The 2022 annual conference held by Sunrise County Economic Council (SCEC) on November 15 focused on the climate change challenges facing the county's communities and what types of strategies and mind-shifts can be used to pace long- and short-term responses.
      In gathering materials and speakers for the conference, SCEC Executive Director Charles Rudelitch explained to the attendees that it had been inspiring and exciting to see what communities were already doing to plan for the future. Rudelitch explained that climate change already impacts the present, and those impacts will only increase.
      Useful, accessible tools are critical, Rudelitch said, for communities to understand the threats and how to plan. Introducing the keynote speaker, Tora Johnson, he noted that she has excelled at creating climate impact mapping tools that communities can actually use, unlike some mapping tools that Johnson illustrated during her presentation that were incomprehensible and useless to emergency management planners.
      Johnson, the University of Maine at Machias chair of the Division of Environmental and Biological Sciences and the science director of GIS, as well as the associate professor of the GIS Laboratory and Service Center, was raised in a New England fishing family, and in that tradition, was raised to respect the environment. She opened by explaining, "When we're dealing with change as groups and communities, we don't always deal with it well. We need good tools to make good decisions, plan for the future and accept change." When communities are polarized and in crisis, the big question becomes how will they deal with change.
      A little self-reflection never hurts, and Johnson, who is also a facilitator, outlined a few definitions to help communities and organizations understand what can happen in crisis. The alarming phrase "devil-shift" is when there is sudden, emergent polarization. When that happens, "all good decision-making stops," Johnson noted. To move away from devil-shift, communities can assess the many different types of capital within their boundaries, and this includes what Downeast is well known for, its social capital. Johnson explained that there are two types of social capital to focus on -- bonding and bridging. Bonding is within a group with shared interests, such as a faith organization, a political party or social club. Bridging is formed when there is an exchange between different bonding groups and beliefs. Johnson explained, "Rural communities are much stronger when they have a blend of both." She added, "To be resilient you need both kinds. Bridging often brings outside resources, and you really need those resources during a crisis."
      That brought Johnson to the next definition: resilience. "You have to have enough capital [or resources] to weather challenges and change, to come out the other side as who you are." Of course, it's more complicated than that, she noted with a smile. There is "bounce-back" resilience, where a community builds to where and what it had before the crisis, and there is "bounce-forward" resilience, which moves forward in a way that protects social capital but doesn't necessarily build what existed before. "It's not easy. It's not what we tend to do."
      And lastly, Johnson noted the importance of "dignity." She said, "It underpins all the work we do in partnerships." Dignity can be violated, and when it is, it plays a role in devil-shift, undermining the ability of communities, institutions and individuals to face challenges with humanity and creativity. As an example of how a community can change in attitude and action, Johnson discussed the Machias downtown and the flooding that has increased, with four of the 100-year floods, only supposed to occur once every 100 years, happening in the last six years. From 2015 to 2019 community skepticism about climate change decreased significantly, she noted. Building flood resilience measures to allow for a gradual retreat from flood zones is one way to use both strategies for long- and short-term benefit. She added, "Machias is way ahead" compared to many other communities Downeast.
     

Managing uncertainty in the fisheries
      A number of break-out sessions were held during the conference, including a panel discussion about managing uncertainty in the fisheries. Downeast Fisheries Partnership Director Bob Wood shared data that show how the lobster industry has grown from 51% of the value of the state's fishery catch in 1950 to 82% in 2021. The diversity of catch has declined, and warming waters have been conducive to lobster growth.
      The lack of economic diversity is unhealthy, as part-time lobsterman Jake Patryn said. With the pandemic, it became clear that lobster is considered a luxury, with sales plummeting. In addition, Wood noted that, using data that track juvenile lobster, the landings projections for seven-year increments strongly suggest that by 2028 the fishery will start to see a strong decline. The current generation of lobster fishermen grew up with a booming industry "and will not be used to this kind of decline."
      Part of building fishery resilience is strengthening the food web that supports a diverse ecosystem of fisheries and more, Wood stated. Kirstin Underwood, habitat restoration project manager with the Downeast Salmon Federation, explained how the infrastructure of the past can be removed to allow for wetland, uplands and salt marshes to function at a higher level. Two-thirds of high-value fisheries use salt marshes, she said. Some of these productive areas have been blocked for years, such as by an old powerhouse near Meddybemps that was finally removed. With the removal of such blocks, "we can work to restore tidal activity," and create a healthier and more diverse food web.
      Kyle Pepperman, the associate director of technology transfer at the Downeast Institute, who works with communities to increase clam production and explore new shellfish aquaculture opportunities, discussed the success of a demonstration oyster farm in an unused lobster pound enclosure at Beals Island. It is one example of how lobster industry infrastructure can be used for other ocean-related industry. Aquaculture such as oyster farming is a sustainable option for fishermen dependent on the wild fisheries and a way to create economic resilience should the lobster fishery collapse, he explained.
      "Water in pounds is significantly warmer, and eastern oysters love warm water, so it's an opportunity to diversify to a high-value product," Pepperman said. Part of his research is to create a genetic line of colder-water oysters and seed for sale that are adapted to Maine temperatures. Pepperman is available to speak to anyone interested in learning about aquaculture, including with oysters, mussels and clams.