The storms of January 2024 sounded the alarm on the urgent need to make lighthouses more resilient.
(Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.)
It has been a little over three months since the World Monuments Fund (WMF) announced on January 15, 2025 that Maine’s sixty-six historic lighthouses were placed on the international preservation organization’s 2025 Watch List due to the threat that the changing climate is posing to their well-being.
The WMF 2025 Watch is drawing attention to 25 heritage sites of global significance whose preservation is imperative and essential to the communities embracing them. According to the World Monuments Fund, the 2025 Watch “Represents 29 countries and over 2000 years of history,” while calling for “greater action to protect heritage places experiencing pressures relating to climate change, tourism, conflict, and natural disasters.”
Since the announcement in January, there has been a lot of behind the scenes work happening.
Maine’s 66 historic light stations are one of 25 global sites named to the WMF 2025 Watch List.
(Image courtesy of the WMF)
The WMF is actively engaged with the American Lighthouse Foundation (ALF) and its partners – Maine Preservation and The Presumpscot Foundation, in developing plans and design strategies aimed at building a strong foundation from which a more resilient future for lighthouses can be achieved.
A vital component of the planning process has been to identify eight light station case study sites whereby research and monitoring data will be obtained. This information will help guide / support hazard mitigation and resiliency at lighthouses, while protecting their vast contributions to Maine’s cultural heritage, coastal safety, local and state economies, responsible environmental management and public education.
There is a need to understand the changing climatic conditions light stations will face. Shown here is the Rockland Breakwater submerged during high tide.
(Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.)
“Understanding the current and future threats to light stations is key to their safeguarding,” says the World Monuments Fund. “This requires understanding the likely changing climatic conditions light stations will face, understanding how these conditions will impact the materials and construction of light stations for different typologies, and creating technical and planning guidance for conservation and change.”
The WMF went on to note, “By analyzing past storm impacts and vulnerabilities, we will identify key risk factors and assess innovative technologies that can reduce damage to light station sites and improve recovery efforts. Additionally, we will engage with local communities to develop tailored strategies that enhance preparedness and response. Through a combination of research, technology, and community collaboration, this project seeks to build a more resilient and adaptive environment in the face of increasing storm threats.”
Halfway Rock is one of eight light stations selected as a case study site related to the effects of climate change.
(Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.)
The eight Maine light station case studies selected represent a combination of critical factors, including location (shore-based, island and wave-swept ledge sites), geographical accessibility and severity of potential storm impacts. The list consists of: Burnt Island, Egg Rock, Halfway Rock, Marshall Point, Petit Manan, Rockland Breakwater, Whaleback and Wood Island light stations.
To help facilitate the vital light station case study fieldwork, the American Lighthouse Foundation has partnered with the University of New England (UNE) through their Summer Sustainability Fellowship program. This initiative is set to commence on May 29, 2025.
According to the University of New England, “The Summer Sustainability Fellowship program pairs UNE students and recent UNE graduates with local municipal, business, and non-profit community partners (host organizations) to collaborate on specifically designed sustainability projects.”
Erosion is posing a threat to the well-being of the historic structures at Wood Island Light Station.
(Photo by Will Kochtitzky / UNE)
UNE went on to say, “The Maine Light Station Fellowship will build upon the recent World Monuments Fund’s Global Watch List designation to develop several case studies of damage at selected Maine light stations from the January 2024 coastal storms and create monitoring and management plans.”
The University of New England’s contributions to the Maine light station case study process will enhance the World Monuments Fund / American Lighthouse Foundation project activities that are set to occur during the two-year program period (2025 to 2027). Over the next twenty-four months, the interdisciplinary project team will maximize the effectiveness of the case study efforts and achieve meaningful, long-term outcomes for historic light station sustainability.
This wonderful work will benefit far more than just Maine’s lighthouses too!
Whaleback Lighthouse – a wave-swept location in Kittery, Maine, is one of eight case study sites.
(Photo by Josh McPhail)
Though Maine’s light stations are the initial focus of the WMF 2025 Watch List, the bigger picture entails using the Maine lighthouse storm damage experience / climate threats to develop strategies for hazard mitigation and resiliency measures that will help lighthouses throughout the United States – and around the world. The rewards of this work will be far-reaching for lighthouses and their stewards.
Other actions planned by the World Monuments Fund, American Lighthouse Foundation, Maine Preservation and The Presumpscot Foundation include the need for greater advocacy, raising public awareness, connecting with funding sources and strengthening preservation efforts.
Stay tuned! There is so much more to come as we work together to “shine bright” at a moment in time when our lighthouses need us the most.
Petit Manan Light Station – part of the Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge complex, is one of eight case study sites related to the effects of climate change. This includes both the historic structures and the seabird nesting areas along the island. (Photo by Bob Trapani, Jr.)
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