Coastal Resilience Newsletter

Greetings from the Coastal Resilience Team!

This month's newsletter contains:

Lake Michigan Water Level Update
Resource of the Month: Funding and Financing for Coastal Resiliency
Community Story: Duluth Reconstructing Lakewalk to be Climate Resilient
Blog: Ice Impacts on Shoreline Erosion
Funding Opportunity: Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS) mini-grants
Event: 2021 Great Lakes Sediment Management Workshop

Water Level Update

The water levels on all the Great Lakes have continued to be below their monthly records as of February 15, 2021. Lake Michigan is now 10 inches below the highest recorded monthly average in February previously set just last year in 2020. This is the first time since August of 2019 that the Net Basin Supply for the Lake Michigan-Huron Basin has been negative. From this point and through the winter, water levels are expected to continue their seasonal decline. It is predicted that Lake Michigan-Huron will fall about 1-2 inches by this same time next month.

Check out these five things to know about water levels on Lake Michigan for February 2021.

Go to full update

Resource of the Month

Funding and Financing for Coastal Resiliency

This webinar from the NOAA Office for Coastal Management’s is about financing coastal resiliency. In it, you will learn about different options and strategies for funding and financing for coastal resiliency projects. Presenters Leigh Whelpton, the program director for the Conservation Finance Network, and Erik Meyers, vice president for climate and water sustainability at the Conservation Fund will talk about their experience and practice in funding conservation-based resiliency projects.

Coastal Resilience Stories from Around the Great Lakes

Duluth Reconstructing Lakewalk to be Climate Resilient

Like many coastal cities, The City of Duluth, MN has experienced unprecedented coastal storms and floods in the past few years. This has caused large sections of their Lakewalk to be completely washed away. After many piecemeal repairs and $30 million in cumulative damages, they decided it was time to bring in the heavy artillery. The new Lakewalk will be elevated a few feet from its original position providing new space for pedestrians and tourists. In total, this project, involving just the 1/2 mile strip in Canal park will cost about $17 million, of which over 2/3 will be paid for by state and federal emergency funds.

Iconic aerial lift bridge in the Duluth harbor

Ice Impacts on Shoreline Erosion

You probably noticed that Great Lakes ice has undergone a lot of changes in the last month. After being near record low ice coverage in January, there was a dramatic increase in ice cover across the Great Lakes with our recent cold spell. The warm temperatures we have now have swung things the other way, leading to a quick breakup of ice.

These changes often bring up the question of how lake ice impacts shoreline erosion. We explored this in a past blog post and found that there isn't a clear answer to this question. Depending on the situation, ice can either cause erosion itself or act as a protective layer to help to reduce erosion.

Read the Blog

Funding Opportunity

Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS) Mini-Grants

The Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS) has a mini-grant opportunity for one-year projects ranging from $20k-$150k (USD) that will support Great Lakes observations, data management, and information delivery. Proposals are due on March 12, 2021, and are open to both US and Canadian institutions.

Reach out to minigrants-2021rfp@glos.org with any questions or to discuss ideas. GLOS will be maintaining a list of FAQs on the website, as well as any other updates.

Please visit the GLOS mini-grant webpage for more information and to download the request for proposals.

Visit the mini-grant webpage

Event

2021 Great Lakes Sediment Management Workshop

This workshop will occur as a series of 4 webinars throughout the month of April. It is being planned in collaboration with the Great Lakes Regional Sediment Management Team, comprised of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. EPA, USGS, USDA-NRCS, and other partners. More information coming soon. Contact Ken Gibbons (kgibbons@glc.org) for further questions.

Schedule:

April 6: Urban Stormwater and Green Infrastructure

April 13: Coastal Systems

April 20: Habitat and Restoration

April 27: Agricultural nonpoint source runoff

Each webinar starts at 1:00 PM (CST)

About the program

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