Emmett Gartner

81 posts

Emmett Gartner is an environmental reporter for The Maine Monitor. Having grown up on the Chesapeake Bay, Emmett has long been interested in stories of adaptation and accountability.

He joined the newsroom in 2023 as a Roy W. Howard fellow and now explores how environmental policy aligns with Mainers’ lived experiences and where climate change complicates the status quo.

Previously, he reported for a daily newspaper in Maryland and spent separate summer stints working as a trail maintenance worker in Nevada, a wildland firefighter in Oregon and an environmental educator on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

Contact Emmett with questions, concerns or story ideas: emmett@themainemonitor.org

Language(s) Spoken: English

A group of people attend a hearing in Bucksport.

Hancock County reps push for bill that would help transfer abandoned dams to towns

Officials have said delays in enactment could result in the drainage of three lakes through the state’s abandonment statute. A separate bill would bolster Maine’s authority in overseeing that process.

ByEmmett Gartner

April 6, 2025

Lawmakers’ change to airport habitat bill leaves both aviation officials and environmentalists baffled

At issue is a piece of legislation that would loosen development restrictions meant to protect endangered species, which aviation officials say create safety concerns.

ByEmmett Gartner

March 29, 2025

Feds recommend four Kennebec River dams continue operating with minor fish passage modifications

The report has been criticized by groups that worry the dams will result in the collapse of endangered Atlantic salmon and sturgeon populations.

ByEmmett Gartner

March 14, 2025

Town officials and homeowners rally in support of bipartisan climate preparedness bill

The bill would create three new initiatives, largely in response to the recommendations of a state climate resilience commission.

ByEmmett Gartner

February 28, 2025

Storm surge in Camden pushed water onto public walkways.

While home insurance rates spike elsewhere, Maine leads country in stability

Maine has been the least impacted by climate change-fueled insurance rate increases nationwide, report finds.

ByEmmett Gartner

February 22, 2025

Dover-Foxcroft stares down massive tax hike to maintain ailing dam

Without outside funding, maintaining the dam to federal standards would run the town just under $10 million.

ByEmmett Gartner

February 14, 2025

New bills could allow towns to come together and take over abandoned dams

Hancock County lawmakers are planning legislation that would address dam abandonment in response to a debate over three Bucksport-area dams.

ByEmmett Gartner

January 31, 2025