State of Maine's Beaches in 2009

Conclusion

The State of Maine Beach Profiling Project, with its volunteer beach monitors, is vital to better understanding the monthly, seasonal, and yearly patterns of beach change. It has also proven to provide valuable data to support analysis of the impacts of large storm events, in this case, the Patriots' Day Storm of 2007. The Maine Geological Survey, which conducts annual and sometimes biannual shoreline surveys on its own, does not have the personnel or funding to support monthly beach profiling efforts. However, with the availability of the profiling data from the efforts of the volunteers and funded from local sources, we are able to utilize data that would simply not exist if not for the program. These data are extremely important in understanding the impacts of, and documenting the recovery from, large storm events.

Analysis of profile data have shown that:

The majority of southern Maine's beaches have recovered from the Patriots' Day Storm in two years.
The degree of recovery generally ranges from satisfactory to excellent.
Together all the beaches have overall mean value of a good rating.

Continued monthly profiling over the next few years will help determine whether or not some of the beaches that did not score highly after two years simply needed more time to fully recover. Time will tell if there will be lasting changes to some beaches or if full recovery never occurs before the next major storm arrives.

This kind of data - especially when collected over a long period of time - is important for future decision-making processes that incorporate different aspects of beach management, including identification of stable, eroding, or accreting shorelines, potential beach nourishment projects, dune restoration or construction projects, dune grass management, and where to best spend public (or private) funds in order to get the highest return on dollars spent.

Contents Introduction Beach Responses Discussion Conclusions References

Last updated on November 19, 2009