2026 Maine Sustainability & Water conference

Thursday, March 26, 2026
Augusta Civic Center
Augusta, Maine

Sustainability graphic

Session C — Toward Maine Resiliency: Opportunities, Challenges, and Local Innovations

Conference Menu

Conference Home Call for Abstracts Concurrent Sessions Poster Session Sponsors Keynote speaker ORGANIZING COMMITTEE REGISTRATION EXHIBITORS agenda

All Day Session
Arnold/Howard Room, North Wing, 1st Floor

Four training contact hours (TCH) are available for this session from the Maine CDC Drinking Water Program. A sign-up sheet is available in the session room.

Session Co-Chairs:

  • Gayle Bowness, Director of Community Climate Action, Gulf of Maine Research Institute
  • Hannah Baranes, Coastal Scientist, Gulf of Maine Research Institute
  • Ben Cotton, Research Associate, Gulf of Maine Research Institute
  • Harry Nutifafa Arden, Graduate Research Assistant, School of Economics & School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine
  • Christian Brayden, Project Manager, Maine Aquaculture Association
  • Corinne Michaud-LeBlanc, Climate Coordinator, Maine Department for Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
  • Nathan Robbins, Maine Department for Environmental Protection

Across Maine, critical actions are being taken to build enduring community capacities for resilience, to preserve the State’s rich cultural heritage and landscapes, and to grow local economies. Maine’s communities underpin this vibrant regional economy through thriving natural and working lands, and a growing portfolio of water‑dependent uses, from food to energy, recreation, infrastructure, and working waterfronts. However, these opportunities are increasingly challenged by combined policy and regulatory complexities and climate change hazards affecting rivers, lakes, and coastlines.

This session convenes a practical and multisectoral conversation on how communities can navigate these pressures while advancing resilience. Under one overarching theme, the session will highlight practical and empirical research on residents’ preferences for different inland and coastal waterfront uses; showcase on‑the‑ground projects from the NOAA‑funded Resilient Maine initiatives, including building community resilience, deploying nature‑based solutions, and reinforcing critical infrastructure and working waterfronts; and demonstrate hazard planning tools that support data‑driven decision‑making for emergency preparedness and long‑term adaptation.

We encourage presenters from universities, industries, nonprofits, municipalities, and state agencies, to share case studies, decision‑support tools, and funding opportunities. This session is divided into two parts, which include a series of 20-minute presentations to the full group, followed by an interactive series of shorter presentations with small groups. Together, this will provide opportunities for participants to engage directly on the topics, fostering feedback, strategies and collaborations toward shaping the next generation of resilience across Maine’s inland and coastal landscapes. Please indicate your preference for either a 20-minute large-group presentation or a 5-minute tool and resource sharing in small groups.

Session Overview

Morning Session

Afternoon Session

Join us for an interactive “speed-dating” session! Participants will join a small group that rotates around the room to learn from and connect with experts representing different resources and tools that support climate resilience planning. 

1:30PM – 2:30PM — Interactive Presentations

2:30PM – 3:00PM

Afternoon Break (Auditorium)

3:00PM – 4:00PM — Interactive Presentations

Session Presentations

Presenters are indicated in bold.

Morning Session

8:30AM-8:50AM

Monitoring, mapping, and adapting to coastal bluff erosion: updates from the Maine Geological Survey

Samuel G. Roy1,2, Peter Slovinsky1, Taylor Spencer3, Nicholas Whiteman1,4, Malavika Sudhakaran5, Jeannette Berman1
1. Maine Geological Survey
2. Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions
3. Maine Sea Grant
4. University of Maine School of Earth and Climate Sciences
5. University of Maine College of Engineering and Computing

Following the devastating coastal storms in late 2023 and early 2024, there has been a growing interest to armor the Maine shoreline, specifically along coastal bluffs. A 2025 map update indicates that approximately 21.6% of bluff shoreline in Casco Bay has been armored. Erodible coastal bluffs account for approximately 40% of the Maine coastline and their natural erosion provides sediment for diverse intertidal habitats. Extensive armoring of these resources often impede sediment supply with indirect impacts to adjacent habitats. In the early 2000s, the Maine Geological Survey (MGS) Marine Division worked with researchers at the University of Maine to create Maine’s Bluff Stability Map Series. These maps are critical for safely siting development under Maine’s Shoreland Zoning because they provide official classifications of bluff stability and associated intertidal habitats. Conditions along the bluff shoreline have changed dramatically since initial mapping and large sections of shoreline were never adequately mapped. As part of a NFWF and NOAA-funded effort, MGS began updating and expanding the Map Series with statewide completion expected in the next four years. MGS will present newly developed mapping, data collection, and outreach techniques, along with data trends related to bluff stability, sediment supply, storm wave characteristics, and adjacent habitat types. Combined, these factors represent erosion risk and the importance of bluffs as a primary sediment source to the nearshore marine ecosystem. This information will help property owners and officials better manage coastal bluffs amid increased development pressures, storms, and sea level rise.

8:50AM – 9:10AM

Economic Impacts of Floating Offshore Wind Development in the Gulf of Maine

Kanae Tokunaga1, Ben Cotton1, Jay Kim1, Todd Guilfoos2
1. Gulf of Maine Research Institute
2. University of Rhode Island

The Northeast US is among the most suitable areas for offshore wind energy development. The development in the Gulf of Maine will require use floating wind array technology with only five farms operating globally. This, combined with the region’s limited exposure to offshore structures to date, present novel challenges for estimating potential socioeconomic impacts. In this presentation, we will provide an overview and emergent findings from ongoing research that investigates socioeconomic impacts of floating offshore wind to Maine’s fishing communities. We explore potential impacts on commercial landings and coastal employment by extending the existing assessments based on the estimated locations of fishing activities. Our review of existing offshore wind energy development impact assessments on commercial fisheries suggests a limited incorporation of possible changes in fishing activities post construction and operation. Yet, industry participants foresee a change in fishing behavior, including a knock-on effect outside of the lease areas as a result of displaced fleet shifting efforts into other areas. We examine such effects by exploring multiple behavioral response scenarios in most-exposed sectors, including groundfish, scallop, and highly-migratory species fleet, informed by a panel of industry advisors and through a stated preference survey. Given high uncertainty associated with the technology and potential impacts, the study will rely on a number of assumptions. The presentation will share how we built the research process to increase transparency and build economic and social science literacy among industry stakeholders so that they are able to critique, update, and use the findings to navigate challenging decisions.

9:10AM – 9:30AM

Training and Engagement for Transformational Resilience

Jessica Brunacini, Liv Lenfestey
Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve

What is transformational resilience and how do we build capacity for it? For over 20 years, the Training and Engagement Program at the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve (WNERR) in Southern Maine has worked to foster connections between science and decision-making through workshops focused on increasing coastal resilience. While our efforts have supported practitioners in making progress on adaptation planning, communities face persistent challenges – often related to psycho-social, cultural, and interpersonal dynamics – that create barriers to implementing meaningful change. With funding provided by the State’s $69 million Climate Resilience Regional Challenge (CRRC) grant, WNERR is expanding our training and engagement efforts to focus on developing the types of knowledge, skills, and capacities that practitioners and communities need to pursue transformational resilience, with an emphasis on increasing “soft skills.”

This presentation will begin by discussing resilience theory, before diving into the development of the RTA as an example of a real-world application. We will explore the process that we followed to guide the development of this initiative, including visioning exercises that helped us define what transformational resilience looks like in practice, the training gaps and themes that emerged through a needs assessment we conducted, and the types of learning opportunities that we are developing.

Participants will reflect on what transformational resilience means to them and consider its application for current and future resilience work. We will conclude with discussion questions for the audience that will allow participants to consider how they can apply these ideas to their own work.

9:30AM – 9:50AM

Understanding Community Needs Around Resilience Building from an Applied Economic Perspective: Stonington and Lewiston Maine Case Studies

Brenda Zollitsch1, Jim Damicis2, Sandlin Preecs (student)1, Hafsa Sharif (student)1
1. University of Southern Maine Muskie School of Public Service
2. Camoin Associates

In 2025, Camoin Associates, an economic development firm with long-standing work in Maine’s communities, hosted two Muskie Resiliency Interns to engage in the development of economic resilience case studies in the City of Lewiston and the Town of Stonington. Over a nine-month period, the team explored the metrics of economic resilience in those communities as part of larger resilience-building efforts locally and statewide. Working directly with leadership and stakeholders in both communities, the two case studies explore the language and meaning of economic resilience and explore the roles of housing, infrastructure, more severe storm events (resulting in new levels of flooding and waterfront damage), drought, the opioid crisis, planning and community engagement in the resilience-building work of each community. Findings provide local examples that highlight the importance of iterative planning that includes overcoming failure, better coordination and access to specific types of funding (and the capacity to apply for it), adaptive and place-based planning, the essential role of community-led approaches, and the continued need for improvements in communication, evaluation, and information sharing. This presentation will provide a look into each community and how the project’s applied case study model can help explore the economic resilience needs of other communities in the State of Maine.

9:50AM – 10:10AM

Practical Actions that Support Inland Resilience

Sara Mills-Knapp, Kelly Rehberg
Greater Portland Council of Governments

The Greater Portland Council of Governments has conducted 6 inland vulnerability assessments with member communities in Cumberland County. These assessments collected data on flooding, severe weather impacts, and social, environmental, and economic conditions. Building on examples throughout the State, GPCOG is developing a focused list of potential resilience building actions for inland communities that respond to rural inland needs and values. GPCOG will highlight how we are working to translate climate science and hazard data into on-the-ground action and planning that reflects inland town priorities and values. The oral presentation will use examples from recent initiatives to illustrate how towns are advancing practical, locally grounded resilience actions that respond to converging pressures impacting rural Maine. The presentation will also examine how municipalities are incorporating residents’ preferences and local knowledge into planning resilience actions and offer actionable lessons for communities seeking to balance environmental stewardship, economic vitality, and climate adaptation.

10:10AM – 10:30AM

Funding Resiliency – The Maine Infrastructure Adaptation Fund and the Maine Public Working Waterfront Infrastructure Fund

Sierra Millay1, Lirella Jaen1, Kelby Houtz1, Harriet Booth2
1. Maine Department of Transportation
2. Maine Coastal Program

The Maine Infrastructure Adaptation Fund (MIAF) and the Maine Public Working Waterfront Infrastructure Fund (WWIF) are two grant programs funded through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Resilience Regional Challenge grant. MIAF provides funding for municipal, tribal, and infrastructure districts to adapt their critical infrastructure to reduce vulnerability to climate change. The WWIF provides funding to adapt existing public working waterfront infrastructure to reduce vulnerability to climate change. Our preference would be to give a 20-minute larger group presentation. The presentation would be split into 15-minutes for MIAF and 5-minutes for WWIF.

The MIAF presentation would discuss the background of the program, previous funding rounds, highlight example projects, and then discuss the upcoming funding opportunity. The MIAF Request For Applications (RFA) will go live in mid-March and be open for about six weeks, which will align well with the timing of this conference. The WWIF presentation will briefly describe the intent of the funding program, the number of applications received, and the timeline for awarding projects. The RFA for this program closes the beginning of March, as it will open in January. Attendees should take away from this presentation the intent of both programs, project eligibility and criteria, and what makes a strong project.


Afternoon Session — 1:30PM-4:00PM

Join us for interactive “speed-dating” sessions. Participants will join a small group that rotates around the room to learn from and connect with experts representing different resources and tools that support climate resilience planning. .

Interactive Presentations

Advancing Nature-Based Strategies in Southern Maine with Tools, Community Engagement, and Place-Based Knowledge

Jacob Aman1, Jessica Brunacini1, Liv Lenfesty1, Melanie Nash2, Alexandra Brown3
1. Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve
2. Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission
3. York County Soil and Water Conservation District

Southern Maine coastal communities are on the front lines of climate change and already experience damage and disruptions from intensifying coastal storms and rising seas. Several recent and on-going regional planning efforts (including Climate Ready Coast – Southern Maine) have sought to identify strategies for protecting people, property, and the environment from coastal climate hazards. While these efforts have recommended nature-based strategies (NBS) broadly, vital information and guidance about where and what type of NBS might be most appropriate for certain locations and coastline characteristics within the region were lacking.

In response to these needs, our team developed a set of resources designed to make planning and implementing NBS more accessible to communities and practitioners in coastal southern Maine. These resources include: an online mapping and decision support tool that identifies site specific characteristics that contribute to suitability for nature-based strategies; conceptual designs for shoreline stabilization of coastal bluffs and fringing saltmarsh; and a resource guide for applying place-based knowledge when planning for nature-based strategies.

Presenters will share the results of this project, including a demonstration of the decision support tool, lessons learned from engaging with the community of York to develop conceptual designs for Steedman Woods, and key insights from speaking with NBS professionals on how place-based knowledge is critical to guiding coastal adaptation.

Community Science: A Tool for Climate Planning and Action

Gayle Bowness1, Steph Sun1, Sienna Zuco1, Emma Barker1,2,3
1. Gulf of Maine Research Institute
2. Greater Portland Council of Governments
3. Americorps

We propose a 5-minute tool and resource sharing opportunity to discuss the Gulf of Maine Research Institute’s community science platform: The Ecosystem Investigation Network (EcoINet). The EcoINet is a tool for communities, organizations, and individuals to observe and document the ways in which climate change is impacting the species, habitats, and communities in our region, and contribute data to ongoing research projects.

The EcoINet includes local and regional projects designed to engage participants in rewarding, field-based work and collaboratively generate scientific data and understanding. It is designed to be a resource for scientists and communities to engage all kinds of people in collecting and considering data, revealing new patterns and understandings of how climate change is impacting our region’s species, communities, and habitats. With 15 partners collaborating across 12 projects, the EcoINet welcomes hundreds of volunteers submitting thousands of data points each year. By working together, what we uncover gives us all a better understanding of how climate change impacts the region.

Community science offers an accessible and low-barrier opportunity to explore the complexities of climate hazards affecting Maine’s rivers, lakes, and coastlines, and inform actions taken to support our region’s resilience. During our tool demonstration, we will share current applications of the EcoINet across one of twelve projects shaped by participant’s interests. Participants will learn about the applications of the EcoINet, how to engage educators, municipalities, organizations, and researchers through the platform, and the importance of collaboration between community members (of all ages) and scientists.

Inventorying Maine’s Working Waterfronts

Melissa Britsch1, Monique Coombs2
1. Maine Coastal Program
2. Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association

Protecting Maine’s working waterfronts is a complex challenge, made more difficult in part because the locations of many privately-owned working waterfronts are not known. It has been many years since a comprehensive working waterfront inventory has been completed and Maine’s working waterfronts have changed dramatically in that time, especially since the devastating winter storms of late 2023 and early 2024. Our lack of knowledge makes it hard to characterize what was lost and plan for future challenges and opportunities, both at the level of individual properties as well as regionally and statewide. To address these information gaps, Maine Coastal Program partnered with Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association to design and implement a method to characterize types of working waterfronts and begin the process of a new statewide inventory. Given the size of Maine’s coast and the complexity of gathering data, we are designing a modular approach for the inventory so statewide partners and other interested groups can contribute to the effort. The presenters will describe the methods, preliminary results, and anticipated next steps for the project. We will also discuss opportunities to expand the inventory effort with current and future partners.

My shoreline is eroding. What can I do about it?

Nathan Robbins1, Parker Gassett2, John Maclaine1, Jordan Kimball1
1. Maine Department of Environmental Protection
2. Maine Climate Science Information Exchange, University of Maine

The “O.U.R. S.H.O.R.E” Program is being developed to provide guidance and training for using nature-based design practices to protect against shoreline erosion in Maine. A network of state agencies, shoreline practitioners, service providers, and researchers have been developing this program over the past several years to respond to a pervasive need for more resilient shorelines in response to severe weather events. Our goal is to provide homeowners, contractors, resource managers, and community leaders with how-to information on diagnosing sources of erosion, identifying stabilization design practices for a site, and to provide a place to learn about different project examples from throughout the state to successfully use nature-based designs. On November 20th, 2025, the OUR SHORE Program held its launch event at the University of Maine Orono, entitled, “Shoreline Stabilization Practitioner Roundtable and Q&A (Applying Nature-Based Designs to Shoreline Erosion)”.

This presentation will provide a brief history of OUR SHORE, an overview of the guidance materials and training program, and highlight several examples of successfully installed nature-based stabilization projects in Maine. You can also learn more at www.maine.gov/dep/land/ourshore/index.html.


New Funding Opportunity: Climate Resilience Conservation Fund

Jeremy Gabrielson1, Alex Groblewski2
1. Maine Coast Heritage Trust
2. Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife

To strengthen Maine’s climate resilience, protecting the biodiversity and natural functions of critical lands and waters is a priority action. These at-risk natural landscapes and habitats provide ecosystem services essential in reducing climate change impacts to Maine’s coastal communities and natural ecosystems. The Climate Resilience Conservation Fund, administered by Maine Coast Heritage Trust in coordination with the Governor’s Office of Policy, Innovation, and the Future (GOPIF), is intended to bridge ecological and financial gaps in land protection, emphasizing protection of natural communities and geological settings that are not currently well conserved in Maine.

This presentation will provide Tribal governments, municipalities, state conservation agencies, and non-profit organizations with information on how to access dedicated funding for resilient and biodiverse landscapes in Maine watersheds that drain into the Gulf of Maine. We will detail the fund’s administrative framework, eligibility requirements, and the specific criteria used to evaluate project impact. We will highlight case studies of recently funded projects that showcase success in leveraging conservation for long-term community adaptation. Attendees will walk away with the necessary tools and information on the application process and how this resource can support their local strategies.
Note: We would prefer this be formatted as an interactive small group or as part of a funding series.

Preserving the Past, Preparing for the Future: Climate Resilience Planning for Maine’s Historic Coastal Properties

Joie Grandbois1, Bina Skordas2
1. Historic New England
2. FB Environmental

Maine’s historic coastal properties remain largely absent from state climate planning despite mounting pressures from sea level rise and intensifying storms. This project developed and tested a comprehensive methodology for integrating climate risk assessment with historic preservation priorities at the Sayward-Wheeler House in York, a nationally significant 1718 Georgian dwelling where January 2024 storms brought floodwaters to within feet of the structure.

Our approach combined spatial analysis of flood hazards and sea level rise projections with community engagement including town staff consultation, public workshops, and stakeholder sessions. Results revealed the lower lawn currently floods regularly, with projections indicating the structure’s basement will face increasing flood risk by mid-century. Significantly, community input strongly favored nature-based solutions over traditional hardened infrastructure, enabling development of adaptation strategies that preserve both historic character and ecological function.
The resulting Environmental Risk Assessment and Action Plan provides a phased adaptation strategy prioritizing living shoreline restoration and marsh habitat creation, approaches that work with natural coastal processes while maintaining public access through elevated boardwalk designs. Medium-term actions address utility vulnerabilities and incorporate flood walls that integrate with the historic landscape. The methodology successfully navigates complex regulatory requirements spanning shoreland zoning, historic districts, and floodplain management.

This project offers a replicable and scalable planning model for vulnerable coastal resources that demonstrates historic preservation and climate resilience are complementary goals. Attendees will learn how to integrate climate adaptation into historic preservation planning, navigate complex coastal regulatory environments, develop phased action plans that address near- and long-term vulnerabilities, and apply this methodology to other vulnerable coastal resources across Maine.

Raising the Grade: Mill Brook/Bayview Road Coastal Resiliency Project Case Study, Penobscot, Maine

Dave Cloutier, Bob Blunt
VHB

Located near the Bagaduce River in the town of Penobscot, Maine, Bayview Road (Maine Route 175) is the sole east-west roadway within the town and a critical transportation corridor. Mill Brook crosses under a low point in the road through an aging, undersized stone box culvert vulnerable to both riverine and coastal flooding – a vulnerability that became reality when tidal waters flooded the road in January 10, 2024, effectively cutting the town in half.
Assisting the town, The Maine Coast Heritage Trust has led the project securing grant funding sources including over $2 million from the NFWF National Coastal Resilience Fund. Vanasse Hangen Brustlin (VHB) prepared engineering design and permitting services for replacement of the culvert and roadway elevation through the crossing area to reinforce critical infrastructure against coastal flooding and sea level rise.

In addition to coastal resilience, the project includes multiple associated improvements including relocation of the nearby town salt shed, adding safe parking and pedestrian access for bird watching and alewife fishing, restoration of tidal flushing and salt marsh habitat, and improvements to wildlife connectivity and fish passage to the nearby Pierce Pond spawning grounds. With multiple goals this is a collaborative project involving multiple town committees, the town Select Board, the Maine Maritime Academy’s School of Ocean Sciences, Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries, Blue Hill Heritage Trust, local landowners, and the Maine Department of Transportation.

Construction of the project is scheduled for 2026.

The Maine Coastal Flood Risk Model

Isabel Nykamp1, Brian Ambrette1, Peter Slovinsky2, Eric Ham3, Jamie Carter4, Taylor B. Spencer5, Kirk Bosma6
1. State Resilience Office
2. Maine Geological Survey
3. Maine Department of Transportation
4. NOAA Office for Coastal Management)
5. Maine Sea Grant
6. Woods Hole Group

In recent years, coastal flooding has had devastating impacts on coastal communities across Maine. These impacts are only expected to increase with sea level rise. Just a 1-foot increase in sea level would lead to a 15-fold increase in the frequency of nuisance flooding in local communities. In the face of these growing concerns, communities across the state’s coastline need access to comprehensive information to determine how, when, and where to mitigate coastal flooding. The Maine Coastal Flood Risk Model (ME-CFRM) will be the first stop for communities seeking this critical information. Developed for the Maine Department of Transportation, in partnership with Woods Hole Group, ME-CFRM provides a detailed assessment of present and future flood risk to guide climate resilience planning and resilience strategies. ME-CFRM is a more accurate representation of coastal flood risk compared to past open-source resources, as it: (1) includes more of the critical physical processes associated with storm-induced flooding, and (2) captures the net effect of varying storm types, magnitudes, and frequencies. These features make this model both a dynamic (physics-based) and probabilistic (multi-scenario) model. These products and associated resources are currently being developed to help communities assess their vulnerability, understand the impacts of sea level rise over time, and prioritize mitigation actions for community based-project implementation.

Visualizing Adaptation: Graphic Recording as a Tool for Healthier Waters

Maisie Richards
Roundwater Design

As we look to support and strengthen the health and sustainability of our waters across Maine, and adapt to an uncertain future, we need tools that engage equitably, incorporate complexity, and envision enduring and hopeful adaptations that inspire our communities into sustained action.

Graphic recording—the live “scribing” of information through words and drawings in real time—is a form of visual communication that allow us to synthesize disparate concepts, build a shared and collaborative language, engage stakeholders and community members directly, and clarify decision-making and purpose.
In this interactive session, participants will experience live graphic facilitation and explore how visual communication tools can support their work.

This demonstration of graphic recording will utilize a discussion about improving water quality to encourage participants to think more broadly about engagement tools that affirm people’s input, build relationships, visualize interconnection, and encourage community creativity and resilience.

Tools for Asset-Level Coastal Flood Decision-Making in Maine

Hannah Baranes1, Philip Bogden2, Peter Slovinsky3
1. Gulf of Maine Research Institute
2. Roux Institute – Northeastern University
3. Maine Geological Survey

Coastal flood management and adaptation increasingly require localized tools that translate flood hazard information into asset-level guidance for planning, design, and rebuilding. Practitioners often face barriers such as flood and elevation data that are fragmented across platforms, referenced to different vertical datums, or provided at spatial scales, time periods, or return period levels that are not useful for site-specific decisions. In this small-group, interactive session, we will introduce two web-based decision-support tools developed to address these challenges and demonstrate how they can be used in real-world coastal decision-making workflows. The first tool is a coastal flooding decision-support prototype for Portland, designed for highly localized analysis. Users can click on individual locations to view lidar-derived ground elevation and estimated annual flood probability over time under different sea-level rise scenarios. Built-in functions also recommend asset design elevations based on infrastructure lifespan and acceptable flood risk. The tool is currently based on tide gauge-derived flood statistics from the Portland gauge and is being evaluated for statewide expansion following the release of the forthcoming Maine Coastal Flood Risk Model. The second tool, the Maine Coastal Elevation and Flood Levels Viewer, provides statewide context by allowing users to query any coastal location to view ground elevation relative to FEMA Base Flood Elevations, Highest Astronomical Tide, and spatially varying vertical datum conversions between NAVD88 and MLLW.

91 the Session Chairs

Ben Cotton is a research associate in the Coastal and Marine Economics Lab at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. As a behavioral environmental economist, his research focuses on Maine’s coastal resources and fishery markets, including offshore wind economic analysis, drivers of soft-shell clam fisheries and fish price volatilities in the Northeast US, and preferences towards aquaculture production in Maine. Through this work, he seeks to better understand how economic and environmental change shape decision-making in Maine’s coastal communities.

Corinne Michaud-LeBlanc is the climate coordinator in the Beginning with Habitat Program at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. As a wildlife biologist and conservation planner, Corinne works to integrate landscape connectivity, biodiversity, and habitat resilience into local, regional, and statewide planning and implementation efforts. In her role at MDIFW, Corinne helps to coordinate the agency’s efforts to plan for and adapt to climate change, delivers climate-related outreach, and provides technical assistance to state agencies, municipalities, and conservation partners.

Nathan Robbins is the climate change specialist at Maine Department of Environmental Protection. His work supports capacity building and accelerating the use of best practices for resilience and mitigation. Nathan manages the Maine Climate Hub, serves on various state and regional committees, and currently facilitates a cross-agency approach on regulatory reform.

Hannah Baranes leads the Coastal Dynamics Lab at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. Her lab studies physical phenomena in the coastal environment, including coastal flooding, winter-season cyclones (Nor’easters and Sou’westers), and the evolution of tidal flats. She also collaborates with partners throughout the Gulf of Maine region to develop flood management solutions. She is working with the National Weather Service to expand and improve flood forecasting, has worked with Maine DEP to modify state rules for effective management of future sea level rise, and serves as a member of the Maine Climate Council’s Scientific and Technical Subcommittee.

Harry Nutifafa Arden is an early career economist with special interest in environmental and natural resource economics and the blue economy. His research experiences cover households’ energy choices and preferences for renewable energy, including emerging coastal and marine renewables. Harry is currently a Research Assistant and Ph.D. student in Ecology and Environmental Sciences, focusing on Marine Renewable Energy Economics and Policy at both the School of Economics and School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine. He was a World Bank-ACECoR master’s scholar in Blue Economy, Governance and Social Resilience at the Department of Applied Economics and Centre for Coastal Management, University of Cape Coast, Ghana. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Geography from the same university. With previous engagements in policy, research, teaching and volunteering, Harry looks forward to learning from and working with other researchers, community stakeholders, and policymakers towards sharing knowledge about effectively integrating social and local dimensions into sustainable energy policy and marine policy and overall natural resource governance.

Gayle Bowness manages the Community Climate Action Team at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, which engages and collaborates with coastal communities, combining local knowledge and expertise with scientific data, to envision and build a climate-resilient and thriving future. Gayle joined the Gulf of Maine Research Institute in 2005 with a passion to meld science and education. She has a bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology from Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia and a bachelor’s degree in Science Education from Unity College, Maine. She received a Master of Science degree from Lesley University, Massachusetts in Ecological Teaching and Learning.