Last January, back-to-back storms tore up more than half of Maine’s working waterfront infrastructure and flooded countless homes and businesses along the coast, including much of Harpswell.
This winter, a group of educators, working waterfront advocates and emergency management experts is hosting a series of talks in 10 Maine coastal areas to help them prepare for the next weather-related disaster.
In mid-November, the group visited Bath for a seminar that drew more than 50 community leaders from towns including Harpswell, Arrowsic, Georgetown and Phippsburg. The series is titled “Resources for Storm Response and Preparedness in Working Waterfront Communities.”
“This is kind of a tough topic for some people, because there’s been some serious loss,” said Natalie Springuel, Marine Extension program leader at Maine Sea Grant, a University of Maine program that supports coastal research and education. “This is hard stuff.”
The seminar series is a joint project of Maine Sea Grant, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Island Institute, the state Department of Marine Resources’ Maine Coastal Program, and UMaine’s Marine Aligned Research, Innovation and Nationally-recognized Education initiative, also known as MARINE.
It was organized in response to the January 2024 storms. The series’ goals are to help waterfront communities take stock of their resilience since the storms, share resilience projects and strategies, learn about available resources for working waterfront resilience, and identify “systems and networks” communities can access to better prepare for future disasters.
Organizers also promoted community support resources for residents, such as StrengthenME, which hosts a disaster distress hotline at 800-985-5990 to help those in need of mental health care as a result of natural disasters. Residents can also dial 211 or text their ZIP code to 898-211.
Speakers at the Bath seminar included local leaders from Phippsburg, who discussed the town’s ongoing efforts to assess its vulnerability to future climate-related events. It has received a $10,000 grant from Island Institute for that purpose.
Phippsburg has created a Climate Resilience Committee, as well as a town climate resilience coordinator position, and is in the process of trying to gather relevant data about private properties to include in its vulnerability assessment.
“Getting written permission from landowners has not been accomplished yet,” said Phippsburg resident Merrill “Merry” Chapin, who serves on multiple town committees.
Chapin said the Island Institute recommended that Phippsburg reach out to Monique Coombs, director of community programs for the Brunswick-based Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association. She said Coombs, of Orr’s Island, has been “invaluable” in helping the committee tap into a broader network of resources and funding.
Chapin said Coombs has urged the community to adopt a “right to fish” ordinance similar to the policy Harpswell adopted in July, to help protect the community’s working waterfront from future threats, including gentrification.
Coombs also invited Phippsburg to join a regional cohort to apply for grants through NOAA’s Saltonstall-Kennedy Program, which funds projects that support U.S. fisheries. Harpswell is also part of the cohort.
Leaders from Georgetown and Arrowsic described taking similar steps to promote emergency preparedness, such as holding community meetings on storm readiness, forming resilience committees and developing climate action plans.
Harpswell created its own Resiliency and Sustainability Committee in 2022, replacing a temporary task force that had convened in late 2020 to assess the vulnerability of town infrastructure to climate change and the potential economic, cultural and ecological impacts. The committee is led by Mary Ann Nahf, who attended the Bath seminar.
Harpswell’s efforts include several projects to design fixes for roads and town landings where flooding could cut off residents from their homes and fishermen from their wharves, along with the creation of a reserve fund to help fund such projects.
Also attending the Bath seminar were representatives of local and regional emergency management and aid organizations, including the Sagadahoc County Emergency Management Agency and American Red Cross of Northern New England. They pledged to continue serving communities in times of greatest need, such as during and after devastating coastal storms.
Georgetown Town Administrator and Orr’s Island resident Tyler Washburn told seminar attendees he will never forget witnessing coastal buildings being washed away into the ocean during the January storms, including a building that was on fire.
Homes that had served multiple generations of families were destroyed, Washburn said. “Those days are never going to leave me.”
