Climate Change Adaptation in Maine: Focus on Ellsworth
Since 2010 our coast-wide research and outreach initiatives through the Sustainability Solutions Initiative at the UMaine George Mitchell Center have allowed our research team to explore the impacts, vulnerabilities, and potential solutions with municipalities based on a changing climate. The purpose of NOAA’s National Sea Grant Coastal Communities Climate Adaptation Initiative (CCCAI) grant is to help enhance planning for climate adaptation in coastal communities and meet the climate-related challenges that threaten their economic and social safety. The primary objectives are to provide communities with sufficient information to consider alternatives, enable them to make well-informed decisions and to develop and implement customized solutions that can be used as models for other communities with similar climate-related problems.
The following is a summary of selected information outputs and tools, which were co-developed with the City of Ellsworth in considering the vulnerabilities associated with extreme rainfall events in a changing climate.
- Adapting to Extreme Rainfall in Ellsworth, Maine: A General Guide to Manage Stormwater in a Changing Climate: Provided several short- and long-term adaptation strategies related to climatic changes that have occurred in the Ellsworth area over the last 60 years
- Ellsworth Citizen Education on Stormwater (coming soon!): Provided Ellsworth with information to educate and engage with residents about important stormwater issues
- Ellsworth Culvert Prioritization Model: Provided Ellsworth with an example of modeling culvert prioritization for design and management purposes
Related Information:
- Climate Highlights: Extreme Precipitation and Population: Maine in the Context of the Northeast
- Research Highlights: Coastal Climate Adaptation in Maine’s Coastal Communities: Governance Mapping for Culvert Management: Overview of the project
Team Members:
- Shaleen Jain, Team Co-Leader
- Esperanza Stancioff, Team Co-Leader
- Alexander Gray, Research Assistant
- Nirajan Dhakal, Postdoctoral Fellow
Supported by National Science Foundation award EPS-0904155 to Maine EPSCoR at the University of Maine.