Coastline in a Changing Maine: The Economics of Coastal Preference

Coastal Maine is experiencing a time of pronounced stress and conflict from a multitude of factors, including COVID-19, cost of living surges, and climate change (Rector, 2021. Cotton et. al, 2023. Maine State Housing Authority, 2023). One important decision facing Maine is the use of Maine’s coastal areas across a wide variety of potential uses including recreation, housing, tourism, working waterfronts, aquaculture and conservation. This paper examines changes in coastal Mainer’s preferences for conserved coastal over time. Two related survey data sets, from 2019 and 2024, allow analysis of cross-time attitudes towards coastal land use. Through the creation of an empirical model and subsequent linear regression analysis, we are able to determine the factors that contribute to an individual’s desired level of coastal conservation, and what the impact of those characteristics is on an individual’s desired amount of coastal conservation in Maine.