This week, we’re looking back on some of the notable stories from 2024 that The Maine Monitor reported on in three of our signature coverage areas: the environment, the Western Maine region and the Downeast Maine region.

Each of these stories were, respectively, highlighted in our Climate Monitor, Western Maine Monitor and Downeast Monitor newsletters this weekend.

Environment

Hydropower accounts for roughly half of the renewable energy generated in Maine. What will happen as dams disappear? In his three-part series, Divided on Dams, Emmett Gartner examined the uncertain future that Maine’s dams face.

Between 28 and 57 percent of the state’s coastal marshes could disappear by the end of the century, victims of a rising sea, coastal development and polluted runoff. Kate Cough, in partnership with the Portland Press Herald, explored how Maine’s coastal marshes are at risk as sea levels rise in her Sinking in Saltwater series.

Coastal residents concerned for both climate change and ecological preservation are conflicted over the planned location of a facility that advocates say will help launch Maine’s offshore wind industry, Annie Ropeik reported in a collaborative story with the Energy News Network and Grist.

Community solar is booming in Maine, but who owns the projects? A Maine Monitor analysis by Murray Carpenter found developers have bundled projects, then sold them to some of the world’s largest corporations and investment firms.

Residents of an oft-flooded pier in downtown Portland are aware of the bottom line: “The water is making the decisions for us.” The low-lying wharf offers early glimpses of how coastal Mainers are adapting to a rising sea, according to reporting by Tux Turkel.

As ecotourism grows, so does the desire to maintain Downeast’s wild character, as Joyce Kryszak found. “They want to build attractions, but the fact that there is nothing here is the attraction.” 

Western Maine

The abrupt end to a committee in Franklin County tasked with distributing money from a massive opioid settlement that raised questions about the process in Western Maine and beyond. 

In Phillips, 46 of the fire department’s 254 calls were for medical response, even though the department is not certified in emergency medical services. As it turns out, that’s a trend around Maine.

Modivcare, contracted to provide rides in Franklin and Oxford counties, is failing to live up to its agreement with the state, according to patients and advocates. 

Administrators in the Mt. Blue Regional School District struggled in early 2024 to improve attendance rates as parents and students readjusted after the pandemic.

Farmington’s only homeless shelter closed in 2020, and efforts to open a new one have failed.

We spent a lot of time reporting on disaster resilience this year and extensively covered how officials are preparing for future flooding: Emmett Gartner covered how Norridgewock is prepping for its next disaster, and also reported how area towns are working together this year and eyeing new resilience projects. Ben Hanstein reported on the fall out after Phillips dredged a river as they prepare to undo it.

Downeast Maine

Libraries, particularly in Washington County, offer not only books but internet access and community workforce support, as Joyce Kryszak reported. 

Emily Bader analyzed several years worth of yellow flag data and found that Washington County lags in removing weapons from people at risk.

Adrienne Washington reported on how cancer patients in Washington and Aroostook Counties must contend with long travel times to treatment. 

A debate over a six-unit project in Mount Desert pitted millionaire summer residents against both the town and a pair of billionaire brothers, as Josh Keefe reported.

Jacqueline Weaver covered the fall out of the Downeast floods by reporting how coastal towns, businesses contemplated whether to rebuild or retreat, how businesses learned lessons from the storms, and the debate over fixing or abandoning a stretch of Seawall Road.

Nate Hathaway reported on how a transfer of 30,000 acres near Mount Katahdin is part of a growing movement to return lands to Native tribes.

The Monitor followed the progress (or, at times, lack of) of the Machias dike in March and in August, and once more in November.

Kate Cough reported on how Callahan Mine cleanup is set to be finished by 2026, and detailed the significance the area has in Maine’s aquaculture history.