Wisconsin Wetlands Association (WWA) is partnering with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) to identify how state and federal transportation funding and engineering resources could be used to use nature based solutions to solve infrastructure problems.  Funding would be used to restore wetlands, streams, and floodplains as a strategy to protect vulnerable roads, culverts, and bridges from flooding and storm damage.

As climate change intensifies rainfall events across Wisconsin, road managers have recognized the need for nature-based solutions. WisDOT has recently completed a GIS mapping of its most vulnerable highway segments, many of which are in the Lake Michigan Basin.

With support from the fund, WWA will convene a program evaluation team, review relevant federal and state statutes, interview WisDOT staff and stakeholders, and present recommendations to WisDOT leadership. If successful, this collaboration has the potential to unlock tens of millions of dollars in future funding for catchment-scale hydrologic restoration projects that would reduce sedimentation, improve water quality, and increase flood resilience across Wisconsin.