2013 GLISA Small Grant: Implementation of a Coastal Vulnerability Assessment, Adaptation Strategies, and Adaptive Risk Management Metrics by Wisconsin and Illinois Land Managers into Ravine Restoration Practices and/or Land Use Decisions

A series of ravines along the shoreline of Lake Michigan have become a major focus of conservationists in Northeast Illinois and Southeast Wisconsin. Restored ravines protect property values, drinking water quality, and recreational opportunities. They also decrease storm water owing onto the beaches and into the
lake, slowing erosion and decreasing water pollution. There is considerable uncertainty as to the scope of climate impacts on ravines, and therefore appropriate management actions. This project provides an avenue for decision makers to implement strategies of adaptive risk management by allowing them to co-develop with technical experts as part of a local “knowledge network.” Two pilot projects will allow local ravine managers to implement those strategies and integrate metrics into their existing restoration projects.

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Project Contacts:

Angela Larsen, Community Resilience Manager, Alliance for the Great Lakes, Chicago, Illinois
Abigail Derby Lewis, Conservation Ecologist, Department of Environment, Culture and Conservation, The Field Museum of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

Project Accomplishments

Research Findings