Wisconsin’s Pre-Disaster Flood Resilience Grant Program is in the process of accepting its first round of applications—and Wisconsin Wetlands Association (WWA) is encouraged by the high level of interest in this program among Wisconsin communities.
The Pre-Disaster Flood Resilience Grant Program was priority legislation championed by WWA earlier this year. It created a competitive program (funded at $2 million in the 2023-25 state budget) for flood prone communities to apply for assessment grants to better understand flood vulnerabilities or implementation grants to complete hydrologic restoration projects that restore wetlands, streams, and floodplains.
This is exciting because healthy wetlands and floodplains can help communities address flooding and other problems. Healthy, hydrologically connected wetlands slow and disperse the energy of flood flows and can prevent or reduce downstream damage. This grant makes it possible for communities to understand and implement wetland solutions.
The application process for this grant program required applicants to submit a notice of intent to apply by September 30th, with final applications due November 30th. From general information shared by the Division of Wisconsin Emergency Management (WEM) about notices of intent to apply for grants this cycle, WWA was able to discern the following:
- WEM received 39 notices of intent to apply for grants this period. Additionally, earlier this summer, an impressive 300 people from local units of government, regional planning commissions, non-profit organizations, and consulting firms tuned into two informational webinars.
- The total funding sought through notices of intent exceeds what is available through the program. This inaugural application rollout yielded notices of intent totaling nearly $9 million – more than four times the amount of funding provided.
- The pool of applicants is geographically diverse. Project applications covered areas within twenty-one counties and included both urban and rural regions throughout the state.
- The pool of applicants includes a variety of entities. Nineteen local units of government and three regional planning commissions applied for grants directly. An additional ten applications were facilitated by a non-profit organization or private consultant on behalf of a local unit of government.
- Applications include a blend of assessment and implementation projects. Assessment projects represented approximately 60% of the applications, and implementation projects represented the remaining 40%. Notably, this tracks closely to the program framework, which dedicated two-thirds of the funding to assessments and the remaining one-third to implementation projects.
Even though the program has just begun, Wisconsin communities are already seizing the opportunity to better understand and proactively work to reduce flood risks.
WWA plans to continue to monitor the rollout of the Pre-Disaster Flood Resilience Grant. Advocating for continued funding for this exciting new program is currently one of WWA’s top policy priorities.
Learn more about the Pre-Disaster Flood Resilience Grant here. To help WWA advocate for continued funding of this program, contact Policy Liaison Jennifer Hauser.
Read more about the Pre-Disaster Flood Resilience Grant Program when it was signed into law.
Supporter and collaborators share why they support the Pre-Disaster Flood Resilience Grant.