Coastal communities across Wisconsin are getting a funding boost to bolster local economies, natural resources and quality of life.

About $1.3 million in grants are going to areas along the Great Lakes. That includes larger cities - like Kenosha, Milwaukee and Sheboygan - and small towns like Gibraltar in Door County.

Gibraltar Town Chairman Steve Sohns said his community was able to acquire, preserve and potentially create recreation trails in a forested wetlands area along Lake Michigan, which should protect local wildlife and water quality.

"If the swamps aren't protected and maintained properly, I mean that's the filters of the earth before the water gets out to the lake," said Sohns. "So, I think it's pretty pretty important we protect those filters."

Other grants will go to outdoor education, historic preservation, and even kayak launches. Funding will also go to groups monitoring invasive species, algal blooms and water temperatures.

Wisconsin has been funding similar programs for several years now, and will continue to award money in 2025.

The Badger State has roughly 800 miles of coastline, which Gov. Tony Evers said is a critical cultural and commercial resource. He spoke in a radio address earlier this month.

"Unfortunately," said Evers, "many of these communities have also experienced shoreline erosion, flooding, pollution, and everyday harmful effects of climate change and more."

This grant program is supported through federal dollars. The Biden-Harris administration has made environmental restoration and preservation a critical part of its plans to combat climate change.




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It has been less than four months since Michigan's Gun Lake Tribe received grants totaling $4 million for its plans to fight climate change.

Its electric infrastructure implementation project ramped up this spring.

Phyllis Davis, a tribal council member, said they are looking at ways to could increase efficiency and reduce negative environmental impacts on their area.

"Those dollars were used to replace existing vehicles, for the government campus and our gaming venue, with electric vehicles and charging systems that we will have installed throughout the footprint of our tribal campus," Davis outlined.

This month, the Gun Lake Tribe had a visit from U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who touted their successes so far and announced an additional $120 million in grant funding to help tribal communities around the country prepare for climate-related threats.

The money is part of a larger $560 million investment in tribal climate resilience programs. The focus is on making sure historically underfunded communities, and those seeing more pollution and environmental hazards, have a chance to improve their situations.

Davis pointed out the selection process for the funding was very competitive and shared why she believes the Gun Lake Tribe stood out among the other applicants.

"We do such a good job in grants and management, that every project that we've been awarded by the federal government, we have spent our dollars wisely," Davis explained. "We have fulfilled every objective. We've been highly successful."

Through federal initiatives, tribes can apply for grants for climate-related priorities, from planning and drought mitigation to wildfire prevention and coastal management.

Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker has signed a bill to regulate new carbon capture, storage and pipeline projects.

The technology involves capturing carbon dioxide created by power plants or other industries, transporting it and storing it deep underground.

It can help companies reduce their climate-warming emissions. But unchecked, it also presents some dangers to the public, especially if a pipeline breaks.

Jenny Cassel is a senior attorney with the Clean Energy Program at the environmental group Earthjustice.

"You can't smell it. You can't see it, other than the immediate source of where that rupture might happen," said Cassel. "So, it's sort of a devastating set of circumstances for folks that may be in the path of this. And they have no idea what is happening or where to go."

Cassel said she's pleased with protections in the law, which include long-term monitoring requirements and funds for emergency management.

It also stops all new pipelines from being built until July of 2026, while regulators finalize stronger safety rules.

The governor's office says this law will create up to 3,700 new jobs in Illinois. Pipeline operators say its among the safest ways to sequester carbon.

Multiple carbon capture projects have been proposed in recent years in Illinois, which has a geology uniquely suited for Co2 storage.

Cassel said the new law isn't perfect, but is a solid compromise that can be improved in the future.

"I truly do hope that many more states do what Illinois does, and potentially even go beyond that, right, in terms of protection against this," said Cassel. "We do not want to protect our climate at the expense of our lives and our environment."

New carbon capture projects will also be required to create a net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Pritzker has set a goal for Illinois to run on 100% clean energy by 2050.




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The Environmental Protection Agency is giving Minnesota $200 million to reduce emissions in its food systems.

The money will impact a large swath of the state, from agriculture to food storage to waste reduction.

Kate Knuth - climate director for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - said residents have been feeling the impacts of climate change in recent years, either from drought, wildfire smoke, or flooding.

This investment will try to reduce those impacts, while growing local economies.

"As a result," said Knuth, "Minnesotans will be healthier, will have more economic opportunity, will be better prepared for climate impacts that are coming."

The list of specific programs is long. But it includes money for tribal governments, peatland preservation, and low-emissions tractors and refrigerators.

Funding comes from the federal Inflation Reduction Act, and it's part of a larger $4.3 billion round of pollution grants affecting 30 states.

Knuth said the application process was competitive - but she said she feels her agency was successful because of Minnesota's track record of maintaining clean water, healthy soil, and flourishing ecosystems.

"This focus on the food system - including agriculture, and transportation, and keeping food cold, and managing the waste," said Knuth, "that's something that we as a state are uniquely positioned to lead on. And we're pretty excited to have this significant investment to do so."

Food systems are responsible for about a third of global greenhouse-gas emissions, according to the United Nations.




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