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V O L . X X V I N O. X I I I J U N E 1 5 , 2 0 2 0 18 E N E R G Y / E N V I RO N M E N T J ust off Interstate 295 on the Yarmouth-Freeport line, barely visible behind the trees along the highway, the east branch of the Cousins River snakes through a vast expanse of marshland, surrounded by gently rolling upland covered in pines and deciduous trees. Even with the highway noise, it's a pastoral spot, free from the devel- opment that covers much of eastern Cumberland County. e natural beauty is only a small part of what makes the land attractive to the Maine Coast Heritage Trust, which is in the process of buying 82 acres on the Yarmouth south side of the marsh, closest to Granite Street. e property and surrounding upland, along with parcels like it up and down the coast, are one of Maine's biggest tools to help the state's coast adapt to climate change and the rising sea that will come with it. e trust, which formed 50 years ago to help preserve land around Acadia National Park, has expanded both in reach and vision over the decades, and the Marsh for Tomorrow Initiative is now a major project. "Every five years we do a strategic plan, and for the last few, climate change has grown in focus," says Tim Glidden, MCHT executive director. "We're try- ing to prepare for what things might look like 100 years from now." Last year, the land trust com- pleted a $125 million capital campaign. Of that, $65 million was earmarked for land acquisition and creation of public access and environmental protection programs; $42 million for stewardship; and $18 million for con- necting people to the land through education, policy advocacy and other types of programs. Since 1970, Maine Coast Heritage Trust has helped conserve more than 150,000 acres in Maine, from the Isles of Shoals to Cobscook Bay, including more than 300 entire coastal islands. With the Marsh for Tomorrow Initiative, it aims to protect the unde- veloped upland around the state's salt marshes. e dry higher land, acquired through purchase or easement, will be clear from development to become marshland as the water rises. Protecting the land is critical to sustaining the state's coastal biodiver- sity, and the economy that goes with it, Glidden says. e state's coastal marshes are largely clustered along the southern Maine coast and Downeast. ey save the state millions of dollars annually through ero- sion control, reduced flood damage and pollution abatement, the trust says. A wide variety of the state's commer- cial and sport fish species spend some portion of their life cycle in marshes — including clams, mussels, and lobsters — before they venture out to the ocean. e marshes are also duck and shorebird habitat, and feeding grounds for osprey, herons and eagles. ey also absorb carbon dioxide and provide a buffer for storm surges. P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY F O C U S Tim Glidden, director of Maine Coast Heritage Trust, left, and Jeremy Gabrielson, conservation planner, on the Cousins River on the Yarmouth-Freeport line, part of a parcel of preserve marsh the trust plans to buy and protect. The Cousins River seen here passing under I-295, with Pratts Brook at left. We're trying to prepare for what things might look like 100 years from now. — Tim Glidden MCHT executive director P H O T O S / C O U R T E S Y O F M C H T RISING SEAS, RISING CONCERNS B y M a u r e e n M i l l i k e n With capital campaign complete, land trust puts marsh areas on its to-do list

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