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The American Lighthouse Foundation has partnered with Maine Preservation to nominate all 66 Maine coastal lighthouses to the World Monuments Fund 2025 Watch List. The World Monuments Fund (WMF), which is headquartered at the Rockefeller Center in New York, created the Watch List concept in 1996.
According to the WMF website, “The World Monuments Watch is a nomination-based program that connects local heritage preservation to global awareness and action. Every two years, the Watch rallies support to places in need and the people who care for them, spotlighting new challenges and the communities worldwide harnessing heritage to confront the crucial issues of our time. At its core, the Watch’s call to action seeks to empower timely preservation efforts that improve the lives of communities.”
Why is this collaborative nomination effort of paramount importance?
While it has long been appreciated that lighthouses are irreplaceable treasures possessing powerful cultural and educational importance, the diverse threats posed to their present and future well-being are less understood.
Traditionally, the public has viewed such risks as stemming from neglect, vandalism and the rare generational weather event. These ponderous or rare adverse effects typically have not created a sense of urgency within our communities. Yes, the public does grasp the fact that these detrimental impacts should be addressed; however, they have not necessarily deemed the circumstances dire in nature.
This may have been the case for decades prior, but no more.
Though preservationists have been more keenly aware of the dangers posed by a changing climate and rising sea levels, challenges to crucial and effective action remain unconquered. Whether this has been due to complacency, a lack of resources, or otherwise, does not change the stark reality that Maine’s lighthouses are facing an ever-growing risk from severe storms and burgeoning tides.
The devastating storms of January 10 and 13, 2024 were a turning point for Maine’s lighthouses – and there is no going back. The destruction from storm surge, waves, and wind to historic light station structures, estimated at $5.5 million, was sudden and catastrophic. The scenes were heartbreaking and the scars left upon the coast and islands, will abide for quite some time.
In a matter of a few hours, swaths of our history and community fabric were torn asunder by the unprecedented fury of the sea, which was further exasperated by astronomical high tides. Decades of time, talent, and treasure invested by hardworking owners and volunteers was carried away upon record-breaking water levels.
By design, lighthouses were built in exposed and dangerous locations in order to protect mariners from hazards to navigation as they approached the mainland. Standing on the “frontlines” meant that lighthouses were destined to engage in a perpetual battle against the elements and powerful storms.
And though historic records show storms like hurricanes have impacted our nation’s lighthouses throughout their long and enduring watch, the worst of the damage was generally confined to the landfall zone. In the case of the two January 2024 storms in Maine, the destructive inundation was statewide along the coast due to a combination of unparalleled high tides and surge. The forlorn scenes dampened spirits and gave rise to difficult questions that are begging for answers.
“Light stations were purposefully positioned on low-lying peninsulas and small outcroppings comprising the most dangerous parts of Maine’s coast, which means they are now extremely vulnerable to the rising seas and increasingly extreme weather resulting from climate change,” says Maine Preservation. “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.”
Ford Reiche, owner of Maine’s Halfway Rock Lighthouse and a 2017 recipient of ALF’s Keeper of the Light award, expounded on the challenges, noting, “Unfortunately, the Gulf of Maine is in some ways a global bullseye for climate change. Maine’s lighthouses have survived hurricanes over the years, but this was more geographically widespread damage than we have ever seen in the past.”
Maine’s lighthouses form one of the most unique maritime complexes in the United States. Historically, Maine’s waters were deemed so hazardous to domestic and international marine trade that of the 66 lighthouses remaining in the state, 50 were established beyond the mainland to help safeguard lives, ships and cargoes.
Of the nation’s complete inventory of offshore light stations, an astounding 25% reside in Maine waters. This is a huge number, which contributes mightily to the fact that the Pine Tree State’s lighthouses are, as a group, the most endangered in the United States – and possibly, the world.
We celebrate and cherish the distinctiveness of this diverse collection, but simultaneously, we now must rise up to mitigate the adverse effects threatening their very existence in the new normal spawned by a changing climate.
When dealing with a growing list of threats to Maine’s lighthouses, the daunting endeavor can benefit greatly from the involvement of a distinguished platform like the World Monuments Fund. The WMF is proficient at helping raise awareness on a global stage – and not just awareness, but the ability to connect preservation efforts with possible international resources as well.
“Since the program’s inception, the Watch has been a proven tool for raising awareness about heritage places in need of protection and galvanizing action and support for their preservation,” notes the World Monuments Fund’s website. “Heritage sites of extraordinary significance, facing pressing challenges, and where WMF’s partnership with local communities has the potential to make a meaningful difference.”
“Maine’s lighthouses are the first in the nation to experience this new future we are confronting,” says Ford Reiche. “Nomination and possible naming to the World Monuments Fund Watch List will help bring global recognition to a matter deserving of immediate attention and action.”
No longer is historic lighthouse preservation simply about reversing neglect, restoring elements and character-defining features lost to time or dealing with slow-moving erosion. Moving forward, it’s also about sudden disasters, emergency response, hazard mitigation, and planning well beyond a scope ever required before to protect these vulnerable treasures standing watch over the ocean, bays, and rivers.
Straightaway, lighthouses need broader resources, including more extensive technical guidance and committed financial support – most of which exceeds the ability of grassroots fundraising to adequately address.
Since the scourge of climate change and rising sea levels will strike more frequently here forward, the collective response can ill afford to be sporadic. Lighthouse preservation and maintenance without resiliency built in to the perpetual vigil will no longer suffice.
“Amplifying the potential loss of widely recognized and popularly regarded landmarks like Maine light stations will serve as an effective platform for educating American citizens about real and present impacts of climate change and the existential threat posed to humankind,” says Maine Preservation.
Maine Preservation went on to note, “Not since the United States government owned and operated all light stations has there been a moment for all light station stewards to coalesce and work towards a unified goal. While each light station is unique and significant, it is the collective network of light stations that makes them an unquestionable icon of Maine’s cultural landscape worthy of coordinated technical assistance and financial resources for all.”
No other structure better symbolizes the collective efforts of a courageous world to address and mitigate the threats posed by climate change than a lighthouse. These venerable sentinels are resolute against the tempest – sending out a guiding light and hope eternal to all who look their way.
But Maine’s lighthouses will not continue to stand strong without help. For two centuries this collection of historic structures has served with an unconditional benevolence to all peoples who sought their counsel – regardless of flag, creed, or race. Now it is our turn to save Maine’s lighthouses in their hour of greatest need.
The threat posed by a changing climate to these historic sentinels of the sea is unprecedented, and will require an urgent call to action broader in scope than anything ever undertaken to protect lighthouses in the United States to date.
By working together, Ford Reiche sees great opportunity and hope, noting, “The experiences of Maine lighthouses in the repair process and damage mitigation measures will be instructional to all lighthouses throughout the United States moving forward.”
“A singular story could be formed to better communicate the significance of light stations to citizens and visitors,” says Maine Preservation. “This new approach would bolster efforts and lessen the scarcity mindset around available resources. The collective would share their knowledge of adapting and preparing coastal resources to a national and global audience.”
The world is seeking to reach the shores of a more resilient tomorrow, so let’s ensure lighthouses are there to help “guide” the way. Are we up to the challenge? We certainly believe so. It is time to shine!
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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