The Wrack

A pint-size boy held a fishing rod alongside his dad, enjoying a quiet midweek morning by the pond, when more than a dozen cars pulled into the lot behind them. The automotive intrusion didn't exactly shatter a peaceful solitude  their fishing spot was beside a busy state highway after all  but the father and son may have been curious to know? Why the sudden crowd?

The arrivals were gathering to see Low Impact Development (LID) practices in use near Willand Pond in Somersworth, New Hampshire. The pond was a fitting spot to meet, given its history.

Can you bribe a disaster? No, but you can get a dirty look for trying.

"Quick! In one minute tell the person across from you something you learned in our three-day Climate Adaptation Training that you plan to take back to your community."

Our 40+ participants weren't phased as they blurted out new information they gained from presentations by the NOAA Coastal Services Center and six local speakers on topics like climate change science, creating a vulnerability assessment, planning for adaptation, and communicating these concepts to your community.

Unprecedented flooding in New York City rekindled the national debate regarding climate change, sea level rise, and the fate of coastal communities. While the deniers and alarmists take turns needling one another no end, many others have begun to unify around meaningful planning for an uncertain future.

WELLS, Maine, October 29, 2012  The Town of Wells has begun a two-year study to understand and prepare for the potential impacts of climate change. Wells public officials and local residents, with help from researchers from the Consensus Building Institute (CBI), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS), will be using short games played face-to-face in community meetings to clarify possible climate change risks and to reach agreement on appropriate adaptation measures.

I want to share some pictures that highlight some nice days for research throughout the local area, including the Saco River, the Merriland River, Branch Brook, the Little River Salt Marsh, and Big Daddy's Ice Cream.

Last Thursday 44 participants from 12 towns in Maine and New Hampshire along with local businesses, regional and state planners, and non-profits attended the Coastal Training Program's Strengthening Town Centers and Transforming Commercial Corridors workshop with Randall Arendt.

The Salmon Falls Watershed Collaborative, an ambitious interstate effort to protect drinking water supplies for more than 47,000 residents in Maine and New Hampshire, has been awarded the 2012 U.S. Water Prize by the Clean Water America Alliance.

The Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership convened the Salmon Falls Watershed Collaborative to improve watershed planning and management — and to protect water supply sources — in the Salmon Falls River watershed.

On October 5th the Coastal Training Program partnered with Protect Kittery Waters, Spruce Creek Association, FB Environmental, Robert's Maine Grill, and the Great Works Regional Land Trust to host a day-long field trip showcasing watershed restoration efforts on Spruce Creek and Shorey's Brook. The day began at Kittery Town Hall where Mary Ann Conroy (Public Works, Kittery) and William Straub (CMA Engineers) spoke about the tree box filter and raingarden they installed with Maine DEP 319 funding.