Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening.
When I took office nearly eight years ago, I promised that Maine won't wait to take action to protect our state, our people, and our economy from the dangers of extreme weather events caused by pollution and changes in our environment. And I promised that we would fight to preserve this special place that we call home for the benefit of our children and grandchildren.
We know that the stakes couldn't be higher. Look no further than the devastating storms of just a few years ago that impacted our communities, our people, and our economy. I've made climate action a cornerstone of my administration. We created the Maine Climate Council. We issued a groundbreaking climate action plan, and we dedicated millions of federal and state dollars to make that plan a reality.
In 2025, we made the single largest investment in storm recovery by any administration in Maine history, and we created the State Resilience Office to build better, stronger public infrastructure in order to withstand future storms. That office manages the Community Resilience Partnership, which includes more than 300 communities that we’re helping. And it has awarded nearly $25 million in state and federal funds for local projects to prepare for flooding, for storm surge, for rising sea levels, and other climate events that put people's lives and livelihoods at risk.
Well, last month I was proud to announce the latest round of funding through that partnership. More than $5 million in grants to 76 towns, cities, and tribal governments, including, for example, the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians and Monhegan Plantation. The Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians received nearly $75,000 in order to replace oil furnaces with energy-efficient and less polluting heat pumps in the Maliseet River Village, a tribe-owned housing development.
Monhegan Plantation received $75,000 to create engineering plans to raise and rebuild the Monhegan Town Wharf, which is the sole access point for boats and ferries coming to and from the island. We need to make that wharf no longer threatened by rising seas.
Through these projects and hundreds more across the state, we will continue to address the very real threat of severe weather events over the long term for the health of our people, the health of our environment, and the health of our economy.
You know that clean air and clean water know no political party. Our planet is neither Democratic nor Republican. It is the home of all people, and it is the responsibility of all people and all governments to preserve it for future generations.
I'm proud that over the past nearly eight years, we've made cost effective heat pumps and weatherization programs, among other things, available for Maine people and businesses. We've attracted investments in emerging industries, and we've created good paying, green-collar jobs. We've reduced our reliance on expensive fossil fuels, and we've mobilized scientists, industry leaders, local and state officials, and young people from all over to act as one to address the effects of climate change.
We've shown that we won't wait for the next storm or the next disaster, and that we do care. As the author Wendell Berry wrote, for this home that is ours, a home that we “care for as we care for no other place” in the world.
This is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening.