2025 MSWC Proposed Sessions

Graphic representing sustainability themes

The Call for Abstracts is open. Oral abstracts must fit within the guidelines of one of the session topics outlined below.

Session 1. PFAS in the Maine Environment: Current Research in Ecosystem Health and Strategies for Mitigation and Remediation  

Session Co-chairs:

This session will bring together researchers monitoring PFAS contamination of groundwater, surface water, and drinking water and assessing the impact on ecosystem health. PFAS sources generally originate on land and include inputs from septic systems and overboard discharge (OBD) systems on individual properties, application of wastewater treatment plant residuals to land surfaces, municipal wastewater discharges, industrial effluents, run off, and atmospheric deposition. The session will explore PFAS loading and transport in various environmental matrices, as well as the potential impacts of PFAS on coastal ecosystem health and marine resources. Identified practices for mitigation and remediation, in addition to potential environmental controlling factors will also be discussed. The session will include individual talks and a thematic breakout session for researchers to meet with session participants to share ideas, prioritize next steps, and identify areas for potential collaboration. Outcomes of the breakout sessions will be highlighted on a new website for showcasing and sharing PFAS research with public audiences called PFAS in Maine.

Session 2. Sustainable Packaging and Reuse Solutions to Address the Issue of Plastic Waste

Session Co-chairs:

  • Adam Springer, Sustainable Products Lead, Hannaford’s Grocery
  • Allison Melvin, Greenhead Lobster LLC
  • Beth Bisson, Associate Director, Maine Sea Grant Program, UMaine
  • Chyanne Yoder, Graduate Research Assistant, Dept. of Anthropology, UMaine
  • Colleen Walker, Director, Process Development Center, Chemical Engineering, UMaine
  • Cynthia Isenhour, Associate Professor, Dept. of Anthropology/Climate Change Institute, UMaine
  • David Neivandt, Professor, Dept. of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, UMaine
  • Douglas Bousfield, Professor, Dept. of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, UMaine
  • Harsha Elizabeth James, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Marine Debris Challenge, Maine Sea Grant, UMaine
  • Jamie Garvin, Director of Communications & Public Affairs. Ecomaine
  • Jessica S. Jansujwicz, Assistant Director for Research, Maine Sea Grant, UMaine
  • Mahbuba Daizy, Graduate Research Assistant, Dept. of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, UMaine
  • Megan Pryor, Waste Management Climate Policy Advisor, Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future
  • Mostafa Rohi Gal, Graduate Research Assistant, Dept. of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, UMaine
  • Olivia Lee, Graduate Research Assistant, Dept. of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, UMaine
  • Sandro Zier, Graduate Research Assistant, Dept. of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, UMaine
  • Sanjana Mutyapu, Graduate Research Assistant, Dept. of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, UMaine
  • Theressa Torrent, Senior Planner, Maine Coastal Program

This session will focus on sustainable solutions, which will help advance the efforts to slow plastic resource loops. Emphasis will be on approaches to replace single-use plastics by designing biodegradable packaging alternatives and ways to reduce its overall demand by identifying effective, equitable, and scalable reuse systems. The session will also explore how producer and consumer input can be incorporated into the development, design, and testing of reusable and naturally derived plastic substitutes through stakeholder-informed processes. Presenters will include members of an interdisciplinary team of students and faculty members from the University of Maine Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Department of Anthropology/Climate Change Institute, and the Maine Sea Grant Program, formed as part of NOAA’s Marine Debris Challenge Initiative. Representatives from the packaging, hospitality, and waste management industries will co-lead the session. Presentations and panel discussions will give an overview of the end-of-life package designs and reuse systems developed as part of the project, highlighting the role played by stakeholder engagement in developing solutions that meet the customer/industry standards. Breakout sessions will be integrated into the session to solicit feedback from the audience and address the questions related to the sustainable solutions and future directions.

Session 3. MAINECAN: Maine community-led Energy and Climate Action Network

Session Co-chairs

  • Sharon Klein, Associate Professor School of Economics, Mitchell Center Faculty Fellow, UMaine
  • Caroline Noblet, Associate Professor School of Economics, Mitchell Center Faculty Fellow, UMaine
  • Cressica Brazier, Research Associate, MAINECAN
  • Kelsey Flores, Wabanaki Sustainable Energy Coordinator
  • Jasmine Lamb, Founder & Chair, Sipayik Resilience Committee
  • Faizan Saif, Graduate Research Assistant, UMaine
  • Catherine Mardosa, Research Assistant, UMaine
  • Hamza Imran, Graduate Research Assistant, UMaine
  • Sonia Leone, Undergraduate Research Assistant, UMaine
  • Katherine Simmons, Undergraduate Research Assistant, UMaine
  • Maddie Jensen, Planner, Bangor Area Transportation Comprehensive Transportation System
  • Gabe McPhail, Resilient Communities, L3C
  • Scott Vlaun, Executive Director, Center for an Ecology Based Economy
  • Abby Roche, Community Development Officer, Island Institute
  • Beth Woolfolk, Manager of Renewable Energy Planning and Policy, A Climate to Thrive

This session will bring together Maine communities (municipal & tribal government officials, local
non-profit organizations, citizen groups) implementing or interested in implementing climate and
energy solutions and the groups supporting these efforts: Service Providers and Regional
Coordinators from the Maine Community Resilience Partnership; Maine-based non-profit
organizations; and other entities supporting community-driven climate and energy action. It will
be an all-day “track” with morning and afternoon sessions and related poster presentations. This
will be our second Maine community-led Energy and Climate Action Network (MAINECAN)
event; this initiative has been building over recent years and is a collaboration between
community groups and the entities that support them. Each session will focus on a different
theme: outreach/engagement best practices (community leaders with community members;
supportive partners with communities); specific projects and lessons learned (e.g., climate
action planning processes, community-driven solar cooperatives, residential weatherization,
etc.); ongoing and planned research into opportunities and barriers for energy transitions; and
resources for communities to build capacity and keep the momentum going. A targeted focus
will be on people and communities considered underserved, disadvantaged, or “high” on
Maine’s Social Vulnerability Index. Ideally, each session will have some combination of panel
presentations and roundtable discussions.

Session 4. Wildfire Resilience in Maine’s Forests and Communities

Session Co-chairs

  • David Ludwig, Senior Planner, Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry
  • Kent Nelson, Forest Ranger Specialist, Maine Forest Service

At the 2024 Sustainability & Water Conference, attendees were introduced to wildland fire history, ecology, management, and possible futures in Maine based on climate modeling. We will build on those foundations at the 2025 session while incorporating new topics and updates since the last conference.

In the last year, Maine has been awarded funding for several Community Wildfire Protection Plans. We will provide updates on these projects and lessons learned so far for other communities to build on. We will also review fire activity from 2024. Fueled by drought, between October and the first few weeks of November, nearly 200 wildfires occurred in Maine, which is ten times higher than the average for that time of year. At the same time many fires, ranging from 100 to over 5,000 acres in size, burned across the northeast. We will discuss ways that communities can mitigate wildfire risk. We will also highlight the role that prescribed fire is playing in southern Maine to maintain rare plant communities and wildlife species. Finally, we will build on topics introduced last year, providing more details about fuels reduction projects underway in Maine along with more up to date information regarding climate modeling and fire ecology.

Session 5. Sustainable Groundwater Management in Maine’s Changing Climate:  Scientific and Community Perspectives

Session Co-chairs:

  • Jessie Meeks, Hydrogeologist, Maine Geological Survey
  • Carol White, Hydrogeologist, C.A. White & Associates LLC

The importance of groundwater as a drinking water source and to streamflow and ecological habitats in Maine is well established. Approximately 50% of Maine homeowners get their drinking water from groundwater wells. Climate change related impacts, including changes in precipitation, temperature, droughts and sea level rise are expected to affect both the quality and quantity of available groundwater in Maine. These impacts will be especially challenging in coastal communities with limited groundwater resources. This session will focus on our current scientific understanding of the potential impacts of climate change on groundwater resources in the State – and data gaps that remain. We also invite community perspectives on how these concerns are being evaluated at the local level as Maine’s towns plan for a resilient future.

Session 6. Sustainable Water Resources for Maine Agriculture and Rural Water Use

Session Co-chairs:

  • Rachel Schattman, UMaine
  • Sarah Murphy, USGS
  • Joe Ayotte, USGS

Changes in the hydrologic system due to climate change are increasingly affecting the way humans interact with the environment and, specifically, how the agricultural community will ensure that crops will receive the water they need to be viable. In the rural environment, there also exists a concomitant link between agricultural water needs and the needs for domestic water supply. In this session, we invite talks that address any aspect of assessing, obtaining, and using water resources in agriculture in Maine. Our aim is to present new ideas and research on a broad range of topics in farm and domestic water availability and security. Topics of interest include but are not limited to sources of water for irrigation and farm/domestic supply, changes in water availability in the wake of a changing climate and how that might vary spatially and temporally, method development for irrigation to deliver water to crops more efficiently in time and volume, barriers to water availability and security related to well construction and (or) geohydrologic features.

Session 7. Marshes for Maine’s Future

Session Co-chairs:

Salt marshes in Maine may not be as iconic as the rugged rocky coast, but their value as places that support fish, shellfish and migrating and resident birds makes them one of the most ecologically productive of Maine’s coastal habitats. In the Gulf of Maine, estuaries and coastal wetlands are used by two-thirds of commercially valuable fish, shellfish, baitworms and other forage organisms at some point in their life cycles. Coastal communities benefit from marshes’ ability to buffer storms and filter pollution from water. Salt marshes naturally capture and store carbon, reducing the impacts of fossil fuel emissions. Sustainability of salt marshes is threatened by sea level rise, development, and erosion. A legacy of agricultural practices designed to “reclaim” tidal marshes for farming continues to threaten marsh sustainability by hindering the ability of marshes to keep up with increasing rates of sea level rise. Maine’s Climate Action Plan, the newly funded Resilient Maine project and the newly formed Maine Tidal Marsh Restoration Network are increasing the pace of marsh restoration in Maine. This session highlights the work of organizations using innovative practices to restore hydrology, conserve pathways for marsh migration, protect critical habitat and build marsh resilience for ecosystem service provision.

The afternoon session will be used to hold a meeting of the Maine Tidal Marsh Restoration Network, a collaborative group convening practitioners, scientists, resource managers, policy experts, and others to create a space to exchange information about initiatives, research, and projects. Time will be used to share updates of the nine sub-committees and workshop pressing topics within the group.

Session 8. Flood Assessment and Recovery

Session Co-chairs:

  • Sam Roy, Supervisory Physical Scientist, USGS
  • Sara Jamison, Senior Service Hydrologist, National Weather Service

Multiple agencies and nongovernmental organizations in Maine bring an array of expertise and resources to flood assessment and recovery leading up to and following riverine and coastal floods in the state. With increasing extreme-weather events, expanding development, and persistent funding challenges, bringing awareness to this expertise and to available resources is crucial. For this session, agencies, water resource professionals, data managers, and citizens are invited to come together to discuss the best available science that we can bring to flood response, assessment, and mitigation. We welcome discussion of innovative riverine and coastal flood modeling and mapping tools that can be used in the context of a changing climate; trends in flood risk, occurrence, and impacts; the state’s Hazard mitigation plan, mitigation grants, and other funding mechanisms; and platforms and education for citizens to access these tools and resources.    

Session 9. The Power of Nature: Strategies for Increasing Community and Landscape Resilience

Session Co-chairs:

  • Corinne Michaud-LeBlanc, Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife
  • Nathan Robbins, Maine Dept. of Environmental Protection
  • Andrew Whitman, Maine Forest Service

This session aims to help bridge the gap between concepts and on the ground actions, presenting a variety of nature-based solutions (NbS) and tools for increasing community and landscape-level climate resilience. Presentations will showcase techniques that are being used in Maine right now, covering topics such as climate-friendly forestry, permitting and constructing living shorelines and coastal habitat restoration projects, and examples of incorporating nature-based solutions at a municipal level. Presentations will cover a variety of scales, from recommendations for landowners, to municipal actions, to watershed level planning; and include a mix of case studies, field techniques, and best management practices. Staff from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, Maine Department of Environmental Protection, and Maine Forest Service will serve as co-chairs, and are seeking to coordinate with regional planning organizations, municipalities, research institutions, contractors, and non-governmental organizations for additional topics and presenters. This session will include 20-minute presentations followed by a panel discussion, and will equip attendees with examples and resources to pursue NbS projects and contribute to landscape resilience in their community.

Session 10. Defining Riverscapes: Physical, Chemical, and Biological Interactions Affecting Riverine and Riparian Health

Session Co-chairs:

  • Chris Reidy, Fish Biologist, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
  • Justin Stevens, Sea Run Fish Program Coordinator, Maine Sea Grant
  • Valerie Ouellet, Vice President of Research and Environment, Atlantic Salmon Federation
  • Merry Gallagher, Native Fish Conservation Biologist, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife

Functioning riverscapes involve a multitude of interactions among physical, chemical, and biological factors. These interactions occur at several scales throughout the entire watershed and proper function of these interactions are critical to healthy rivers. The advent of European settlement brought drastic changes in land use which severely altered the natural processes that had operated in concert with stewardship from indigenous peoples since the end of the Pleistocene 13,000 years ago.

While many of the natural processes are still occurring, the degree of deviation from pre-settlement conditions cannot fully be determined due to the extent of riverine degradation over centuries of intensive land use. Consequently, managers charged with restoring rivers and the fish and wildlife that use them face a suite of challenging questions. How is the current interplay of ecological factors affecting fish and wildlife populations? To what degree can we affect change to improve ecological function within our riverscapes to maintain the native flora and fauna that depend upon them? How will these processes be maintained in a changing climate?

This session, led by the Maine Riverscape Restoration Network (MRRN; formerly the In-Stream Habitat Working Group), will explore current data describing the ecological health of Maine’s riverscapes with regard to physical, chemical, and biological functions. MRRN proposes to hold a full day session divided into two sub sessions. The first will focus on elements of water quality, such as nutrients, pH, temperature, and groundwater. The second session will take a closer look at riparian health, including vegetative composition and structure, effects of forestry practices, and restoration of plant communities using native vegetation. This session aims to dig deeper into the current state of our riverscapes and to propose a restorative path forward to improve the function of Maine’s riverscapes and to maintain these functions for the benefit of Maine’s natural heritage for generations to come.

The proposed format for each sub session will include 6 talks followed by a panel discussion.  Following the second session, MRRN proposes to hold a 30-minute business meeting to share updates from MRRN members and to announce future events, including workshops and other learning opportunities.

Session 11. Integrating Complex Water Quality Data Streams & Identifying Critical Messages for the Public

Session Co-chairs

  • Danielle Wain, Lake Science Director, 7 Lakes Alliance
  • Tahiya Chowdhury, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Colby College
  • Jeremy Deeds, Aquatic Ecologist, Maine DEP
  • Whitney King, Miselis Professor of Chemistry, Colby College
  • Tamara Whitmore, Project Manager, Maine’s Freshwater Education Network
  • Susan Gallo, Executive Director, Maine Lakes
  • Savannah Stresser, Aquatic Business Development Manager, Yokogawa Fluid Imaging Technologies

Maine is fortunate to have strong networks of environmental nonprofits and other research groups dedicated to the collection, management, and dissemination of lake environmental data. Maine’s extensive data sets depend on a large array of water quality measurements, techniques, and people. However, such a complex matrix of data sources and end users requires new analysis tools. It also demands innovative communication tools to convey critical messages to the public, including identifying critical concepts that will prepare students as the future stewards of Maine’s water resources. This session invites talks that highlight ways to collect and manage complex data streams to support water quality monitoring and modeling, and innovative ways to maximize the impact of the data through changes in behaviors.