Maine foliage peaking in the north, looking vibrant south

    AUGUSTA – There’s lots of peak color on the Maine Department of Conservation’s fourth fall foliage report of the season. But with two weeks of reporting left, officials says there is no need for foliage fans to panic about upcoming visits to the state.      Forest rangers are now observing early peak conditions of at least 75 percent color change in all of northern Maine from Fort Kent to Jackman, Greenville and Millinocket. Peak color is also being reported in the western lakes and mountains region between Bethel and Eustis. Leaf drop is low, or less than 30 percent, in each of these areas, and the vibrant color is expected to remain through next week.
     “Rangers in the northern tracking zones have told me that the color is beautiful and will continue to change over the next several days before reaching 100 percent peak,” said Gale Ross, who gathers observations from rangers at the Department of Conservation.
    Hurricane Kyle had no negative effect on the turning foliage along Maine’s Downeast coast between Belfast and Calais. Leaf drop in the region is still low, and leaf color is now moderate, or 30 to 50 percent toward peak.
     Foliage color has reached high, between 50 and 70 percent toward peak, around Dover-Foxcroft in central Maine and the Bangor region, while conditions are now moderate from the Augusta region southeast to Sebago Lake and Fryeburg.
    The southern coast now has high color overall with low leaf drop. The dramatic one-week change from low to high color in this region is due to healthy trees that extended their normal growing season.
     “Good moisture conditions allowed trees to be photosynthetically efficient and active a little later into the fall,” said Bill Ostrofsky, a forest pathologist with the Maine Forest Service. “A few cold nights and the change in day length made the colors develop more rapidly than usual.”
     This weekend experience the foliage with the annual leaf-peeping event at Big Rock in Mars Hill. See the lighthouses and fall colors along the Kennebec River on a tour from Bath with Long Reach Cruises, Friday, Sunday and Monday through Oct. 13. Or just enjoy a ride in your favorite wooded area.
    To provide the most accurate foliage information, Department of Conservation rangers will report statewide conditions every Wednesday through Oct. 15. The reports are posted online at www.mainefoliage.com, and visitors to the Web site can sign up to receive the weekly reports by e-mail or RSS feed.
    For more information about events and activities happening in Maine this fall, log onto www.visitmaine.com.