Wisconsin Coastal Resilience Newsletter | | |
Happy Coastal Awareness Month from the Wisconsin Coastal Resilience Team!
This month's newsletter contains:
Member-to-Member Updates:
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There's Still Time to Register for the CALM Field Trip!
- Takeaways from Milwaukee County's Updated Hazard Mitigation Plan
Lake Michigan Water Level Update
Resource Highlights:
- Center for Water Policy Publishes Report on Setback Regulations
- 2025 Oblique Photos Added to Shoreline Viewer
Around the Great Lakes:
- 2025 Great Lakes Chronicle Now Available
Funding Opportunities:
- Fish & Wildlife Service Coastal Program FY25
- 2026-27 Wisconsin Coastal Management Program Grants
- WEM Pre-Disaster Flood Resilience Grant
- Great Lakes Protection Fund
Trainings & Webinars:
- Initiative for Resilient Great Lakes Coasts Intro Webinar
- Incorporating the RAD (Resist-Accept-Direct) Framework into Resource Management Planning
Conferences & Events:
- OCEANS 2025 Great Lakes Conference
- 23rd Annual WAFSCM Conference
- Midwest Climate Resilience Conference
- Great Lakes Commission 70th Anniversary Annual Meeting
- Great Lakes Beach Association 2025 Annual Meeting
| | There's Still Time to Register for the CALM Field Trip! | | The tour will take place in Port Washington on September 30th from 10am-12pm. | | Upper Lake Park Bluff Rehabilitation and North Beach Restoration | This first part of the tour will be led by Port Washington Public Works Director Robert Vanden Noven. Attendees will learn about how the city is planning to address bluff instability and preserve beach access through measures like cutting back and revegetating the bluff, installing subsurface drainage lines, and utilizing beach nourishment. | | |
Creating a Resilient and
Sustainable Valley Creek Corridor
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The second part of the tour will be led by Interim Executive Director of Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership Amy Lentz and Stantec Environmental Scientist/Botanist Melissa Curran. Attendees will learn how resiliency strategies are being used to design and implement a watershed-wide project that reduces flooding, restores streambanks and riparian wetlands, and increases ecosystem adaptability to climate change.
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Takeaways from Milwaukee County's Updated
Hazard Mitigation Plan
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The Milwaukee County Hazard Mitigation Plan has been updated to help communities better prepare for natural hazards. The plan, published by the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SEWRPC), is an important resource for identifying risks and vulnerabilities from hazards such as floods, storms, extreme temperatures, and coastal issues. This document is also essential for maintaining the County’s eligibility for federal funding for future mitigation projects.
A significant portion of the updated plan is dedicated to assessing the risks along the Lake Michigan coastline. The assessment found that roughly 17% of the County’s shoreline had unstable bluffs as of 2018, particularly in communities like Cudahy, Oak Creek, and South Milwaukee. Additionally, an inventory of County-owned assets revealed that 22% of them were highly vulnerable to damage, with beaches, groins, and parking lots facing the highest risk. The report cites a notable event on January 11,2020, where high Lake levels and a strong winter storm caused severe lakeshore flooding and erosion, leading to an estimated $12 million in property damage at the City-owned Port of Milwaukee.
The plan outlines several key mitigation measures to address these coastal vulnerabilities. A top priority was the completing the reconstruction of the northern portion of the South Shore breakwater wall, which protects several coastal parks and the Oak Leaf Trail. The plan also encourages coastal communities to adopt and enforce consistent regulations for bluff setbacks and to use nature-based solutions such as native plantings to stabilize shorelines. These strategies aim to reduce the impacts of coastal hazards and protect both public and private property.
| | September 2025 Water Level Update | | Lake Michigan water levels began their seasonal decline in August. Lake Michigan is now about 8 inches below the long-term average water level for the month. Water levels are expected to continue their decline through at least February 2026. | | Center for Water Policy Publishes Report on Setback Regulations | | The UW-Milwaukee’s Center for Water Policy has published a report on setback regulations in the Great Lakes. Setbacks are laws dictating how far a structure should be built from a lake and adjacent landforms, such as bluffs or dunes. Their purpose is to protect homes and other structures located along the coasts of the Great Lakes from the dangers of fluctuating water levels, floods, waves, and erosion. This report and table compare the setback regulations of the the eight Great Lakes states. This research highlights the risks of placing structures close to the Great Lakes and asks readers to consider the effectiveness of their state or local Great Lakes shoreland zoning laws and the necessity of updates to setbacks laws throughout the Great Lakes region. | | 2025 Oblique Photos Added to Shoreline Viewer | | | | 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. The viewer contains bluff recession data, shoreline condition inventories, and geolocated aerial photos. Users can view images from different years, side-by-side to visualize coastal change. | | 2025 Great Lakes Chronicle Now Available | | In recognition of Coastal Awareness Month, the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program is proud to announce the release of the 2025 Wisconsin Great Lakes Chronicle. The Chronicle promotes public awareness of Wisconsin Great Lakes issues, provides a vehicle for experts to educate public policy leaders, and creates an historical record of Great Lakes events and perspectives. | | | Fish & Wildlife Service Coastal Program FY25 | | |
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) Coastal Program is a community-based program that helps coastal areas with technical and financial support to address complex conservation challenges of priority coastal ecosystems. This support is mainly provided through cooperative agreements with conservation partners and landowners, including state and Tribal agencies. The goal is to restore and protect fish and wildlife habitats on both public and private lands. Coastal Program staff work with partners, stakeholders, and other Service programs in important areas for conservation. Applicants seeking technical or financial assistance from the Coastal Program are required to contact a local Program office before developing or submitting an application.
Eligible Applicants: Anyone is eligible to apply for funding.
Application Deadline: September 30, 2025
| | 2026-27 Wisconsin Coastal Management Program Grants | | |
The Wisconsin Coastal Management Program (WCMP) is seeking proposals to enhance, preserve, protect and restore resources within the state’s coastal zone – all counties adjacent to Lakes Superior and Michigan, with their nearly 1000 miles of shoreline. We anticipate awarding up to $1.3 million in grant funding. WCMP Grants are available for coastal wetland protection and habitat restoration, nonpoint source pollution control, coastal resource and community planning, Great Lakes education, public access and historic preservation. Applicants are encouraged to contact WCMP staff early to discuss ideas for project proposals and application requirements.
Eligible Applicants: Local units of governments, state agencies, colleges and universities, school districts, regional planning commissions serving coastal areas, tribal units of government and private, and nonprofit organizations.
Virtual Grant Workshop: September 17, 2025 from 12p-1:30p; Join the Workshop
Application Deadline: November 3, 2025
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WEM Pre-Disaster Flood Resilience Grant | |
The Pre-Disaster Flood Resilience Grant, administered by Wisconsin Emergency Management (WEM), a division of the Department of Military Affairs, is created for the purpose of identifying flood vulnerabilities, identifying options to improve flood resilience, and restoring hydrology to reduce flood risk and damages in flood-prone communities. Interested applicants may apply for two types of grants: Assessment or Implementation.
Notice of Intent to Apply: October 10, 2025
Application Deadline: December 12, 2025
| Great Lakes Protection Fund | | Do you have an ambitious idea to improve the Great Lakes ecosystem? We have a basin-wide view and decades of experience creating change. Get in touch! Early conversations help us understand your vision for making a transformational impact on the Great Lakes ecosystem. To start, take a look at our list of strategic priorities and read our funding guidelines. They describe what we’re looking for and what we fund. But remember, we’re open to discussing any project with the potential to transform the Great Lakes for the better. | | Intro Webinar: Support for Communities for Resilient Great Lakes Coasts | | |
October 1
10a - 11a CT
Virtual
Join the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for an introductory webinar on the Initiative for Resilient Great Lakes Coasts! This initiative brings scientific expertise, training, and technical assistance to communities looking to restore coastal habitats and improve resilience to dynamic threats like changing water levels, flooding and severe storms. Competitive projects proposed by communities will receive additional engineering and design support (with no local match) through the program to help move projects toward implementation.
| Incorporating the RAD (Resist-Accept-Direct) Framework into Resource Management Planning | |
October 23
2p - 3p CT
Virtual
The National Climate Adaptation Science Centers is hosting a quarterly webinar series on the RAD (Resist-Accept-Direct) framework, a tool that helps resource managers make informed choices for responding to change. This series focuses on examples of RAD implementation and reflects on practical applications of RAD concepts. The next webinar in this series will focus on Adaptive Management & RAD. If you're unsure how to plan for uncertain future conditions, this webinar may be particularly useful for you.
| | OCEANS 2025 Great Lakes Conference | |
September 29-October 2
Chicago, IL
Join the leading innovators, analysts, and producers of marine technology, research, and education for the OCEANS 2025 Great Lakes Conference. This year’s theme is New Horizons in Blue Tech: Bridging Knowledge and Innovation. OCEANS 2025 will highlight a bevy of topics including entrepreneurship for the blue economy, coastal resiliency, spill response, cold climate ecosystem observations, Indigenous observing in the Great Lakes, and more.
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October 15-16
Eau Claire, WI
The Wisconsin Association for Floodplain, Stormwater, and Coastal Management (WAFSCM) will hold its 23rd Annual Conference on Wednesday, October 15th and Thursday, October 16th at the Lismore Hotel in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. A field tour, workshops, and social reception will be held on Wednesday, and the main conference including plenary and speaker sessions will occur on Thursday.
| Midwest Climate Resilience Conference | |
October 20-22
Milwaukee, WI
The Midwest Climate Resilience Conference is the premier forum focused specifically on climate adaptation and resilience for the Midwest and Great Lakes region. Join the University of Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership (MCAP) in advancing adaptation and resilience for communities and ecosystems, fostering stronger relationships among climate adaptation practitioners, expanding the scope of climate adaptation work, and coordinating actionable steps beyond the conference. To prepare for the conference, join Realizing Resilience: Coordinating efforts from across the Great Lakes basin, the third of a three-part webinar series from the Great Lakes Commission on September 23 from 2p-3p CT.
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October 28-30
Duluth, MN
This meeting offers an opportunity for Great Lakes stakeholders to convene with colleagues and share perspectives on important Great Lakes issues. Join the GLC as they continue to address issues of common concern, develop shared solutions, and collectively advance an agenda to protect and enhance the region’s economic prosperity and environmental health.
| 2025 Great Lakes Beach Association Annual Meeting | |
November 3-5
Michigan City, IN
The mission of the Great Lakes Beach Association is the pursuit of healthy beach water conditions in the Great Lakes area. To meet this mission, information is shared in four major categories: investigative, modeling, methodology, and information Systems. The annual conference is held to conduct business and share new information in the four categories.
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For questions about the CALM Network, or to submit something to the newsletter, contact:
Jake Kolanowski
jacob.kolanowski1@wisconsin.gov
608-261-9197
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For questions about Lake Michigan coastal hazards or how to address them, contact:
Adam Bechle
bechle@aqua.wisc.edu
608-263-5133
| | University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute | (608) 262-0905 | 1975 Willow Drive, 2nd Floor, Madison, WI 53706 | | | | |
