Marshes for Maines Future

Presented by the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions at the University of Maine

Salt marshes in Maine are not as iconic as the rugged rocky coast, but their value as places that support fish and shellfish and migrating and resident birds makes them one of Maines most productive coastal habitats. Coastal communities benefit from salt marshes natural ability to buffer storms, filter pollution, and store carbon. But salt marshes that have adapted to changing sea levels for millennia are now threatened by the current pace of sea level rise and coastal development.

Chris Feurt will share her story of a dedicated group of researchers, managers and conservationists who are collaborating to help turn the tide and sustain Marshes for Maines Future.

About the Presenter

Chris Feurts love affair with salt marshes began decades ago with a career-altering summer job at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Assateague Island. On track for a mind-numbing job as a medical technologist, that summer in the Virginia salt marshes helped Chris chart a different path resulting in a masters degree from William and Mary focused on the sea level rise impacts of barrier beaches and marshes. The marshes of Cumberland Island in Georgia, the Florida Everglades, and Big Thicket, Texas inspired a career that led Chris to Maine salt marshes over 20 years ago. In Maine, a second transformation occurred. This transformation will be revealed in her story of Marshes for Maines Future.

Dr. Feurt is the Coastal Training Program Director at the Wells Reserve and a research associate in the School of Marine and Environmental Programs at the University of New England.