INLAND FLOOD PROJECT
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Rising above rising waters
Supporting inland flood-prone communities
Maine is getting wetter faster than much of the rest of the country, and Western Maine is getting wetter faster than most other parts of Maine. Communities are already experiencing the impacts of extreme weather. The purpose of this project is to engage community members in monitoring flood-prone sites, documenting flood impacts, and sharing stories of how communities are coming together to address increasing flood challenges.
The Inland Flood Project is designed to support inland communities, watershed groups, emergency managers, and others in monitoring and documenting the rapidly changing conditions in Maine’s most flood-prone and vulnerable inland areas.
The project's goals include:
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Identifying and documenting high-risk and repetitive damage areas, extreme weather damages, the extent and duration of flood conditions in flood-prone areas, in vulnerable and often underserved neighborhoods, on roads, and on other infrastructure in communities
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Mitigating personal and community property loss through more informed land-use planning
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Integrating project data with National Weather Service and other sources for a more comprehensive understanding of flood damages and community impacts
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Improving Oxford County’s Hazard Mitigation Plan, which in turn will facilitate access to future funding opportunities and reimbursement programs
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Creating a “living” compendium of stories pertaining to the social and emotional impacts of flooding events–stories of personal and community-wide hardship; tales of loss, determination, innovation, heroism and more
The Center for an Ecology-Based Economy is pleased to partner on this project with:
Inspired by an interactive session on local flooding at CEBE’s 2024 Climate Convergence and funded by a three-year grant from The Betterment Foundation, with generous in-kind technical services from the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, the Inland Flood Project is being piloted in Western Maine with the hope of creating a tool that will be valuable to inland communities across Maine and the greater northeast bioregion.
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Explore the project webpage here on GMRI’s Ecosystem Investigation Network platform. Though we have not yet formally started the outreach and training phase of this project, the platform is currently fully functional and ready to accept data.
If you, your group, or community would like to host an Inland Flood Project training session, please contact our Bioregional Coordinator, Roberta Hill.
This video tells the story of a collaboration between Telstar High School's Environmental Policy Class and the Center for an Ecology-Based Economy (CEBE), both located in the Western Foothills region of Maine.
Under the guidance of their teacher D Johannesen, advisor Sara King (Maine Forest Collaborative/Rural Aspirations), and Roberta Hill (CEBE), the students began exploring ways to raise awareness of the increasing threat of inland flooding in their region, and to develop new ways for community members to engage in local flood monitoring and resilience efforts. The student presentation took place on January 9, 2025 at Telstar High School in Bethel, Maine.
2023 flood images and drone footage were generously provided by Matthew Staglia, Stonetree Creative.
