How the low-lying Eastern Shore will cope with rising sea levels will be explored Saturday at Chesapeake College in Wye Mills.
Speakers at the daylong forum co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Maryland will focus on the ability of the Shore's waterfront towns, its marshes, farms and forests to withstand and adapt to the gradual encroachment of the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean.
"Risings seas are not a bugaboo of the future, but a fact right now," said Susan Cochran, the league's president. "It is time to plan for the foreseeable future."
Cosponsor of the forum, to be held from 9:30 am. to 3 p.m., is Chesapeake College's Center for Leadership in Environmental Education.
Donald Boesch, president of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, will keynote the session, while former Rep. Wayne Gilchrest, now director of the Sassafras Environmental Educational Center, will deliver closing remarks.
Other speakers include Drew Koslow, former Choptank Riverkeeper and founder of the South River Federation, Mark Konapelsky, Critical Area commissioner representing Somerset County, and Zoe Johnson, director of resiliency planning and policy in the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. There will also be discussion groups for participants.
Registration for "The Future is Now: Dealing with Rising Seas on Maryland's Shores" is required by Feb. 17. Cost is $35 for adults and $15 for students, and includes breakfast and lunch. For more information, go to lwvmd.org
To register, emal LWVMD@verizon.net, call 410-956-0036 or go online to eventbrite.com/e/rising-seas-tickets-15381505497?aff=es2&rank=1