This past Friday, July 26, NOAA announced that Maine will be the recipient of $69 million to support climate resiliency projects. The award comes via NOAA’s Climate Resilience Regional Challenge, a competitive grant funded by the Biden-Harris Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act. This represents a significant federal investment in Maine’s Climate Action Plan, as well as a recognition of the state’s leadership and vision in this work.

The Maine Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, in partnership with an array of local organizations, will direct this funding toward coastal resilience and adaption projects, with special emphasis on working waterfronts and underserved coastal communities. We are honored that the Wells Reserve will be the recipient of a portion of this funding. This will be put to use promoting nature-based solutions along the coast and establishing a coastal resilience training program - the Resilience Training Academy.

Coordinated by our Coastal Training Program, in collaboration with Maine DEP, the Resilience Training Academy will build upon a decade of community-engaged and practitioner-focused climate resilience trainings. Knowledge sharing, peer-to-peer learning, and respect for diverse ways of knowing will guide workshops, demonstration projects, and skill-building activities. Learning topics will include coastal habitat restoration practices, designing projects for meaningful community engagement, effectively communicating risk, the CoastWise Approach to designing tidal crossings, community-led planning to move out of harm’s way, and building resilient infrastructure. We look forward to sharing more as this project develops—stay tuned!

To celebrate the big announcement, Governor Janet Mills, members of Maine’s congressional delegation, NOAA administrators, and local industry leaders gathered at Portland’s Fish Pier for a brief program, fittingly set against the backdrop of the working waterfront. Speakers included Governor Mills, Senator King, Representative Pingree, a representative from Senator Collins’s office, and Drs. Rick Spinrad and Jeff Payne from NOAA, all affirming their commitment to addressing climate change in Maine and beyond.

Curt Brown, a commercial lobsterman and marine biologist at Ready Seafood, spoke on behalf of the commercial fishing community:

"There’s a classic saying in Maine: ’You can’t get there from here.' Well, that was never more true than on January 10^th and January 13^th after the disastrous storms," shared Curt Brown.

The increased frequency and devastation of such "100-year storms" was a prominent topic in all remarks of the day. Speakers also highlighted the importance of shoring up the working waterfront, and placed focus on both the environmental and economic opportunities afforded by this funding. Despite the acknowledged challenges of the work ahead, there was a sense of optimism in the air.

More photos from the event are below, and you can read more about this grant for Maine in the Portland Press Herald and learn about all 19 funded projects on NOAA's website.

Images: Portland Mayor Mark Dion and Governor Janet Mills on Portland fish pier; Representative Chellie Pingree, Senator Angus King; Curt Brown and NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad.