Notes from the Coast Spring 2024

How can we most effectively support Maine communities to adapt to and prepare for the impacts of climate change?

Maine Coast Heritage Trust conserves lands and waters to sustain healthy ecosystems along the coast. As increased development and a changing climate further stress these life-sustaining ecosystems, our work becomes increasingly important. We expect to see more frequent and severe weather events like the series of January storms that washed out roads and working waterfronts and devastated local economies up and down the coast.

As towns advance building and rebuilding efforts in the wake of this year’s storms, we are working with them to ensure the protection of ecologically valuable areas that could help limit future damage to infrastructure and to sustain local economies.

MCHT’s coast-wide initiatives to conserve coastal watersheds—like rivers and marshes—protect biodiversity, reduce flooding, and help to limit damage to infrastructure. We are accelerating these initiatives. Over the coming years, we will focus increasingly on conserving large, interconnected natural areas that serve as important carbon sinks and provide plants and animals the room they need to migrate and adapt, and we will continue to serve as a resource to coastal towns as they think about land.

What more could or should we be doing? Across the state, what information and resources do towns need to build resilience? How can we help advance adaptation plans that prioritize nature-based solutions?