Maine, the northeasternmost U.S. state, is known for its rocky coastline, maritime history, and seafood industry, often described as its lifeblood.
Maine has more than 3,400 miles of coastline and the largest section of working waterfront in the United States. Its seafood industry comprises many small businesses that employ more than 21,000 people.
It provides seafood like lobsters, crabs, scallops, and a variety of other fish, and more recently, it has cultivated oysters’ mussels, seaweed, and other species to supply both local and overseas markets.
In October 2017, a severe storm and coastal flooding impacted 13 of Maine’s 16 counties. The storm destroyed infrastructure, damaged logistics, and impacted seafood supply chains, spurring the White House to issue a major disaster declaration, making federal funds and resources available (Brey, 2024).
One of Maine’s largest lobster fishing ports is in an island town called Stonington, which supplies 11% of all the state’s lobster to many markets worldwide. In January 2024, a surge from the winter storm flooded a string of privately owned piers that supported the lobster industry and washed over a publicly owned commercial pier, knocking out all its electronics. The storm also caused extensive damage to restaurants, businesses, and other public infrastructure, reaching millions of dollars in losses.
Maine’s response to climate change impacts
Maine is grappling with a pattern of disasters that is concerning. Over the last two years, the state has experienced eight disaster declarations, highlighting natural events’ increasing frequency and severity.
In response, Governor Janet Mills has established a new 24-member Infrastructure Rebuilding and Resilience Commission. This group is tasked with addressing the aftermath of these disasters and crafting a long-term plan to enhance the state’s infrastructure resilience. The creation of this Commission underscores a vital truth: climate change is leading to more intense storms in Maine.
The 24 people who make up the Commission come from environmental protection, engineering, construction, planning, economic development, and other backgrounds to help the state anticipate future disasters and apply a different approach to infrastructure investment that can “strengthen the state’s ability to withstand storms that are getting more severe and dangerous and pose a real threat to our infrastructure, our people and our economy,” Mills said.
The storms that hit Maine served as a “wake-up call to the whole state,” says Hannah Pingree, director of the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, highlighting the importance of resilient infrastructure.
Gov. Janet Mills allocated $60 million for storm recovery in this year’s budget, which the Legislature approved to invest in working waterfronts, infrastructure projects not covered by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster funds, and aid small businesses.
Other state’s climate adaptation initiatives will serve as a template for Maine to follow. While climate change mitigation is still hotly debated, there are more agreements on climate adaptation as many states are looking for ways to make infrastructure resilient against climate change-related weather disasters (Brey, 2024).
For example, Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott convened a state task force in 2018 to improve future disaster preparedness after Hurricane Harvey. Vermont recently launched a Resilience Implementation Strategy, focusing partly on supporting public infrastructure vulnerable to extreme weather. Maryland created a Blue and Green Infrastructure Policy Advisory Commission as part of a more extensive environmental law in 2022, tasked with developing more resilient infrastructure.
The article “Weatherbeaten Maine Seeks More Resilient Infrastructure” notes that Maine’s new Commission will learn from other state efforts to adapt to more severe weather.
As the state expects sea levels to rise and stronger and more frequent storm surges, it plans to help residents and businesses relocate. Still, with those who want to stay because of the seafood industry, climate adaptation will be the key to protecting them.
Floods, fires, and droughts punctuate the daily news cycle, increasing people’s awareness of the growing impact of climate change. Ensuring infrastructure resilience to climate change will help protect lives and livelihoods and reduce direct losses from extreme weather events.
Source:
Brey, J. (2024, June 10). Weatherbeaten Maine Seeks More Resilient Infrastructure. Governing. Retrieved from https://www.governing.com/resilience/weatherbeaten-maine-seeks-more-resilient-infrastructure
With EDA Support, Maine’s Marine Industry Reaches New Depths. (2024, April 9). EDA. Retrieved from https://www.eda.gov/impact/success-stories/innovation-and-entrepreneurship/eda-support-maines-marine-industry-reaches
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