Maine makes a high-stakes bet to protect its waterways

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • April 14, 2026

Workshops are being held by the Maine Forest Service to teach the low-tech art of live staking, a nature-based stabilization method using “living rebar” to prevent Maine rivers, lakes, and coastal dunes from washing away in a changing climate. For years, the standard reaction to a crumbling shore was rip rap or a retaining wall. But state regulators now think hard armor can backfire, damaging neighboring lots, causing downstream erosion, and destroying the “living edge” that filters out pollutants before they reach the water. Under the new regulations, most landowners will have to prove nature-based solutions will not work before they are permitted to haul in stone or pour concrete.