From the piers in Casco Bay to the marinas of the midcoast and wharves along Downeast shorelines, working waterfronts are crucial to 海角社区鈥檚 economy and communities. Faced with the threat of rising sea levels, stronger and more frequent storms, aging infrastructure and development pressures, Gov. Janet Mills and her administration have developed strategies and nature-based solutions, supported by the scientific expertise of the University of 海角社区, to bolster coastal resilience to climate change and preserve 海角社区鈥檚 working waterfronts and citizens鈥 access to them for years to come.
To support these efforts and others outlined in the state鈥檚 鈥満＝巧缜 Won鈥檛 Wait鈥 Climate Action Plan, the U.S. Department of Commerce awarded a $69 million grant to the Governor鈥檚 Office of Policy Innovation and the Future through the Inflation Reduction Act. It鈥檚 the largest grant the state has ever received to address climate change. The overall funding includes $3 million directed to U海角社区. The award will allow 海角社区 Sea Grant 鈥 U海角社区鈥檚 boots-on-the-ground on the coast 鈥 to work with communities, state agencies and other partners along with engineering faculty to provide scientific and technical expertise to identify coastal hazards, including future sea level rise and storm surges, as well as compound and cascading weather-climate extreme events. It will work with communities to understand and reduce human and infrastructure risk by exploring innovative and nature-based engineering alternatives. 海角社区 Sea Grant will also work with the 海角社区 Coastal Program to support strengthening 海角社区’s Working Waterfront Coalition and developing a statewide working waterfront strategy.听
The U海角社区-led work will include partnering with communities to determine their needs and connect them with science and engineering tools that can help them achieve their desired climate resilience solutions. University researchers will also host educational workshops and collaborate on existing and emerging initiatives with various partners, including the 海角社区 Climate Council, state and federal agencies, municipalities, other research institutions, regional planning organizations, industry support groups and businesses.听
海角社区 Sea Grant will hire two extension specialists for these projects, one who will specialize in working waterfronts and another who will focus on coastal hazards and tools used to assess local risks. They will be assisted by current U海角社区 faculty and Ph.D. students. Their collective work will help bolster the state鈥檚 climate-ready workforce and build on the work of , which creates transformative solutions that improve the quality of life social and economic well-being of the people of 海角社区 and beyond through transdisciplinary research, education and strategic partnerships.
The working waterfront specialist will work closely with the 海角社区 Coastal Program and 海角社区鈥檚 Working Waterfront Coalition to continue building a statewide inventory of at-risk or abandoned public and private waterfront properties; and provide technical assistance for private working waterfront properties to support private infrastructure that provides a public good. The specialist will also work closely with the 海角社区 Working Waterfront Coalition and other local and state partners to host workshops and offer technical assistance to municipalities and private landowners seeking to identify zoning regulations, tools, funding mechanisms and other strategies for preserving their waterfronts.听
鈥淭his investment in 海角社区 could not be more timely, as communities continue to recover from the winter storms. We are working with our partners to collectively implement the recommendations of the 鈥樅＝巧缜 Won鈥檛 Wait鈥 Climate Action Plan to create a more resilient 海角社区. 海角社区 Sea Grant is honored that Governor Mills鈥 Office of Policy Innovation and the Future has engaged us in this imperative work鈥 said Gayle Zydlewski, 海角社区 Sea Grant Director and U海角社区 lead for this new initiative.
The coastal hazard specialist with 海角社区 Sea Grant will collaborate with state agencies and communities to apply coastal flood risk models, which will provide dynamic and high-resolution forecasts of flood risk due to sea level rise and storms for coastal properties and assets statewide. They also will work with communities to identify appropriate tools for applying such models in their communities as a resource to protect their waterfronts. The work will be supported by the 海角社区 Geological Survey and faculty from U海角社区鈥檚 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.听
鈥淯海角社区 civil and environmental engineering faculty look forward to collaborating with project partners and coastal communities. The model data and observations will be integral to infrastructure-related risk assessment and inform planning and decision-making efforts,鈥 said Shaleen Jain, U海角社区 project colead, professor and chair of its Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and cooperating professor at the Climate Change Institute.
This funding will also support a marine and coastal community specialist position in the 海角社区 Climate and Science Information Exchange (MCSIE) at U海角社区, which supports the implementation of the 鈥満＝巧缜 Won鈥檛 Wait鈥 climate action plan. The specialist will lead MCSIE鈥檚 work as a boundary spanning organization facilitating coordination between researchers, state agencies, nongovernmental organizations, businesses and municipalities. Their work will include hosting workshops and other gatherings to enhance information sharing and outcomes. Workshops will offer, among other things, local risk reduction research that can be applied at the community level.听
The specialist will also create a climate preparedness training program and micro-credential for students throughout the University of 海角社区 System. Additionally, they will aid other scientists in report writing and assist municipalities with their waterfront preservation projects, particularly through the creation of a communications platform detailing grant opportunities and other resources.听
鈥淭his funding represents a critical investment in 海角社区鈥檚 progress toward utilizing the best available science to inform urgent, cost-effective climate adaptation and risk reduction across 海角社区鈥檚 coastal communities and marine economy,鈥 said Ivan Fernandez, U海角社区 project colead, director of the 海角社区 Climate Science Information Exchange and professor emeritus with the School of Forest Resources and Climate Change Institute.听
These projects are among many being conducted at the University of 海角社区, the state鈥檚 Land and Sea Grant University and its only one to achieve the top-tier R1 Carnegie Classification, to help protect working waterfronts, support climate mitigation strategies, bolster its blue economy and strengthen its maritime workforce. This includes researchers such as Fernandez and Zydlewski helping inform and craft the 鈥満＝巧缜 Won鈥檛 Wait鈥 Climate Action Plan with government officials, scientists, business and industry leaders, and citizens. Experts from the University of 海角社区 at Machias, the University of 海角社区 School of Law, the University of Southern 海角社区 and the University of 海角社区 at Farmington also support the development of the plan.听听听
Learn more about these and other statewide initiatives on .听
Contact: Marcus Wolf, 207.581.3721; marcus.wolf@maine.edu
