Wisconsin Coastal Resilience Newsletter | |
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Greetings from the Wisconsin Coastal Resilience Team!
This month's newsletter contains:
Member-to-Member Updates: Hazard Mitigation Planning Efforts in Southeastern Wisconsin
Lake Michigan Water Level Update
Resource Highlights:
- NEW NOAA High Resolution Land Cover Data
- Coastal Hazard Regulations in Great Lakes States: A Summary Analysis
Around the Great Lakes:
- New FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas for Lake Michigan Coastal Communities
- Flood Resilience in the East River Watershed
Funding Opportunities
- The Daybreak Fund
- The National Coastal Resilience Fund
Webinars and Meetings
- Great Lakes Coastal Resiliency Study Public Meetings - Wisconsin hosted
- Wisconsin American Water Resources Association (AWRA) Annual Conference
News: Why low ice coverage on the Great Lakes matters
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Hazard Mitigation Planning Efforts in Southeastern Wisconsin | |
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Hazard mitigation planning reduces the loss of life and property by minimizing the impact of disasters such as flooding, coastal bluff failure, winter storms, thunderstorms and tornadoes, and extreme temperature events. The Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (Commission) assists its communities with these planning efforts. Hazard mitigation plans fulfill requirements set forth by Wisconsin Emergency Management (WEM) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), assuring the communities are eligible to apply for federal funding to implement hazard mitigation measures. This past year, Commission staff have worked on updates to the countywide plans for Kenosha, Milwaukee, Racine, and Washington Counties. The Kenosha and Racine County plan updates have recently received WEM and FEMA approval and Commission staff anticipate the completion of the Milwaukee and Washington County plan updates in 2024. To learn more about the Commission’s hazard mitigation planning efforts, visit: https://www.sewrpc.org/SEWRPC/communityassistance/Hazard-Mitigation-Planning.htm
Contact Aaron Owens (aowens@sewrpc.org) with questions.
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Winter 2024 Water Level Update | |
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Through the late fall (November) and winter (December, January, and February), Lake Michigan water levels continued their seasonal decline. Water levels are expected to drop another inch by the end of February before beginning their seasonal rise in late March or early April. Warm early winter temperatures have led to below average evaporation and low ice formation across the Great Lakes.
Go to the full update to learn more about what El Niño, Great Lakes ice trends, evaporation, and net basin supply mean for current and future Lake Michigan water levels.
Key topics in this season’s water level update: El Niño, fall storm events, and more!
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NEW High-Resolution Land Cover Data from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) | |
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NOAA has announced the availability of new, high-resolution land cover data — used to document key geographic and landscape features covering Earth's surface — for coastal communities across the country. This new data can be used to improve planning for sea level rise, protect communities from flooding, inform wetland restoration projects and enable other activities to build climate resilience. An example of the new 1 meter resolution data compared to the older 30 meter resolution date is shown on the right. The data are available from the Digital Coast website.
Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) Land Cover Atlas: https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/lca.html
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Coastal Hazard Regulations in Great Lakes States: A Summary Analysis | |
The Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) Flood Science Center has released a summary analysis of coastal hazard regulations across seven of the Great Lakes states. The report summarizes noteworthy coastal hazard regulations that states have enacted including coastal development setbacks, restrictions on shore protection structures, and policies protecting dunes, bluffs, sensitive habitat, and viewsheds.
Since 1968, Wisconsin local governments have had the responsibility of adopting, administering, and enforcing minimum shoreland management regulations. In Wisconsin, the Shoreland Management Act establishes a shoreland zone. The purpose of this zone is to minimize the potential impacts of land development on the area’s surface water and groundwater features. Building and structure setbacks are established to conform to health, safety, and welfare requirements; preserve natural beauty; reduce flood hazards; and avoid water pollution.
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New FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas for Lake Michigan Coastal Communities | |
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Severe flood events can happen along the Lake Michigan coast when strong winds drive Lake water and waves on shore. FEMA has been rolling out new floodplain maps for several counties along the Lake Michigan coast that identify areas at high risk for coastal flooding. Maps that include new coastal flood zones are final, or “effective,” in four of Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan coastal counties. FEMA has issued (or is expected to issue) Letters of Final Determination (LFD) for six additional Wisconsin Lake Michigan coastal counties stating that there are new or updated flood insurance rate maps (FIRMs) for these areas.
For more information and an approximate schedule of map releases by county, see the link below.
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Flood Resilience in the East River Watershed
| This video describes how flooding has impacted the East River watershed in northeast Wisconsin, the formation of the East River Collaborative, the seven goals of the community-driven East River Flood Resiliency Framework, how community engagement is the center of this work, and the importance of nature-based solutions in improving flood resilience and water quality. | |
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The Daybreak Fund will award approximately $1.7 million in grants in 2024 to support climate solutions that improve water quality and create greater social equity in urban and rural communities. Geographically, the Daybreak Fund targets watersheds within the Lake Michigan Basin in Wisconsin and in Lake County in far northern Illinois. The fund will also consider grants in Wisconsin outside of the Lake Michigan Basin by invitation.
Due Date for Pre-proposals: April 10, 2024
Link to RFP: https://www.daybreak.fund/
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The National Coastal Resilience Fund | |
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The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, released a request for proposals for the FY 2024 National Coastal Resilience Fund. Funded projects will restore, increase, and strengthen natural infrastructure—the landscapes that help absorb the impacts of storms and floods—to ultimately protect coastal communities and enhance fish and wildlife habitat. This year, the fund will invest approximately $140 million in projects.
Due Date for Pre-proposals: April 10, 2024
Notice of Funding Opportunity: https://www.nfwf.org/programs/national-coastal-resilience-fund?activeTab=tab-2
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Great Lakes Coastal Resiliency Study Public Meetings - Wisconsin
April 16, 2024
10:00 AM to 12:30 PM
Meeting link will be posted to the project website in early April
The Great Lakes Coastal Resilience Study (GLCRS) will complete a comprehensive assessment of the United States coast of the Great Lakes and connecting channels and the identification of coastal areas that could be vulnerable to future storms, flooding, extreme low or high water levels, erosion and accretion under a range of possible future climate scenarios. The GLCRS is being conducted by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in partnership with the eight Great Lakes’ states: Illinois, Indiana, New York, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
The GLCRS Team will host virtual public meetings to provide an overview of the Great Lakes Coastal Resiliency Study and solicit feedback from the public to shape a shared vision for the Great Lakes coast. Several identical meetings will be held in early April hosted by other Great Lakes states. Visit the website to see more dates.
To stay up-to-date on the GLCRS, subscribe to receive periodic email updates. Please share this message with anyone who might want to attend the public meetings or subscribe to receive future email updates regarding this study.
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Wisconsin American Water Resources Association (AWRA) Annual Conference
April 25 & 26, 2024
Hilton Paper Valley hotel in Appleton, Wisconsin
Conference Information Here
The annual meeting of the Wisconsin Section of the American Water Resources Association (AWRA) will be held at the Hilton Paper Valley hotel in Appleton, on April 25 & 26, 2024. This meeting will feature plenary, oral and poster sessions, plus lightning talks addressing both surface water and groundwater issues in Wisconsin. A preliminary program and registration materials will be available in February 2024.
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Why low ice coverage on the Great Lakes matters | |
Many people have been concerned about the low ice coverage that has been observed and recorded in the last few years on the Great Lakes. NOAA experts have summarized the implications of low ice cover on the Great Lakes. | |
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For questions about the CALM Network, or to submit something to the newsletter, contact:
Lydia Salus
lydia.salus@wisconsin.gov
608-266-3687
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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
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University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute | (608) 262-0905 | 1975 Willow Drive, 2nd Floor, Madison, WI 53706 | | | | |
