Wisconsin Coastal Resiliency Information

Describes the 2021 Collaborative Action for Lake Michigan (CALM) Coastal Resilience project; the 2018 Southeastern Wisconsin Coastal Resilience Project; the 2015 Wisconsin Sea Grant Integrated Assessment; the Wisconsin Great Lakes Marina Resilience Assessment; various guides for property owners; and collaborative networks.

Many entities in Wisconsin are working together to build resilience to coastal hazards in our Lake Michigan coastal communities. Within Wisconsin’s 11 Lake Michigan coastal counties, there are 18 cities, 16 villages, and 36 towns. Starting with a small group in 2015, Wisconsin Sea Grant led an Integrated Assessment of changing Lake Michigan water levels and their impacts on coastal bluffs and beaches in Southeastern Wisconsin. The Integrated Assessment, as well as other multi-stakeholder assessments in the region, identified specific needs to enhance coastal resilience in three key areas: (1) prediction and mapping of shoreline erosion & bluff failure; (2) communication of risks & actions; and (3) guidance & facilitation on collaborative solutions. In 2018, the Southeastern Wisconsin Coastal Resilience Project was funded to leverage the momentum generated by the Integrated Assessment project towards collaborative regional actions. The project was successful in forming and engaging the Southeastern Wisconsin Coastal Resilience Community of Practice as well as providing mapping and risk communication resources. In 2021, the Collaborative Action for Lake Michigan Coastal Resilience project was funded to expand the risk communication framework of the Southeastern Wisconsin Coastal Resilience Project to the rest of Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan coastal communities. This Lake Michigan-wide project is connecting the resilience efforts in Southeastern Wisconsin to those in Wisconsin’s Green Bay and Northeastern coastal communities to regionally prioritize and address coastal hazards.

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