Coastal Resilience Newsletter

Greetings from the Coastal Resilience Team!

This month's newsletter contains:

Lake Michigan Water Level Update
Resource: Updated: Wisconsin Shoreline Inventory & Oblique Photo Viewer
Around the Great Lakes: Klode Park Restoration in Whitefish Bay
Training Opportunity: Funding and Financing Coastal Resilience
Funding Opportunity: Sustain our Great Lakes Program

December Water Level Update

Lake Michigan water levels have continued their seasonal decline this fall, decreasing by about 2 inches from November to December. Though Lake Michigan is now about 23 inches below the highest monthly water level recorded for December in 1986, the Lake is still about 12 inches above the long-term average water level. Water levels are expected to continue their seasonal decline through the early winter but remain above the long-term average.

Watch the USACE's "On the Level" YouTube channel for updates and information about the Great Lakes' water levels and forecasts.

Go to full update

Resource of the Month

Updated: Wisconsin Shoreline

Inventory & Oblique Photo Viewer – Featuring NEW photos from 2021

The Wisconsin Shoreline Inventory and Oblique Photo Viewer is a web-based, interactive map of Wisconsin coastal data that enables users to visualize the temporal changes to Wisconsin’s shorelines. It has recently transitioned to a new platform that utilizes ArcGIS. For more information on navigating the updated site, read the full article by clicking the "Read More" link below. The site has also been updated with oblique photos from 2021. Additionally, this map contains measurements of bluff recession data (from 1956 to 2015) which provides both a qualitative and quantitative inventory of shoreline conditions on Wisconsin’s Great Lakes coasts. Geolocated aerial photos and shoreline condition inventories allow users to view images from different years side-by-side to visualize coastal change. Lake Michigan coastal bluff and shoreline recession information is provided for Southeastern Wisconsin (for more information on recession mapping, see our Bluff Recession Measurement Report).

Around the Great Lakes

Klode Park Restoration in Whitefish Bay

In January 2020, a severe winter storm damaged the beach of Klode Park in Whitefish Bay, WI. The storm eroded almost the entirety of the beach, and in some areas the beach dropped off 10 feet. The community received a federal disaster restoration and mitigation grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This grant covered 75% of the cost, while the Village of Whitefish Bay and Milwaukee equally split the remaining cost. The restoration efforts involved “burying large armor stone at the back of the beach and bottom of the bluff” (Eddie Morales) as a preventative measure to stabilize the coastline.

Training Opportunity

Funding and Financing Coastal Resilience Webinar Series

This series is offered by NOAA's Digital Coast. It focuses on funding and financing approaches used to support coastal resilience activities. Experts will discuss different funding and financing options through sharing traditional and emerging approaches, project examples, and lessons learned, and by answering your questions.

You can access recordings of previous webinars or register for upcoming webinars to take in real time. The next live webinar will be on February 1, 2022.

Go to Trainings

Funding Opportunity

Sustain Our Great Lakes Program

The Sustain Our Great Lakes Program, administered by NFWF, is soliciting applications for funding to restore and enhance habitat in the Great Lakes Basin in the following six categories:

Restore and enhance stream riparian habitat
Restore and enhance coastal habitats
Expand green infrastructure in Great Lakes communities
Maintain and enhance benefits of habitat restoration through invasive species control
Restore and preserve natural areas and biodiversity in Wisconsin's Lake Michigan watershed
Accelerate implementation of conservation practices and regenerative agriculture on working lands

Eligible applicants include non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and state, tribal, and local governments. The request for proposals will be available online. Preproposals will be due February 28, 2022.

An informational webinar will be held on January 25 at 10:00 AM CDT.

If you have any questions about Lake Michigan coastal hazards or how to approach, plan, and prepare for them, please contact

Adam Bechle

bechle@aqua.wisc.edu

608-263-5133

For more information, visit the Southeast Wisconsin Coastal Resilience Project website or the Northeast Wisconsin Coastal Resilience Study portal

University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute | (608) 262-0905 | 1975 Willow Drive, 2nd Floor, Madison, WI 53706