Wisconsin Coastal Management Council meets in Superior

The Wisconsin Coastal Management Council meets at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Superior Public Library, 1530 Tower Avenue.

The Council will recommend to the Wisconsin Department of Administration grant categories and priorities for next year’s Wisconsin Coastal Management Grants to state, local and tribal governments, and nonprofit organizations. The funds are for projects to protect the Great Lakes and their coasts and provide improved public understanding and access to coastal resources.

Available federal funds to be awarded total $1.5 million.

The council will also hear reports from Jason Laumann of the Northwest Regional Planning Commission, Sue O’Halloran of the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve, Paul Hlina of the Lake Superior Research Institute, and Kathy Johnson of Wisconsin Coastal Management Program. Pat Collins St. Louis River conservation coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has also been invited to speak.

The council provides policy direction for the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program. The governor appoints members of the Council to represent state agencies, local governments, tribal governments and the general public.

The Wisconsin Coastal Management Program is dedicated to preserving and improving Wisconsin’s Great Lakes resources. The program awards federal funds from the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management and U.S. Department of Commerce, to local, state and tribal governments, and nonprofit organizations for innovative coastal initiatives. The Coastal Management Grant Program supports projects focusing on wetland protection, habitat restoration, nonpoint pollution control, land-use planning, Great Lakes education, public access, historic preservation, and land acquisition.

A meeting agenda is available at http://coastal.wisconsin.gov.

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