Increased rainfall prompted by climate change has left floodplain communities struggling to respond. In the Coon Creek watershed in Wisconsin’s Driftless Area — home of the nation’s first watershed project in the 1930s and a model for conservation efforts across the country — the newly formed nonprofit Coon Creek Community Watershed Council (CCCWC) has stepped in to bring together diverse members of the community to change land management perspectives and practices.
This panel explores the CCCWC’s partnership with an interdisciplinary group of UW–Madison faculty, staff, and students who are working with the council on projects to enhance resilience in the wake of floods and flood mitigation measures that have displaced families and communities, disrupted centuries-old traditions, and dramatically altered Driftless ecologies.
Hosted by the Nelson Institute Center for Culture, History, and Environment
Speakers
- Anna Andrzejewski, professor of art history, UW–Madison
- Nancy Wedwick, president, Coon Creek Community Watershed Council, Inc.
- Sydney Widell, MS student in freshwater and marine sciences, UW–Madison