“For years, Minnesota has struggled to reduce the farm pollution that runs into streams, lakes, the Mississippi River and eventually, the Gulf of Mexico. Crop breeders are working on 16 perennial and winter annual crops to suck up that nutrient pollution before it escapes.
Category: Environment
Posted inEnvironment
A federal funding program has helped clean up the Great Lakes. Could it work for the Mississippi River?
The Mississippi River Restoration and Resilience Initiative was introduced in Congress. It could help fight invasive species, complete restoration projects, improve water quality and protect against flood damage.
Posted inEnvironment
Wisconsin Supreme Court rejects challenge to Kohler golf course over parkland swap
Conservatives on the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a conservation group couldn’t challenge an agency’s decision to sell state park land for the construction of a high-end golf course along the shores of Lake Michigan.
Posted inEnvironment
High water, prolonged flooding changing ecosystem of the Upper Mississippi, new report finds
Nearly 30 years of data show increasingly wet conditions in the floodplain that runs from Minnesota through Wisconsin and Iowa to Cairo, Illinois.
Posted inEnvironment
‘There’s a lot to protect here’: These small Wisconsin towns want more regulations for big farms
The state’s agricultural lobby says local efforts to regulate CAFOs are illegal.
Posted inEnvironment
La Crosse finds solar path despite ownership hurdle
A lack of clarity over third-party-owned solar in Wisconsin has stymied cities’ efforts to install photovoltaics on municipal buildings, but one city says it’s come up with a workaround that could be replicated elsewhere.
Posted inEconomy, Environment, Government
Wisconsin bill reveals fight over control, profit over electric vehicles
Amendments to the bill would bar governments from accepting payment at charging stations or selling electricity not purchased from the local utility.
Posted inEducation, Environment, Health & Welfare, Justice & Safety
Wisconsin Watch’s best photos from 2021 capture moments of elation, contemplation and joy.
A selection of work from Wisconsin Watch photographers that provides a glimpse into the daily lives of the people who help us tell our stories.
Posted inEnvironment, Imperiled Shores
‘Preserving these places is paramount’: How photographer Brett Kosmider documents Door County, Wisconsin’s fragile, changing landscape
Photographer and videographer Brett Kosmider has dedicated much of his career to documenting life and nature in a place that he calls one of the “great anomalies in the world.”
Posted inEnvironment, Government, Imperiled Shores
Wisconsin state parks battered as Lake Michigan shrinks beaches, smashes boardwalks
The state Department of Natural Resources is weighing a fundamental question: Preserve land or let nature take its course?
Posted inEconomy, Environment, Imperiled Shores
Imperiled Shores: A multimedia presentation
Wisconsin’s Great Lakes communities expect to spend $245 million in five years to protect shorelines as a climate ‘tug of war’ drives extreme shifts in water levels. Wisconsin Watch reporter Mario Koran explains the impact this has on lakeshore communities in this multimedia slideshow.
Posted inEconomy, Environment, Imperiled Shores
As Lake Michigan shoreline vanishes, Wisconsinites try to fight waves with walls
Wisconsin sees a surge in barriers to slow lakefront erosion. But such structures are temporary and may harm downstream beaches.