Greater Portland Council of Governments leads coastal erosion initiative

The Greater Portland Council of Governments is implementing an initiative to help Casco Bay communities threatened by coastal erosion. Over the next two years, the council will work with project partners on educating municipalities on coastal bluff erosion, designing erosion mitigation plans and coastal bluff mapping. The project received a $350,000 grant through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Coastal Resilience Fund. “Things that could potentially accelerate erosion: sea-level rise, increased storm intensity, variable changing temperature in the winter,” said Gretchen Anderson, the council’s sustainability program coordinator. “It’s all the heavy hitters, if you will, of climate change that will impact this problem.”