Shore and Harbor Planning Grants

Fiscal Year 2025 Program

FY25 Letter of Intent instructions
FY25 Program Statement
FY25 Project Budget Tables
FY25 Questions received and answers (to be posted on March 8)

The Department of Marine Resources’ Maine Coastal Program and the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s Municipal Planning Assistance Program are seeking applications for coastal planning grants totaling approximately $300,000. The maximum grant award is $50,000 and there is no match requirement for the FY2025 grant program. Funding for these planning grants comes from the Maine Coastal Program’s annual grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In response to the significant impacts of recent storms experienced by Maine’s coastal communities, the FY2025 Shore and Harbor Planning Grant and the FY2025 Coastal Community Grant Program are being combined into one grant program. The matching fund requirement has been eliminated and the application process has been modified to include a Letter of Intent, followed by a Final Application, by invitation only.

Letters of Intent are due by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, March 29, 2024. Letter of Intent Instructions.

All questions regarding the Program Statement and Letter of Intent must be submitted by email to Ashley.Gamache@maine.gov by 5:00 p.m. on March 1, 2024. Responses to all questions will be compiled in writing and posted on the Municipal Planning Assistance Program and Maine Coastal Program websites by 5:00 p.m. on March 8, 2024. Only those answers issued in writing on these websites will be considered binding.

Final Applications, by invitation only, are due on May 31, 2024, no later than 5:00 p.m. Program Statement Instructions. All Final Applications must be submitted electronically to Ashley.Gamache@maine.gov.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants include counties, municipalities, unorganized territories, tribal governments, and Regional Councils in Maine’s Coastal Zone. The combined FY2025 grant is intended to fund local or regional planning projects that support Maine Won’t Wait: A Four-Year Plan for Climate Action and enable communities to become more resilient to unprecedented coastal storm impacts. Successful applications must address one of the following Priority Categories:

  • Conduct climate vulnerability assessments including sea level rise, storm surge, and flooding at critical public facilities.
  • Evaluate existing waterfront infrastructure resilience plans and design resilient infrastructure for vital waterfront facilities.
  • Identify hazard-prone locations to integrate land conservation and public access planning, guiding development away from vulnerable areas. 
  • Develop a comprehensive inventory of public tidal access points and working waterfronts. Establish guidelines for responsible use and conservation.
  • Review and recommend changes to municipal land use laws that address current and future coastal hazards.

For an example of a vulnerability assessment and resilience planning project for working waterfront infrastructure, see the Penobscot Bay Vulnerability Assessment and Resilience Planning Draft Summary report at: Publications | Department of Marine Resources (maine.gov). Shore and Harbor Planning Grant projects are often well prepared to compete for construction funding through other sources. 

FY 2024 Grantees

  • Belfast: City of Belfast sedimentation study for breakwater improvements
  • Brooklin: Shoreline planning and public access enhancement at Bridges Point and Dodge’s Wharf
  • Bucksport: Master plan for downtown waterfront
  • Camden: Camden Public Landing sea level rise/storm surge resiliency adaptation project*
  • Greater Portland Council of Governments: Increasing municipal capacity to preserve working waterfront and coastal access through collaboration with regional planning organizations (supporting the Town of Freeport)
  • Stockton Springs: Pier and dock preservation
  • Stonington: Improving coastal waterfront climate resilience and access along Main Street

*Camden and Stonington also received the summer 2023 Community Resilience Partnership grant.

Map of funded towns

Map of Funded Towns

 

 

 

 

Example Projects, Maps, and Funding Summary

Example projects and additional information about funded projects starting in Fiscal Year 2011

More Information