Voice Your Support for Wetlands as Solutions at an Upcoming Virtual Public Hearing
The Wisconsin Wetlands Association recently provided public comments to Governor Evers’ Task Force on Climate Change at a July 24 meeting of the Land Use and Conservation Subcommittee. WWA Policy Liaison Jennifer Western Hauser participated in a virtual meeting and submitted a letter to the task force, which hit on these key points:
- A healthy watershed, including ample upper watershed wetlands and well-connected floodplains, is key to addressing water management problems (i.e. flooding, erosion, infrastructure damages, groundwater infiltration), which are made worse by climate change.
- Much of Wisconsin’s current landscape is degraded from loss of upper watershed wetlands and floodplains that store water, help it absorb, and slow its flow downstream.
- Wisconsin needs a strategy to assess where loss of wetland storage and lack of floodplain connection increases vulnerabilities; and to restore these areas to increase storage, infiltration, and baseflow, reduce runoff and erosion and enhance fish, wildlife, and plant habitat.
The task force is interested in hearing how you are being affected by climate change. Whether you are a private landowner, municipal official, or wetland practitioner, please consider sharing the climate change challenges you see and opportunities to address them. As wetland supporters, we know you share an appreciation for wetlands and their many benefits, including the water management functions that build resilience to the impacts of climate change.
That’s why WWA hopes you will join in sharing your concerns about climate change with the Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change. There are two ways to contact the Climate Change Task Force:
- You can provide written comments anytime between now and July 15 by clicking on the “Comments” tab on the Task Force website.
- You can take part in an upcoming virtual public hearing via Zoom. The Task Force website will feature a link to register the day before the hearing. The public hearing dates are:
- Tuesday, July 7 at 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
- Thursday, July 9 at 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
- Wednesday, July 15 at 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Consider copying your comments to WWA at policy1@wisconsinwetlands.org. We’d appreciate hearing your take on climate change challenges and approaches to resilience the state should consider.
Photo by Driftless Dream Studio.
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