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In the world of lighthouses, there are many journeys. Often, we are presented the opportunity to choose which journey we wish to embark upon – and once in a while, a journey chooses us.
The latter was the case for the American Lighthouse Foundation (ALF) and its friends in the wake of two powerful winter storms that ravaged the Maine coast from one end of the state to the other on January 10 and 13, 2024. Make no mistake – these weather events were no ordinary storms. Maine’s coastline and islands, including working waterfronts and seaside communities, were absolutely slammed.
The fury brought by the two storms was unprecedented. Tumultuous seas, relentless winds and record-setting water levels caused by three- to four-foot storm surges combining with astronomical high tides were a recipe for disaster. And that is exactly what the storms wrought – a disaster.
With no place to hide, it came as no surprise that Maine’s light stations were some of the hardest hit locations. Due to their exposed placement, many people wondered how lighthouses fared in the wake of the storms, and expressed a real concern for the well-being of these treasures.
However, there were nearly no answers to this question given that it was winter – a time when most boats are out of the water, and the fact that many of Maine’s light stations are located offshore. The lack of any answers was disconcerting.
Times of uncertainty call for leadership and action. Stepping to the forefront to assist ALF was a dear friend – Ford Reiche, owner of Maine’s wave-swept Halfway Rock Light in Casco Bay and an indomitable preservationist. Ford, like ALF, felt that the dispiriting situation required a timely undertaking to discover the extent of damage to the lighthouses.
The two January storms, which punctuated the impact of a changing climate and rising sea levels with an exclamation mark, had chosen the next lighthouse journey for preservationists – and there would be no turning back from the challenging road ahead.
Though there were, and always will be, a myriad of other tasks and demands associated with lighthouse preservation that demand prompt attention, an extraordinary emergency had suddenly presented itself that required a concerted team effort. A course was quickly set to determine what could be done in response to the storm damage, and how best to raise public awareness for the plight of Maine’s lighthouses.
Ten days after the January storms, Ford Reiche and the author took to the skies with Pine Tree Helicopters to survey the heartbreaking damage to the light stations from Popham Beach to Frenchman Bay. In all, 23 light stations were surveyed by air during the six-hour flight.
The findings served as a basis for preparing a preliminary report outlining the extent of damage to Maine’s lighthouses. It was urgent to share the findings with government entities, the media, and the general public. Why? As Ford Reiche points out, “It is widely believed that we will simply lose some of our historic Maine lighthouses if prompt and appropriate action is not taken.”
Shortly thereafter, ALF, in collaboration with United States Lighthouse Society Historian Jeremy D’Entremont, created a three-minute video entitled, January 2024 Storm Damage to Maine Lighthouses, which was distributed far and wide. The video compilation contained riveting imagery and brief overviews of the storm damage and proved to be an effective tool for shining a bright light on the damage caused to these historic sites.
Simultaneously, ALF began cultivating a preliminary relationship with DCMC Partners, a crisis management service consultant firm who are experts in the disaster recovery life cycle, including hazard mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery, planning, grants management, etc.
Ford Reiche expounded on this, saying, “DCMC has worked as a consultant on hundreds of natural disasters all across America. We feel fortunate on two counts. One, the firm’s costs are often able to be paid through government funding to manage application and facilitation of relief funds, and two, one of the company’s President Partners, Drew Sachs, lives right here in Maine. To date, all of DCMC’s time supporting ALF and the lighthouse community has been provided pro bono in hopes of helping Maine’s iconic lighthouses recover more quickly and effectively.”
The disaster recovery process is both cumbersome and complex. The expertise and guidance that Drew Sachs has provided this effort right from the outset has been amazing. Drew’s involvement is a testament to the importance and value of professional prowess.
On January 29, 2024, ALF representatives appeared as guests on the “News Center Maine’s 207” – a nightly news magazine show – that is popular statewide, to discuss the damage identified at Maine’s lighthouses. Host Rob Caldwell shared with the show’s audience the daunting challenges lighthouses faced in the aftermath of the two storms.
Additionally, ALF representatives conducted interviews with news media outlets from across the state. Word about the storm damage to lighthouses spread swiftly throughout coastal Maine communities and beyond. ALF also met with Kirk F. Mohney, Director and State Historic Preservation Officer, and Mike D. Johnson, Historic Preservation Coordinator of the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, to share reports of the known status and of damages to light station structures.
Another ALF initiative was to engage a cadre of experts in the fields of historic preservation and marine services to assess the lighthouse storm damage reports and provide estimated repair costs based on their prior experience with historic restoration, operational logistics and mobilization. This is extremely vital for island and wave-swept sites.
This team of professionals determined that Maine’s lighthouses suffered an estimated $5.5 million in damage at a minimum. This figure was premised upon known factors only. It was understood at the time that what remained unknown regarding damage at the light stations would potentially increase this amount.
The team of advisors did not stop at assessing the costs of storm damage – they also assisted in formulating costs for preliminary hazard mitigation measures. The team was aware that simply repairing storm damaged structures would not be enough; an effort ensuring that the impacted sites are made more resilient and suffer less damage from similar storms in the future was needed. These estimates came in at an additional $6 million.
Identifying the estimated cost of damage from the two January 2024 storms was important for both public awareness and a preliminary determination of resources necessary for the recovery process – including obtaining the funding to make things whole again.
To this end, ALF elevated the plight of lighthouses to the attention of Maine Legislature. On March 6, 2024, ALF and other Maine lighthouse stewards testified before the Joint Standing Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs at the State House supporting Governor Janet Mills’ emergency legislation in the form of Bill LD 2225, an Act to Provide Funding to Rebuild Infrastructure Affected by Extreme Inland and Coastal Weather Events. The goal was to secure eligibility for lighthouses to apply for funding needed in the recovery and mitigation process. During the initial drafting of the Bill, which sought to allocate $50 million to assist Maine’s working waterfront’s recovery, lighthouses would have been precluded from being deemed eligible to secure funding.
Given the fact that lighthouses constitute vital coastal infrastructure and most remain active aids to navigation, ALF asked the Joint Standing Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs for an additional $12 million to be allocated in the Bill L.D. 2225. Due to ALF engaging the process on behalf of lighthouses, the Maine legislature voted to widen the eligibility parameters for entities who may benefit from State support – adding nonprofits and businesses to those eligible, as well as increasing the pool of funds to be made available for resiliency measures from $50 million to $60 million.
ALF representatives also elevated the harm inflicted upon Maine’s lighthouses to the attention of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation in Washington, D.C. During a meeting with Sara C. Bronin, Chairperson, and Adam Brodheim, Ms. Bronin proved very helpful with suggestions on raising regional and national awareness as to how climate change is adversely impacting historic sites like lighthouses.
As part of a process implement these ideas, ALF partnered with Maine Preservation to prepare and submit an application that nominated all 66 of Maine’s historic lighthouses to the World Monument’s Fund 2025 Watch List.
The overriding mission of the World Monument’s Fund is to “work with local partners around the globe to provide financial and technical support for preservation, restoration, and long-term stewardship” of historic and cultural sites, and to help protect them from the dangers of “constant attack by time, neglect, natural forces, and human actions.” This includes our changing climate and rising sea levels.
The nomination was formally submitted by Maine Preservation to the World Monument’s Fund on March 15, 2024. Why all of Maine’s lighthouses? Because all are presently threatened. The scientific and historic preservation communities are keenly aware that the Gulf of Maine is ground zero for the changing climate and warming waters. As Maine Preservation notes, “According to the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, the Gulf of Maine is warming faster than 99% of all other ocean surface on the planet, meaning the rate of change in rising seas and storm surges impacting Maine’s light stations is among the most extreme.”
Another factor working against Maine’s lighthouses is that of the 66 existing lighthouses, 50 are located offshore, standing on the front lines of severe storm conditions that are seldom realized or documented. In fact, Maine is home to an astounding 25% of America’s offshore lighthouses, making the Pine Tree State’s inventory of lighthouses some of the most vulnerable and endangered in the entire nation.
On March 20, 2024, President Joe Biden approved the request of Governor Janet Mills for a federal disaster declaration related to the coastal storms of January 10 and 13, 2024. This authorization opened the door for Federal Emergency Management Agency funds and other federal relief funds, including eligible lighthouses. ALF spoke with representatives from the Maine Emergency Management Agency to notify them of the damages to Maine’s lighthouses and to further learn about the disaster assistance process.
In times of crisis, it is reassuring to know that there are potential federal and state resources, including Small Business Administration loans, that help with the disaster recovery and resiliency efforts; however, these opportunities are not without their challenges.
By their very nature, these government programs are complex and time-consuming and operate under strict deadlines. These issues are further complicated by the remote nature of lighthouses, guidelines placed upon their cultural and historic significance, the unique risk profile of lighthouses, and the varied ownership and maintenance agreements in place that facilitate their ongoing preservation.
Considering the cumbersome nature of the recovery process, it behooves lighthouse stewards to work as a collective. Therefore, ALF is endeavoring to lead the way, in conjunction with the assistance of our FEMA consultant and team of professional advisors. Why? Because ALF recognizes the fact that as individual groups, we can accomplish some things, but by working together, we can all reach greater heights more effectively.
To help lighthouses navigate the present and future challenges stemming from ongoing storm damage, climate change and rising sea levels, ALF is forming a Storm Response and Mitigation Committee. The committee will develop best practices to address these threats, as well as creating a network of professional experts that can advise and assist the disaster recovery process. This includes hazard mitigation as we work together to make lighthouses more resilient.
There is still a great deal of work to be tackled by all of us – the lighthouse collective. As stewards of these historic treasures, it is clear that we are entering a new era where such extreme weather patterns are going to be repeated in the future. In light of this, ALF’s efforts will not stop with damage reports, media/stakeholder engagement, professional consultation and nominations to important preservation advocates.
During the spring and summer of 2024, ALF will widen its team of experts, seek additional solutions to climate threats, partner further with government agencies and scientific educational institutions – and cultivate federal funding opportunities for lighthouses through the support of our Congressional Delegations. As Ford Reiche so aptly noted, “To quote an age-old saying: ‘Well begun is half done.’” So, onward the American Lighthouse Foundation will press!
This story appeared in the
May/Jun 2024 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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