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What Wisconsin Can Expect Declining water levels and ice cover on inland lakes and the Great Lakes and resulting changes in habitat and species. Shifting forest habitat and shrinking of hemlock, spruce and fir-dominated northern forests. Increasing water temperatures resulting in decline in cold-water fish populations including lake trout and whitefish. Loss of winter recreation experiences such as ice fishing, skiing and snowmobiling. More extreme heat, storms and floods. Go Deeper What The Nature Conservancy in Wisconsin is doing about climate change. Learn more about the Conservancy's Global Climate Change Initiative. Download the Climate Change Impacts in Wsconsin fact sheet (PDF, 2.3 MB) Contact Us Todd Holschbach Director of Government Relations tholschbach@tnc.org (608) 316-6417 Casey Eggleston Government Relations Coordinator ceggleston@tnc.org (608) 316-6412 Back to Public Policy page

Increases in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have caused global temperatures to increase substantially over the past century. This global warming has resulted mainly from human activities such as the combustion of fossil fuels and deforestation. Global temperatures are expected to rise more this century as emissions of heat-trapping gases continue to mount. While the impacts of climate change will vary from region to region, it is clear that almost every place on the planet, including Wisconsin, will be affected.

Wisconsin citizens and conservation organizations like The Nature Conservancy have made substantial investments to protect critical natural resources across the state, from the shores of the Great Lakes to the forests of northern Wisconsin. These investments are jeopardized if emissions of heat-trapping gases continue unchecked. The impacts of climate change on places like the Great Lakes and northern Wisconsin increase our conservation challenges to ensure the survival of forest habitats, native plants and wildlife, and freshwater resources.

Freshwater Impacts

Wisconsin’s freshwater resources are critical for agriculture, recreation, fisheries, wildlife and human consumption. Climate change will result in lower lake levels, increased water temperatures and shorter durations of ice cover on inland lakes and the Great Lakes. Many small streams may dry up, and wetland size and function could be diminished. These changes are likely to lead to increased shipping costs on the Great Lakes, the loss of some cold-water fish species such as lake trout, and less high-quality habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife.

Forest Impacts

Wisconsin’s 16 million acres of forests provide recreational opportunities, help clean our air and water, and are important to our economy, generating more than $18 billion in paper and wood products each year. With warmer temperatures, Wisconsin’s northern forests of hemlock, spruce and fir are likely to shrink while other, traditionally southern forest species will shift northward. It is likely that, with the drier conditions, forest fires and droughts will become more frequent. These changes will impact the forest industry and reduce habitat for migratory songbirds and other wildlife.

Economic Impacts

Warmer temperatures could extend the growing season in Wisconsin by four to seven weeks, benefiting Wisconsin agriculture in the short term. But they could also create more favorable conditions for pest species and lead to droughts, which would require irrigation of more cropland and increase the competition for water resources.

Tourism is one of Wisconsin’s largest industries, adding nearly $13 billion to the state’s economy in 2006, and outdoor recreation is a big part of what draws visitors to the state. Winter sports activities such as ice fishing, skiing and snowmobiling will be the hardest hit by the effects of climate change as winters get shorter and the duration of ice cover on the lakes declines. Warmer water temperatures will mean loss of habitat for some aquatic species, especially cold-water fish like lake trout.

 

Sources: Confronting Climate Change in the Great Lakes Region, Union of Concerned Scientists and
Ecological Society of America (April 2003); U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census; Wisconsin:
Tourism’s Economic Impact, Wisconsin Department of Tourism (May 2007)

Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Steve S. Meyer (Sunbeams through fog and oaks).