By Ed Morin / Maine Public
The Island Institute is receiving $240,000 from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to fund a project about disaster preparedness in Maine related to sea level rise.
The Institute says the money will help pay for a project that benefits Maine’s island and coastal communities by addressing threats from natural disasters and environmental change stemming from rising sea levels.
Island Institute marine scientist Susie Arnold says island communities have no choice about where much of their working waterfront infrastructure is located.
“It’s critical it be placed in the water. For instance, ferry terminals or lobster wharfs, things the island residents need to get on and off the island and to conduct their businesses. So this infrastructure is, in many instances, vulnerable to sea level rise” — Susie Arnold, Marine Scientist, Island Institute
The institute says it will work with 150 partners to identify risks to working areas of the Maine waterfront. The group says its goal is to increase resilience in coastal areas as environmental conditions change.
