2025 Old Building Forum
No Place to Hide: Lighthouses on the Front Lines of Climate Change
Bob Trapani, Jr. and Ford Reiche
Wednesday, February 12, at 5:30pm via ZOOM
Photo by Dominic Trapani
Bob Trapani, Jr., of the American Lighthouse Foundation, and Ford Reiche, of The Presumpscot Foundation, with whom Maine Preservation partnered on the successful nomination of Maine's historic light stations to the 2025 World Monuments Watch will recount the damage from last year's January storms, explain the practical impacts of climate change, and preview plans for developing more resilient lighthouses.
Bob Trapani, Jr. has served 28 years in a leadership position within the field of lighthouse preservation – spending the last 20 years serving as the Executive Director for the nonprofit American Lighthouse Foundation, which is headquartered at Owls Head Light in Maine. Bob also serves as the President for the West Quoddy Head Light Keeper’s Association in Lubec, Maine. In addition, Bob is the author of seven lighthouse/lifesaving books. He experiences lighthouses from a variety of perspectives, including as a lighthouse technician for the U.S. Coast Guard as an Auxiliarist. Bob has worked with the Coast Guard for 25 years.
Ford Reiche has board experience with a number historic preservation organizations, and has owned and completely restored five buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. He is the recipient of the 2024 Distinguished Service Award of the National Maritime Historical Society and Maine Historical Society's 2024 Neal W. Allen Award for outstanding contributions to the field of Maine history. The Presumpscot Foundation, of which Reiche is founder/president, works with American lighthouses to support preservation and mitigation of the threats of climate change.
