State of the Harbor

In her opening remarks NLWC’s Executive Director, Emily Molden provided a brief history of  State of the Harbor topics over the last ten years, along with a framework for our conversation before introducing the Town of Nantucket’s Sustainability Programs Manager, Vince Murphy who presented the Town's Coastal Resilience Plan. Shannon Hulst, the Floodplain & Community Rating System Specialist for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute Sea Grant Program and Cape Cod Cooperative Extension then presented and engaged the audience with discussion on coastal resilience policy. To conclude the presentation, Laura Marett, Principal at Scape Landscape Architecture DPC outlined the Town of Nantucket’s new Strategic Retreat and Relocation Plan. 

After the presentation, our audience engaged in a thoughtful Q&A with our guest speakers and they were also joined by Nantucket Waterkeeper, RJ Turcotte. Our speakers offered their expertise; answering questions about coastal resilience policy and what building coastal resilience could look like for the Nantucket community.

Following the Q&A, guests enjoyed fantastic Nantucket “5th Bend” oysters courtesy of event sponsor Yoho Raw Bar and hand-crafted cocktails and libations in the Great Room at the Great Harbor Yacht Club. The evening concluded with continued critical conversations around building a more resilient future.

We are so grateful for the generosity of our event sponsors: the Great Harbor Yacht Club Foundation, the Nantucket Shellfish Association and Yoho Raw Bar, and our Community Education & Annual Business Sponsors Silvercrest Asset Management Group, Nantucket Marine, September Productions, Anderson’s Stillwater Moorings, Grass Roots Gardens, Nantucket Engineering, and Surfing Hydrangea Nursery for their support! Thank you to all of our guests who joined us for this valuable educational event.  We truly appreciate your time and your willingness to thoughtfully engage in dialogue around this vitally important topic for Nantucket’s future!

If you own property that is subject to coastal flooding, the implications of these model provisions may be different depending on your property’s flood zone designation. If you would like to confirm your flood zone designation in advance of the Forum, please follow the instructions below.

1. Visit FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center HERE
2. Enter your property address
3. If any part of your property is in a blue area, it is in a regulatory flood zone. The designations of VE, AE, and elevation numbers attached to the blue areas determine what regulations apply and indicate the severity of your flood risk.