AUGUSTA - Rep. Jay McCreight, D-Harpswell, will update members of Congress Wednesday on how the Sea Grant program has enabled climate resiliency projects along Maine's coast. The 1 p.m. panel discussion will include McCreight and three other speakers from around the country.
The Sea Grant Association Virtual Congressional Briefing will focus in part on community resilience as it relates to underserved or economically disadvantaged communities. It can be viewed live as a Zoom webinar.
McCreight, who co-chairs the Legislature's Marine Resources Committee and serves on the Maine Sea Grant Advisory Committee, will tie climate change mitigation efforts to supporting vulnerable members of Maine communities and advocate for both continued and expanded funding to the Sea Grant program.
"Among our challenges is the need to address social vulnerability - the vulnerability of our older adults, of our working waterfront and the increasing challenges of emergency response with more frequent storm-related damage, blocked roads and extended power outages," said McCreight. "Sea Grant's work will help to make sure smaller communities with fewer resources all over Maine can implement their own climate resiliency plans and help protect the coast and all those who live and work there from the effects of climate change."
In McCreight's community of Harpswell, which has nearly 217 miles of coastline, 63% of the roads are private, and the population is among Maine's oldest by median age. With sea levels rising, flooding and storm surges could increasingly cut vulnerable populations across Maines coast off from first responders.
"While Sea Grant has made great headway with this work in some communities, they don't currently have the capacity to do all of the critical work that is needed around the state," said McCreight.
The National Sea Grant College program was established by the U.S. Congress in 1966 and works to create and maintain a healthy coastal environment and economy. The Sea Grant network consists of a federal/university partnership between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, and 34 university-based programs in every coastal and Great Lakes state, Puerto Rico and Guam.
McCreight is serving her fourth term in the Maine House and represents Harpswell, West Bath and northeastern Brunswick.
TWHAT: The Sea Grant Association Virtual Congressional Briefing
WHO: Rep. Jay McCreight, D-Harpswell
WHEN: Wednesday, May 19, 2021 at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
HOW TO WATCH: Register for the Zoom webinar here.
Contact:
Jackie Merrill [McCreight], c. 812-1111