At the annual celebration of the Workforce Housing Coalition of the Greater Seacoast in May, marine extension associate Kristen Grant was recognized with the organization's Housing Visionary award for her leadership of workforce housing charrettes since 2011. Join us in congratulating Kristen.

No rest for this team. Kristen Grant also coordinates the 10th Maine Beaches Conference, which takes place July 17 at Southern Maine Community College in South Portland. Charles S. Colgan, professor of public policy and management in the Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine, will present the opening plenary talk about an ongoing study of beach visitors in southern Maine and New Hampshire. The survey of more than 3,000 visitors, the largest of its kind to be conducted, provides key information for understanding the beach as a tourist resource. Since the conference’s inception, a primary purpose has been to present results of the state’s beach monitoring programs, including the Maine Healthy Beaches water quality monitoring program and the Southern Maine Beach Profiling Program. There also will be discussion about efforts to prepare for and adapt to rising sea levels and storm surge in Damariscotta, one of the most vulnerable towns on the Maine coast. The study recommends measures that property owners can take as well as community-level adaptation strategies, and it compares costs and benefits of various methods. Other featured topics include managing coastal erosion, preparing for hurricanes, beach wildlife, beach access, legal updates, flooding and flood plains. 

Dana Morse is excited to be working with Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences and other partners on a new project, funded by the NOAA Saltonstall-Kennedy Grants Program, to expand the application of soft-shell clam seeding and culture technology in depleted clam flats and provide governance model options for clam aquaculture and wild harvest fisheries.

The National Humanities Alliance has featured the Downeast Fisheries Trail on its national map of the “engaged humanities.” The Trail is an example of projects that foster collaboration between universities and colleges and organizations working outside the academy; cultivate active engagement with the humanities among diverse community members and stakeholders; and showcase the power of the humanities to address issues of local concern. The Trail’s most recent engagement involved the unveiling of seven new, multi-lingual interpretive panels at Roosevelt-Campobello International Park. We also have an article about Sea Grant and the Humanities in the current Humanities-themed issue of Maine Policy Review. 

The Northeast Coastal Acidification Network (NECAN) is hosting stakeholder engagement workshops to inform and learn from fishermen, clam harvesters, aquaculturists, and coastal water quality programs about ocean and coastal acidification, leading to an implementation plan. A summary of the first workshop, held in Maine in December, can be found online. Additional workshops have taken place in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, with more planned for Connecticut and New Brunswick, Canada.

The Maine Healthy Beaches monitoring season began June 1. To access information about the program including current beach status and data visit, mainehealthybeaches.org. Read an article about risky funding for the program in The Working Waterfront.