The effects of climate change have already come for Arrowsic, a midcoast island community of 477 people.
When it rains, the one road from the island to the mainland can flood. That happened during the devastating storm that hit Maine on Dec. 28, when flooding from the surrounding wetlands turned Route 127 into a river. Lines of cars had to take turns navigating the running water, while the homes on the island lost power for days.
Now, as global warming increases the likelihood of similarly destructive storms, a team of volunteers is putting together an action plan to protect Arrowsic’s infrastructure, natural resources and people from the worsening effects of climate change, while also reducing its contributions to the problem.
It’s not alone: a small but growing number of other Maine communities are also working on their own local climate action plans. Most of those communities, if not all, are located along the coast, where sea levels have risen eight inches since 1950 and are expected to rise 1.5 more feet by 2050. With sea level rise comes a variety of local threats, including saltwater flooding, beach erosion and groundwater contamination.
In 2020, the state finalized its statewide Maine Won’t Wait climate action plan that includes goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and managing the myriad threats of global warming.
But many Maine communities are also responding in their own ways, from replacing culverts that carry water under roads to building solar farms and opening cooling centers.
The fact that more of them are now creating local action plans points to the increasing recognition of the problem, at least in those communities with a front-row seat to rising seas and the resources to fund such efforts. Other communities that have decided to make climate action plans — or already made them — include Brunswick, Bath, Portland, Falmouth York and Kittery.
While there is a statewide climate plan, local plans can give communities a better shot of receiving grant funding for their efforts.
They can also help communities such as Arrowsic respond to more specific needs, according to Susie Arnold, the director of the Center for Climate and Community at the Rockland-based Island Institute.
For instance, Arrowsic’s problems with flooding and saltwater intrusion into its groundwater wells are priorities that may be different from an inland Maine town that faces different kinds of threats — such as different kinds of flooding from rivers.
“There are tons of climate impacts facing the state, so for communities to be able to address their most urgent priorities, it’s really critical for them to have an individualized plan in addition to the state’s climate action plan,” Arnold said.
However, the Maine Won’t Wait state climate plan does include resources and guidance for communities looking to do their own planning.
One of the efforts that stemmed from the state plan is the Community Resilience Partnership, which provides Maine towns and cities with funding to help them prepare for the effects of climate change. Arrowsic was one of those towns, along with others in the midcoast such as Bath and Rockland.
With the $35,000 that Arrowsic received from the partnership, the town hired a consultant to help formulate its own plan, said Jody Jones, the co-chair of Arrowsic’s Climate Action Committee. After working on it for two years, the town will vote to finalize the plan this June.
The goals of Arrowsic’s plan include improving roads and bridges, educating the community on sea level rise, improving energy use through solar and power line reinforcement, among other changes. Because creating the plan required talking to so many stakeholders in the town, Jones said the process has actually strengthened the connections between residents.
“We’re such a small town that we don’t have a lot of places where we can come together and talk about our issues in common,” Jones said. “I think the process of collecting input and talking to each other and meeting and the workshops have created, in my mind, an excitement about our community.”
Rod Melanson, who directs sustainability efforts in Bath, said the city is using its $100,000 in Community Resilience Partnership funds to work on assessing flood risk from sea level rise. With the midcoast’s largest employer, Bath Iron Works, located directly on the Kennebec River, flooding and higher water levels are increasingly salient issues.
Unlike Arrowsic, Bath has had a climate action plan since 2007. For the next update, Melanson said Bath is trying to get community members involved in climate change preparation, updating greenhouse gas inventories and updating the city’s facilities to be more environmentally friendly.
“The new update will really focus on a spectrum of not just reducing carbon, but preparing for and adapting to and mitigating the anticipated impacts,” Melanson said.
Melanson said the state funding has been crucial in helping the city with its climate goals, catalyzing the community to actually go through with its sustainability efforts. And like Jones, Melanson said climate change preparedness is a community-driven process that requires patience.
“It’s really a kind of partnership between the population, and it’s a hard one,” Melanson said. “It’s a difficult hurdle to reach out and engage them.”
For now, Arrowsic’s roads still flood. Its groundwater is still threatened by saltwater intrusion. But eventually, Jones hopes the town can be a more resilient community and have a positive impact on the world.
“The thing that is most important to me is how hard we’re working to make this a climate action plan that reflects the values of our town residents,” Jones said.
