Planning for climate resilience

To the Editor;

Eastern Maine Development Corp. is a regional coordinator supporting Maine’s investment for communities to fight climate change.

In that capacity, our community resilience team is working in Piscataquis, Penobscot and Aroostook counties to assist them to plan for climate resilience. This is part of a concerted statewide effort to embrace clean energy while making our Maine communities more resilient to the impacts of climate change.

Planning for climate resilience starts with taking stock of how recent extreme weather events (droughts, intense rainfall, cold snaps, several days of extremely high temperatures) have impacted your community. This past winter, a few days of extremely cold temperatures made it clear that communities need to plan for these events. That planning includes identifying who in the community is without heat during the winter and identifying places where people can stay warm during extreme cold periods. Throughout the region, great strides are being made including Dover-Foxcroft receiving a Community Action Grant to develop a plan to protect its most vulnerable residents.  

In my role as climate resilience specialist for the Eastern Maine Development Corp. (separate from my role as a state legislator), I am assisting Dover-Foxcroft, Greenville, Monson and Beaver Cove in Piscataquis County; Enfield and Howland in Penobscot County; and Limestone in Aroostook County to apply for this round of Community Action grants for climate resilience projects. There’s still time for other towns to apply, and our team is ready to answer questions and help with applications to access these funds before the July 7 deadline.

Laurie Osher

Climate resilience specialist 

Eastern Maine Development Corp.

Bangor