Baldwin Announces $4.9 Million to Protect and Restore Wisconsin’s Coastal Habitats

WISCONSIN – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin announced over $4.9 million to help Wisconsin communities build resilience to extreme weather and climate change and protect critical habitats. Amid high demand for competitive funding, Wisconsin was the only state to receive funding for three projects. 

“Wisconsin has 800 miles of coastline, nearly 85,000 miles of river, and 15,000 lakes that are critical to our economy, environment, and way of life,” said Senator Baldwin. “If we want these ecosystems and coastlines to be around for the next generation, we have to invest in their resiliency. That’s why I am proud to have voted for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which is helping Wisconsin and Tribal communities boost conservation efforts, protecting against storms and flooding, and addressing the impacts of climate change.”

Funding for these projects comes from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Habitat Protection and Restoration Awards, funded by the Baldwin-backed Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Funding will be used to increase community resilience to climate change and extreme weather events through habitat restoration and planning, engineering, and design, and ecosystem conservation. 

The following projects in Wisconsin will be funded under this announcement:

$4,100,000 for the Wisconsin Department of Administration - Gile Flowage Land Conservation Project

The funding will be used to acquire 1,055 acres of undeveloped property in Iron County, Wisconsin, to provide long-term conservation of critical habitat in Lake Superior’s coastal zone.  The acquisition will add to a contiguous block of county-owned land that is managed for conservation values, including habitat corridors, climate resilience, and public access. The project will support underserved and tribal communities by ensuring permanent public accessibility to the land and protecting treaty rights usage by the Lac du Flambeau and Bad River Indian Reservations.

$500,000 for the Wisconsin Department of Administration - Creating a Resilient and Sustainable Valley Creek Corridor

The funding will be used to develop plans to restore the entire 1.8-mile Valley Creek urban riparian corridor, and important Lake Michigan coastal tributary. The City of Port Washington and the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program will partner to develop 90 percent design plans that include nature-based solutions to prevent degradation, protect critical infrastructure, reduce flood risk, and restore riparian, floodplain, and estuary habitat.

$348,860 for the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System - Gibiskising Minis Azhe-dibinaweziwin

The funding will be used to create a community-informed plan to restore 10.9 acres of regained Ojibwe homelands on Lake Superior’s Gibiskising Minis to their inherent ecological and cultural nature. Input from tribal and non-tribal land managers, archaeologists, local government, tribal members, and tribal government will be incorporated into an actionable restoration and monitoring plan that accounts for the significance of this place. The completed design will be used to pursue funding to restore sand dunes, pine forests, medicinal plants, and cultural relationships.

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