Today, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced that the Department of Commerce and NOAA have recommended $1.45 million for a project involving Wisconsin to make the state’s coast more resilient to climate change and other coastal hazards. The project encompasses the Lake Superior Basin region of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan. The awards are being made under the Biden Administration’s Climate Resilience Regional Challenge, a competitive, $575 million program funded through the nearly $6 billion total investment under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act. 

“As part of President Biden’s commitment to combating the climate crisis, we are investing $575 million to help make sure America’s coastal communities are more resilient to the effects of climate change,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “As part of this historic investment in our nation’s climate resilience the Biden-Harris Administration is investing $1.45 million to help underserved communities in Wisconsin develop and implement new strategies to protect themselves from increased flooding and other impacts of climate change.” 

Administered by the Department of Commerce and NOAA, the Climate-Ready Coasts initiative is focused on investing in high-impact projects that create climate solutions by storing carbon; building resilience to coastal hazards such as extreme weather events, pollution and marine debris; restoring  coastal habitats that help wildlife and humans thrive; building the capacity of underserved communities and support community-driven restoration; and providing employment opportunities.

“Over the past decade, this area has seen, firsthand, the destructive impacts of climate change on lives and livelihoods,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D. “This funding will allow local governments and tribal communities in Wisconsin to address the problem of repetitive flooding, from identifying root causes to implementing long-lasting solutions.” 

The recommended $1,451,065 in total funds for the project will be administered by the Northwest Regional Planning Commission. The project, Accelerating Natural Flood Management in the Lake Superior Basin, will be a joint effort encompassing areas of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan hit hard by catastrophic, repetitive flooding (six federal disaster declarations between 2012 and 2022), with impacts to local communities and an extensive network of state, local, and tribally managed roads. Funding will be used to 1) identify how the loss of headwater wetland storage and floodplain connectivity is contributing to the flooding problem; and 2) implement high-impact, nature-based solutions to combat this flooding by restoring the natural hydrology. The root causes of flooding and potential restoration opportunities will be investigated using new approaches that integrate spatial and field-based assessments. 

“Whether it’s flooding, drought, or extreme weather, communities across Wisconsin are dealing with the costly impacts of our changing climate. Our Inflation Reduction Act is making essential investments to make our communities safer and our infrastructure more resilient for the next generation,” said Senator Tammy Baldwin. “I was proud to support this investment for Northwest Wisconsin to protect the infrastructure families rely on and implement new solutions to address flooding.”

“With climate change causing more extreme weather events and devastating flooding across our state, building flood resilience through high-impact, nature-based solutions to protect our communities and our natural resources is a top priority for us in Wisconsin,” said Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers. “I’m grateful to the Biden-Harris Administration and NOAA for their support in these efforts and to the Northwest Regional Planning Commission and our partners for developing a program that will make a lasting difference for folks affected by flooding and on our region’s environmental footprint.”

Additional information is available on the Climate Resilience Regional Challenge website. 

Climate, weather, and water affect all life on our ocean planet. NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict our changing environment, from the deep sea to outer space, and to manage and conserve America’s coastal and marine resources.