Adapting to Changes on Maine's Coast

Recommendations from the report, “People and Nature Adapting to a Changing Climate”

Malcolm Burson, ME Department of Environmental Protection

More than 80 stakeholders representing a diversity of interests were involved in producing this 2010 report. The Maine Legislature charged the group with developing preliminary recommendations for adapting to climate change.

A section of the report deals specifically with the coastal environment. Issues include flooding, beach and marsh migration, bluff erosion, public lands, infrastructure, salt water intrusion, stormwater, need for LiDAR mapping, downstream impacts of flooding in upland areas of wetlands.

We need to acknowledge and plan for the changes that we know are happening now, if we want communities to be sustainable. Reducing risk by armoring or elevating does not address all concerns – natural systems must also be sustainable. Local assessments are needed, led by local communities, especially since state and federal actions may be limited in the future.

Resiliency means our piers and harbors, water management, local roads and bridges, and sewage treatment plants need supplemental generators for back-up power and elevation above water level. State-owned water infrastructure and local roads need vulnerability assessments, as do critical habitats such as those for migratory birds.

We face some tough choices:

• Can we balance private property rights with protection of natural systems?
• How can municipalities pay for vulnerability assessments?
• Are emergency services adequate?
• Are there positive opportunities from climate change?
• Do we have the right tools?
• Are current laws responsive to change?

The Southern Maine Shoreline: A Brief History

Greg Berman, Woods Hole Sea Grant and Cape Cod Cooperative Extension

This talk was about the dynamics of the water’s edge where sea meets land, beginning with a review of geologic history from the Ice Age to the present. Sea level (and thus the location of the shoreline) has always varied, but the rate of sea-level rise now occurring is faster than it has been in thousands of years, the result of melting glaciers and thermal expansion. When sea-level rise is combined with increased storms and flooding, the outlook for Maine tempered by the fact that our coast is still moving upwards slightly. Still, what was once a 100-year flood is now a two or ten year flood. Previous safety codes may not be as protective. About 41% of New England’s shoreline is eroding, compared to 70 to 90% in other areas of country.

Maine has some successful programs to address these issues, including the Southern Maine Beach Profile Monitoring program, the Maine Geological Survey’s beach scoring system, and regulations that take sea-level rise into account, although current planning for a rise of two feet may be underestimating the threat. Other potential strategies include Transfer of Development Rights to shift development densities to other areas, elevating buildings, and allowing for salt marsh migration and accretion. We need to educate the future generations who will continue to address these issues.

Plenary: Looking Ahead in Maine Coastal Communities

Derek Sowers, Conservation Program Manager, Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership

Maine’s coastal communities want to stabilize their economies and preserve their quality of life, yet maintaining water quality in the face of population growth (a near doubling of population in some southern Maine towns) represent a barrier to achieving these goals. What will Maine’s coast look like in 50 years if the population continues to increase at this rate? How will conversion from rural land uses to suburban and urban development affect the character of the Maine coast?

In forested areas, rain and snow infiltrate soil and recharge groundwater. Converting natural landscapes to housing changes the hydrology of the watershed because pavement and other hard surfaces increase the pace and volume of runoff into streams and bays. How can communities manage this runoff, which is the cause of most water quality problems, in a better way?

Another challenge is climate change and more severe storms. The Casco Bay region is getting warmer and wetter, with more storms and more extreme heat days. Our infrastructure—road drainage, culverts, etc.--is not designed for this frequency and intensity of storms. And our working scenario of a sea-level rise needs to be adjusted to account for melting ice caps.

Beaches are a large part of York County’s economy. Yet access in Maine is limited, especially when compared to other states. Maine has 13 state park beaches and about 80 miles of publically accessible shoreline, compared to 28 in Oregon.

Consider the following guiding principles for future development:

• Support and create “green infrastructure,” linked networks of conservation, farms, forests, etc. Beginning with Habitat in Maine is an example of this.
• Consider “no regrets” actions, for example, upgraded stream crossings won’t fail in future storms and increase and restore fish habitat now.
• Employ ecosystem-based management that acknowledges connectivity of systems.

“Failing to plan is planning to fail.”