BREWER, Maine — A new report presented at Wednesday’s Maine Land Use Planning Commission meeting in Brewer predicts sea level rise of 1 to 2 feet could impact structures on islands off the coast of Maine.
Planning commission staff used National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration sea level forecasts and detailed property maps from unorganized territory off the Maine coast that is under the commission’s jurisdiction for zoning and planning matters.
The findings show that the sea rising 1 to 2 feet, which NOAA predicts will happen in 2050 at current emission levels, could directly affect two structures on Matinicus, one structure on Monhegan, and four on Ragged Island, among other locations.
This doesn’t take into account damage from storms, which the report’s author, Ben Godsoe, sees as another factor worth considering.
“Folks are seeing the effects of these storms now. And the prediction is that as sea levels rise, the effects become worse,” Godsoe said Wednesday.
The planning commission said it will use the research to focus on areas that could benefit from mitigation efforts.
“The idea is to identify in which communities we wanted to do more outreach and do more work,” Godsoe said.
Planning commission Executive Director Stacie Beyer said this strategy will be used in unorganized territories onshore.
“We intend to continue our work and bring some of the methodology of this report to look at the mainland,” Beyer said.
As part of its continued research into sea level rise, planning commission staff plan to visit the islands in the study with the goal of connecting with local officials about strategies for dealing with rising sea levels.