Introduction

Wetlands are a critical component to our environment, providing a host of essential ecosystem services humans and wildlife.  It is estimated that Wisconsin has lost nearly 50% of its wetlands through development and agriculture.  Wetland mitigation has attempted to diminish these effects through compensatory mitigation.  Originally this was done on a site-specific scale.  Through time, though, it was realized that this was not effective and the EPA’s 2008 final rule declared mitigation should be looked at on a landscape scale.   The EPA also stressed that sustainability be an important consideration in mitigation planning on a landscape scale.  Shortly after, WiDNR implemented an In-Leu-Fee programs to further address these issues.

In conjunction with this, TNC Madison and the WiDNR have engaged in a pilot project to address effective planning options for watershed-based compensatory mitigation.  The success of this project, The Duck Penauskee Watershed Approach, has led this team to roll out a similar approach on a wider scale throughout Wisconsin.  This project, Watershed Approach to Wetland Functional Assessment (WAWFA) comprised heavily of GIS work with fieldwork for ground truthing.

The primary players in this project are TNC and WiDNR, though stakeholders are far and wide.  The overall objective of this project is to create a system to increase effectiveness of mitigation restorations.  This two-year project will generate an online interactive mapping system to better prioritize mitigation sites on a landscape scale, allowing practitioners the ability to identify sites based on their priorities of various ecosystem services (functions). The three focus watersheds identified to perform on-the-ground surveys are located in the northwest region of WI in and around Douglas County, in the Upper Mississippi Basin, and in Milwaukee County. 

The primary function of my placement is to create a climate change lens assessment over the entirety of this project through literature reviews and expert interviews.  These will result in a written report of findings and recommendations for climate change approaches and implementation strategies in order to ensure WAWFA's decisions include climate change factors.  Some secondary functions of my placement will include assisting with fieldwork, communicating/organizing with stakeholders and potentially a thoughtful analysis of the watershed level planning process.  The details of this process and a final product are meant to be adaptive as the summer progresses.  

Stay tuned and thanks for joining me on this journey!