) that minimize the impacts of time outdoors. From individual action to population, Sarnacki hopes for Maine’s natural beauty to be loved in a way that does not cause harm.

The State of Maine has a checkered past in regard to LGBTQ+ issues. In the midst of the University of Maine’s Wilde-Stein club’s anniversary, it is vital to understand major past landmarks in order to prevent them from repeating themselves. 

1820: Maine continued Massachusetts’ Sodomy laws. 

“That if any man shall commit the crime against nature with a man or male child, or man or woman shall have carnal copulation with a beast…” 

1840: Heterosexual sodomy was made criminal.

1938:  In State v. Cyr, it was ruled that fellatio fell under the scope of the sodomy statute as being a “crime against nature.”

1950: State v. Townsend ruled that sodomy law was broadened to include acts of cunnilingus.

1973: Founding of Wilde-Stein Club at the University of Maine.

1976: Maine’s statutory criminalization of same-sex activity was repealed.

2012: A bill for legalizing same-sex marriage was approved in Maine.

2023: Anti-Trans bills on the rise in the US.

The current President of the Wilde-Stein Club (UMaine’s Queer-Straight Alliance), Kass Belaya, discusses these landmarks in honor of the 50th anniversary of the club (Oct. 13, 2023). While there has been significant progress for LGBTQ+ people since its founding, Belaya said, “People should have realized that discrimination wasn’t so long ago.”

Steve Bull, one of the original founders of Wilde-Stein, discusses the “ebbs and flows in social struggle.” 

“I always retain my appetite to fight and that has not changed, the fire has not been extinguished…right now, the onslaught of attacks on transgender folks is just, universal around the country; physical attacks as well… those in power are making the people fight against each other rather than against the system,” Bull stated.

The Wilde-Stein Club was created first and foremost as a community. It was made not to be political but to be a support system. Unfortunately, when it was founded, it was made to be a controversial entity. The community was hit with backlash after a dance held in December 1973. There was a legislative battle from right-wing forces that fought against UMaine for adopting the club. They threatened to pull funding due to the notion that the club was in violation of Maine’s sodomy laws that were still active at the time. 

Being a battleground state, every enemy of LGBTQ+ rights spurred just as many supporters of the gay liberation movement. Not only being a powerful political domain, Maine is significantly more rural than other places that were beacons of queer organizations at the time (Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City). This pursuit for community brought support from unlikely places, i.e. certain clergy members in Maine that signed on behalf of Wilde-Stein. Essentially, with every piece of resistance brought another piece of support that eventually resulted in the Maine Gay Symposiums further concreting the club. 

 “The opposition forces shot themselves in the foot,” Bull said. 

After Wilde-Stein won its battle with newfound support, the club’s members wanted to lean into its original purpose: to be a community. Their fight, however, was not over. In 1975, Maine repealed their harmful Sodomy Laws that cost the happiness and safety of queer people for far too long. The waves after the 70s seemed to calm, but those social justice “ebbs and flows” never seem to cease. The LGBTQ+ communities defeated the sodomy law, only to be hit with the AIDs epidemic a few years later. However, even though these ebbs and flows persisted, Wilde-Stein stayed strong.

Following the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court Ruling on same-sex marriage, Belaya and Bull have noted an attitude towards LGBTQ persons. Belaya said the attitude is something like this, “You did your fight, so you can be done now.” While the change since the founding of Wilde-Stein is extensive, it is not yet complete. The fight continues for the queer community, as Bull called attention to. The current president of Wilde-Stein is in a hard position; on the one hand, they “hope to one day see there is a 100th anniversary” of the club, but they also hope the world will be in a better place where it will not be necessary to partake in social justice. 

In the height of new anti-trans bills in the US, Maine LGBTQ+ historian Megan MacGregor, tries to deduct the sanctity of queer people in light of new bans. MacGregor hopes for a positive future in Maine and within the Wilde-Stein club. While she sees Maine in a good position, highlighting its civil rights protection and better comparative legislation, there is still anxiety about history repeating itself. MacGregor hopes for Maine to “hold the line, but never go backward” in relation to social justice matters. 

For an understanding of the present, we must look to the past. The Wilde-Stein Club’s online exhibit can be visited here.

On Oct. 2nd, Fogler held a meeting to discuss the impacts of overpopulation and climate change on Acadia National Park. The panelists, John Daigle, Kevin Schneider and Ken Olson, discussed the ways they fight against this destruction as well as new initiatives the park actively makes to support a successful environment. 

Kevin Schneider, the superintendent of Acadia National Park, delves into the problems of unavoidable climate change and how it will change the park. As he says above, pretending to be ignorant of this is making an active decision of destruction. Schneider predicts that in 100 years, the red spruce tree, the staple landmark of Acadia, will be heavily in decline. If heat-trapping pollutants continue at their current levels, Acadia’s temperatures may be 8.5°F hotter by 2070-2099 than it was in 1961-1990. To address this, Schneider reveals plans to begin assisted migration in the park, instituting treatment for different plant species and planting new native species of trees. 

Schneider also reports the fair free buses in Acadia help with both mitigating crowds and offsetting emissions that would otherwise be made with multitudes of cars. The superintendent discussed the pathways to take when delving into climate change: resistance, acceptance and direction (RAD). 

Directing change is imperative now to serve the park’s main goals. 

“Our mission is to preserve these places unimpaired for future generations… we have to do no harm so these places can be transformative…We plan to have solar facilities in 10 years so that all park operations are carbon neutral,” said Schneider.

Another forthcoming issue on the rise in Acadia is overpopulation. This overwhelm as retired President and CEO of Friends of Acadia Ken Olson raises the question, 

“According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2021, there were 3 million people [visiting Acadia National Park]. Today, just 20 years later, [it is] more than 4 million. Where are these people going to go?” Olson said. 

Furthermore, Schneider highlights that in just a 10-year time frame, visitation has increased 70%, but the budget has gone down 18%. This means that the park gets all of the negative connotations of excess crowding, such as resource damage, delays in emergency response and gridlock without the resources to support it. 

“In 2018, 80 times we had to close the road from traffic. This caused so many problems. 911 was called. That is not the experience people want when they come to Acadia,” Schneider said. 

In order to combat the problems that crowds bring to the park, Acadia National Park, with the support from Friends of Acadia, is running the Island Explorer Bus System, a fair free bus circulating the area. This helps with emissions, as well as crowding, traffic congestion, and, in turn, emergency response time. While the park is actively working to improve this system and mainline it more, this complex invites another host of problems, mainly due to the lack of drivers and employees. While the park needs 175 employees, it only employs 115 people as of now. This is because the only housing offered for employees holds 80 people. 

Kevin Schneider lays out this hostile cycle of success management in the park that constantly needs improvement. Overcrowding is an issue tied to housing that, with the support of partners, is still seeking development to better support the guests. Alongside the bus, vehicle reservation is being utilized especially on Cadillac Mountain. 

“(Overcrowding) is not the experience that people are coming to Acadia National Park to get and that is what this notion of vehicle reservation comes in. We have this asset of parking, and it is utilizing that available parking to manage the sort of turnover rate to the amount of cars it can accommodate,” Olson said. 

Along with continued partnership and progression with Friends of Acadia, the park will continue to work with the increasing number of visitors to better sanctify the experience and health of Acadia. A large takeaway from the meeting was the panelists discussing the importance of education surrounding Acadia, including the importance of knowledgeability surrounding climate and population issues. With help from the Schoodic Institute, the panelists with Acadia are committed to the sanctity of the park. 

The only follow-up to this is, will these measures be enough?