缅因州卡斯科湾（Casco Bay）上的11个沿海社区正在加入使用基于自然的基础设施来减轻由于气候危机造成的沿海洪水。
国家鱼类和野生动植物基金会提供的25万美元赠款，以及缅因州研究所海湾的25万美元相匹配的资金，以及其他赠款和非现金捐款，将支持为期两年的项目，该项目旨在“旨在吸引其生计的人，受到沿海洪水的影响和帮助……计划基于自然的洪水解决方案。
The team expects to begin work in March, says Sara Mills-Knapp, council sustainability program manager, who is leading the regional initiative.
“The project will engage other organizations, including Casco Bay Estuary Partnership, Friends of Casco Bay, all of the land trusts and other conservation organizations working in the region … in addition to the municipalities,” she says. The projects will build on existing work, including state-level projects with sea level rise projections and data from the Maine Geologic Survey.
Earlier this month, the town of Brunswick became the latest to commit to joining the effort to prepare for environmental, social, and economic impacts of flooding.
除不伦瑞克省外，该项目涉及的市政当局还包括自由港，法尔茅斯，坎伯兰郡，雅茅斯，伊丽莎白角，士嘉堡，波特兰，南波特兰，切比格岛和长岛。卡斯科湾流域包括近1,000平方英里的土地，拥有该州20％的人口。
“现在是时候开始规划解决方法ns that will ensure our coast can be economically, environmentally, and socially resilient to current and future impacts,” Mills-Knapp, says. “We know that nature-based solutions to flooding are essential to protecting habitats and communities… in this important long-term planning effort.”
Early-stage work will require a significant amount of GIS mapping software, Mills-Knapp says. When discussing resilience at a regional scale, it is helpful to view in map format the types of infrastructure that may be at risk and what type of communities may be more vulnerable, she says. “That’s only possible when you have a broad view of the region.”
The team will provide climate projections using climate change modeling scenarios for flooding with projections for 2030 and 2050, Mills-Knapp says. “We’re really excited to have the Gulf of Maine Research Institute.” where a new sea level rise post-doctorate fellow is starting work, she says. The team will also help municipalities identify critical infrastructure, such as hospitals in flood-prone areas.
该研究所的市政新利18备用网址气候行动计划经理盖尔·鲍斯斯（Gayle Bowness）表示，在项目开始之前，总部位于波特兰的理事会将进行基线风险评估。“在投资弹性项目之前，您需要做出明智的决定。”新利18备用网址
A large part of the federal grant will focus on nature based solutions, which “harness the power of nature to act as an effective defense system against flooding,” the council said.
Projects could include salt marsh and dune restoration, green infrastructure to reduce stormwater runoff, landscaping parks to mitigate flooding and runoff and other nature-based solutions. These solutions can be more sustainable and less expensive than hard infrastructure, Bowness says. “Instead of building a seawall, can we start rehabilitating a shoreline … to shore up some of the erosion … and … bring back some of the natural sediment,” she says.
Bowness adds that projects include a wide variety of stakeholders, including landscape architects and engineers. “They need to be … at the table when the conversation is around solutions and when we start addressing vulnerabilities, because we don't have a menu of solutions from which we can pick and choose,” she says.
The council plans to build its programs modeled after a similar program the Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission has been conducting, it said.
One of the greatest challenges for early-stage work is securing its workforce. “In every sector there’s been a huge turnover these past couple years … with many openings in planning positions in some of our municipalities,” Mills-Knapp says. While funding is available, the team must be sure it has its people and additional capacity, if necessary, she adds.
鱼类和野生动物服务和国家海洋与大气管理局announced on Nov. 18该委员会是2021年国家沿海弹性基金的赠款，该基金将投资3950万美元，用于49个项目，以加强自然基础设施以保护沿海社区。新利18备用网址
Last year in Brunswick and Yarmouth,two demonstration living shoreline projects发生在侵蚀的海岸线上，这是一个涉及所有五个新英格兰州的大型NOAA资助项目的一部分。
奥古斯塔缅因州地质调查局的海洋地质学家彼得·新利18备用网址斯洛文斯基（Peter Slovinsky）说，缅因州项目的目的是测试可以转移到缅因州其他地区的小型，低成本的海岸线方法，以侵蚀海岸线和沿海悬崖。
他说：“缅因州确实有很高的潮汐……在冬季，这受到了两英尺长的冰的挑战。”他说，该团队将监视五年的项目，以更好地了解缅新利18备用网址因州和新英格兰的生活海岸线的表现。
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