2013 Maine Beaches Conference

The Beaches Conference logo - Our Maine and New Hampshire Beaches and CoastDate | July 12, 2013, 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Location | Southern Maine Community College, South Portland, ME

FINAL PROGRAM
Speakers/exhibitors identified below are confirmed for participation. Schedule subject to change. 

7:30 a.m. Registration and Multimedia Session
Multimedia Session: Exhibits, posters, art and photography exhibits, and demonstrations of web tools for cooperation.

8:30 a.m.  General Session I
Welcome, opening remarks, and monitoring volunteer recognition.

  • Christine Feurt, Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve
  • Ronald Cantor, President, Southern Maine Community College

Plenary Session I. Lessons from Sandy: What are the take-aways for Maine?

  • Impacts from superstorm Sandy: Jay Tanski, New York Sea Grant Program
  • Nor’easter impacts: John Cannon, National Weather Service
  • Monitoring trends and how Maine can prepare: Peter Slovinsky and Steve Dickson, Maine Geological Survey

10:30 a.m.  Break and Multimedia Session

11:00 a.m.  Concurrent Sessions I
Note that some sessions anticipated to be held outdoors.

Approaches for Coastal Erosion Control

  • The evolution of coastal erosion control technology: Peter Hanrahan, E J Prescott, Inc.
  • Maine’s largest beach scraping effort: Steve Dickson, Maine Geological Survey
  • Beach landscaping and dune restoration: Sue Schaller, Bar Mills Ecological
  • Considering state and federal regulations: Marybeth Richardson, Maine Dept. of Environmental Protection and Jay Clement, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Partners Promoting Tourism on Maine’s Beaches

  • Carolann Oulette, Maine Office of Tourism
  • Keith Fletcher, Maine Coast Heritage Trust
  • Roxanne Eflin, Maine Development Foundation/Maine Downtown Center
  • Paige Farmer,  Maine Beaches Association

The State of Maine’s Beaches in 2013: Insights from Beach Profile Monitoring

  • Peter Slovinsky, Maine Geological Survey; John Cannon, National Weather Service; and beach profile monitoring volunteers

Clean Water for Clams

  • Water quality for shellfish growing areas: Kohl Kanwit, Maine Dept. of Marine Resources
  • Community engagement in water quality: Ruth Indrick, Kennebec Estuary Land Trust
  • Clean water for aquaculture: Sebastian Belle, Maine Aquaculture Association

Partnerships for Beaches

  • Strategies to build teamwork: Tony Lacertosa, Peerless Leadership Development
  • Teaming-up to track bacteria in Kittery: Jessa Kellogg, Town of Kittery
  • Partners for Clean Water in South Boston: Judith Pederson, MIT Sea Grant

12:30 p.m.  Luncheon
Enjoy lunch in the dining hall, or take lunch out to the beach.
Or join a conversation over lunch – options include (tentative):

  • Thank You Lunch for Beach Monitors: Monitoring program staff and researchers invite monitoring volunteers to lunch in your honor.
  • Lunch with DEP: Join DEP staff for informal Q/A.
  • Walk and Talk Lunch: Join presenters from Maine’s Ever-Changing Beaches for a walking lunch.

1:30 p.m.  Concurrent Sessions II
Note that some sessions anticipated to be held outdoors.

Maine’s Ever-Changing Beaches

  • Sea-level rise impacts on coastal archeological sites: Nathan Hamilton and Rob Sanford, University of Southern Maine
  • Three ways of tracking change on Maine’s beaches and what they are telling us: Joseph Kelley, University of Maine

Pollution Source Tracking

  • The source tracking toolbox: Keri Kaczor, UMaine Cooperative Extension/Maine Healthy Beaches; Fred Dillon, City of South Portland; John Bucci, University of New Hampshire; Emily DiFranco, FB Environmental Associates

Floodplains and Flooding

  • Understanding flood zones: Jim Nadeau, Nadeau Land Surveys
  • Understanding the National Flood Insurance Program: Sue Baker, Maine Dept. of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry
  • Storm surge impacts: Peter Slovinsky, Maine Geological Survey

Ecological Values

  • Working in watersheds to understand what communities value: Christine Feurt, Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve
  • What does a forest in Sanford have to do with a beach in Wells? Tin Smith, Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve
  • Endangered shorebirds on Maine’s beaches – the birds, the beaches, and why it matters: Laura Minich Zitske, Maine Audubon

Monitoring Maine’s Marine Invaders

  • Beth Bisson, Maine Sea Grant
  • Jeremy Miller, Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve
  • Sarah Morrisseau, Christine Voyer, and Jeffrey Rubel, Gulf of Maine Research Institute
  • Jessica Muhlin, Maine Martime Academy
  • Sue Richman, South Portland High School

3:15 p.m.  General Session II
Plenary Session II: Private Property, Public Rights: Ownership and Public Use of the Maine Coast

  • Introduction: Paul Dest, Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve
  • Shorelines and public rights, a background on Maine law: John Duff, University of Massachusetts, Boston
  • Goose Rocks Beach negotiating a settlement agreement: Larry Mead, Town of Kennebunkport
  • Goose Rocks Beach legal perspectives: Ben Leoni, Curtis Thaxter Attorneys at Law, and Amy Tchao, Drummond Woodsum Law Firm

4:45 p.m. Closing Remarks

2013 Maine Beaches Conference in review

The Maine Beaches Conference provides continuing opportunities for communication and exchange of the most current information among beach stakeholders with diverse interests, and presents the findings from the state’s beach monitoring programs.

2013 MBC headlines:

  • MBC’s first Call for Presentations was a great success generating 38 submissions from a wide range of beach stakeholders. 
  • And thanks to the Board of the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund for their recent support of the 2013 Maine Beaches Conference!
  • Welcome to our first-time Steering Committee members – Bill Walsh of Walsh Engineering and Paige Farmer of the Maine Beaches Association!  

For More Information:
Contact Conference Coordinator, Kristen Grant, Maine Sea Grant and University of Maine Cooperative Extension. kngrant@maine.edu, 207-646-1555 x115


2013 Partners and *Sponsors:

Catalysis Adaptation Partners

Maine Beaches Association

Maine Coastal Program *

Maine Department of Environmental Protection

Maine Geological Survey *

Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund *

Maine Sea Grant *

Ogunquit Conservation Commission *

Southern Maine Community College **

Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission *

Surfrider Northern New England *

University of Maine Cooperative Extension *

Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve *

Walsh Engineering Associates*

and Coastal Property Owners from Kennebunkport, Ogunquit, & Scarborough

Steering Committee Members:

Jake Aman
Iver Carlsen
Annie Cox
Steve Dickson
Paige Farmer
Kristen Grant (conference coordinator)
Chris Hoffman
Mike Horn
Kathleen Leyden
Keri Kaczor
Tom Long
JT Lockman (chair)
Marybeth Richardson
Catherine Schmitt
Nancy Veihmann (vice chair)
Bill Walsh