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. 

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A group of legislators, farmers and conservationists studying how to control Wisconsin’s sandhill crane population is set to hold its first meeting next month.

The Joint Legislative Council’s 12-member Study Committee on Sandhill Cranes is set to meet Aug. 1 at the Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area.

The Joint Legislative Council is made up of the Legislature’s attorneys. The council puts together committees to study issues every even-numbered year with an eye toward recommending legislative changes in the next session.

The sandhill crane committee has been tasked with coming up with ways to manage the state’s sandhill crane population and reduce the crop damage they cause, including seeking federal approval to establish a hunting season.

Tens of thousands of sandhill cranes breed across Wisconsin or migrate through the state each spring and fall, according to the International Crane Foundation. But they feed on germinating corn seeds after spring planting and can cause significant damage to the crop, according to the foundation.

Multiple states, including Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Texas and Wyoming, hold annual sandhill crane hunting seasons, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Wisconsin lawmakers introduced a bill in 2021 establishing a sandhill crane hunt but the measure never got a floor vote. The bill’s chief Assembly sponsor, Rep. Paul Tittl, is serving as chair of the study committee.

The International Crane Foundation opposes hunting sandhills largely because they reproduce very slowly and hunters could kill endangered whooping cranes by mistake. The foundation has pushed farmers to treat their seeds with a nontoxic chemical deterrent.

MADISON – In June the Division I Council adopted a rule change that removed the cap on the number of college football staff members who can do on-field coaching during games and practices.

We saw the aftereffects of that change at Wisconsin on Thursday when Badgers coach Luke Fickell announced promotions that indicate greater coaching roles for three members of his staff.

• Casey Rabach, the Director of Scouting, adds assistant offensive line coach duties.

• Eric Raisbeck goes from senior special teams analyst to assistant special teams coordinator.

• Jack Cooper elevates from senior defensive analyst to assistant secondary coach.

Here is what each brings to the table.

Rabach: A standout player for the Badgers from 1997-2000, Rabach returned to the program as a personal assistant in 2022 and was moved to director of scouting in 2023. A second-team Associated Press All-American as a senior, he spent nine seasons in the NFL and since his return to UW has been a valuable asset to the O-line room in addition to handling his other duties.

Raisbeck: The UW-La Crosse graduate joined the Badgers last winter after a four-year run as a special teams analyst at Penn State where he worked with kickers and punters. Before that he spent the 2019 season as special teams analyst at Utah State. He was the special teams coordinator and defensive line coach at UW-Platteville for the 2017 and ’18 seasons.

Cooper: He joined the Badgers in the spring of 2023 after three seasons as the defensive coordinator at Rhode Island. Prior to that he spent two seasons as a quality control coach for safeties at Nebraska. That was immediately preceded by two seasons at as graduate assistant at Central Florida where he worked with the secondary.