Wisconsin is a state shaped by water. From its western border defined by the Mississippi River to two of the five lakes that make up the world’s largest freshwater system to its north and east, the state is awash in this valuable commodity. The interior is defined by more than 15,000 lakes scattered across counties both rural and urban, more than 5 million acres of wetlands, more than 84,000 miles rivers and streams and 1.2 quadrillion gallons of groundwater. Two Wisconsin programs provide a ...
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Using Sound to Connect People to Green Bay
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On a sunny morning in mid-June 2024, the Phoenix, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s research vessel, headed out onto the bay. Aboard were Sea Grant researchers Emily Tyner and Bill Sallak and a small mound of recording equipment. It was piloted by Chris Houghton, assistant professor and fish ecologist, who was assisted by first mate, undergraduat…
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Lake and River Foams Study Reveals High PFAS Levels
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In a new study, natural foams and water surface microlayers of 43 Wisconsin rivers and lakes were found to contain 36 compounds in a group of chemicals known as PFAS. While PFAS were detected in both the foam and the water surface, it’s the foams that the researcher said were orders of magnitude higher in PFAS concentration compared to water, and t…
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Episode 58: Wisconsin sport fish carry suite of new viruses
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Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have detected a suite of new viruses in five species of Wisconsin sport fish. Although none pose a threat to human health, one is a type of coronavirus that’s usually associated with birds. It was found in healthy walleyes from Wisconsin lakes. The finding is part of a Wisconsin Sea Grant-funded st…
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Episode 57: Northern Wisconsin communities benefit from climate change program
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Leaders in several northern Wisconsin counties and cities were chosen to participate in a Lake Superior Climate Champions Program organized by Wisconsin Sea Grant and the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve in 2023. The program provided funding and guidance to two teams to work on goals of their choosing that addressed climate change.…
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Episode 56: Marine Debris Play Script Available for Free
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What is marine debris, what are its impacts and what can we do about it? These are the central messages of a play written on behalf of Wisconsin Sea Grant by David Daniel with American Players Theatre of Wisconsin. “Me and Debry,” is a half-hour, whimsical, audience-participation play about litter (or marine debris) in the Great Lakes. It had its “…
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Episode 55: Wisconsin’s rural residents concerned about water quality
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A new report published by the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that Wisconsin’s rural residents perceived significant risks to water quality from pesticides, PFAS (which are per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) and excess nutrients. They also ranked water as very or extremely important for supporting wildlife and for hunting and fishing, in a…
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Episode 54: Plastics learning kit educates and enthralls
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Wisconsin Sea Grant’s Anne Moser has learned enough about wastewater treatment to create “Plastic Panic,” a grab-and-go kit that formal and nonformal educators can use to teach about plastic pollution in the Great Lakes, specifically, microplastics. The colorful artwork in the “grab-and-go” kit both educates and enthralls it audiences.…
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Episode 53: Hoping for snow: Wisconsin snow data project captures snowflake images and students’ attention
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Michael Notaro with the University of Wisconsin-Madison is teaching Wisconsin school children the similarities in snowflakes to share the wonder of nature and information about the Great Lakes climate, but also to expand an international environmental database.By University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
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Episode 52: Providing Access for All to a National Lakeshore
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How do you make a park in the middle of Lake Superior accessible to people with disabilities? Natalie Chin and Marie Zhuikov from Wisconsin Sea Grant had the chance to travel to Stockton Island in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore to see first-hand what the park is doing to make it more accessible.…
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Episode 51: Lack of housing looms large as barrier to nature-based jobs in northern Wisconsin
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A report published recently by Wisconsin Sea Grant cites a lack of housing as a major barrier to development of nature-based jobs in Wisconsin’s northern tier. This includes Douglas, Ashland, Bayfield and Iron counties. This episode features interviews with the report authors and panel members from a webinar about the report, “Workforce Needs for N…
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Episode 50: Persistent Pollution: Researchers Investigate the key to E. coli Bacteria Survival in Lake Michigan Beach Sand and Water
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Sea Grant-funded researchers Sandra McLellan and Gyaneshwar Prasad, both with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, are building on previous research to find ways to decomplicate beach managers’ lives by determining what factors could limit long-term survival of E. coli on beaches. They are also in the process of developing a scorecard for the pot…
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Episode 49: The Big Picture on Bluff Erosion Along Lake Michigan
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High water levels in Lake Michigan since 2013 have caused erosion rates that are faster than usual, especially in 2020, when lake levels set records. This has created an urgent need to know more about erosion processes along and in the lake. Lucas Zoet with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Geoscience and his research team are looki…
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Episode 48: Testing Ceded Territories for PFAS at request of tribes
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The three-year tribally driven project called, “Quantifying PFAS bioaccumulation and health impacts on economically important plants and animals associated with aquatic ecosystems in Ceded Territories,” was recently funded. The project has three goals: One is to assess aquatic environments for PFAS contamination in the Ceded Territories, two is to …
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A Wisconsin Sea Grant-funded research and outreach project is designed to explore how the Anishinaabe people connected to and homesteaded the lands of Wisconsin and Minnesota points and how they used fire to manage the landscape. The project name, “Nimaawanji’idimin Giiwitaashkodeng,” translates into “We are all gathering around the fire.” It is be…
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Episode 46: Marine Debris Play Debuts in Door County
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What empowers people to help the environment and rhymes at the same time? Answer: “Me and Debry,” a half-hour, whimsical, audience-participation play about litter (or marine debris) in the Great Lakes. The play had its “world premiere” in Wisconsin’s Door County in October 2022 before a full house at the town library in Egg Harbor. Starring in it w…
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Episode 45: Accessible Birding Event Delivers
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Barker’s Island in the Duluth-Superior Harbor was the site of a free, bird-focused morning during the fall of 2022. People of all ages and ability levels attended an accessible birding outing led by experts from the Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory and the Friends of the Lake Superior Reserve. This free event was made possible through the University of …
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Episode 44: Research Survey Aligns the Wisconsin Idea with Water - 8/30/22
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The Wisconsin Idea is one of the longest and deepest traditions surrounding the University of Wisconsin. It promotes the principle that education and the influence of the university need to reach beyond the boundaries of the classroom across the state. Associate Professor of Geoscience Michael Cardiff and his research team at the University of Wisc…
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A Wisconsin Water Resources Institute project is exploring how bacteria and other water contaminants flow through soil by applying a medical technology usually used for cancer imaging. Chris Zahasky, assistant professor in the Department of Geoscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, received two years of funding to study soil types in the t…
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Episode 42, Great Lakes Teacher Mentor Project – 5/16/22
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Teachers with a passion for the Great Lakes are sharing their expertise across the region with other teachers in a program that benefits the educators and their students. The mentor program, organized by the Center for Great Lakes Literacy (or CGLL), is funded through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.…
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Episode 41, Use of Fluridone in Lakes – 4/4/22
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Gavin Dehnert with Wisconsin Sea Grant is part of a research team that found the use of the herbicide fluridone in lakes to control Eurasian watermilfoil is a good news, bad news story.By University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
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Episode 40, Road Salt and Groundwater – 2/22/22
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UW-Milwaukee researcher Charles Paradis and his team are studying the year-round impact that road salt has on Wisconsin rivers and the groundwater that feeds them.By University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
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Episode 39: Making a Promising Soil Treatment for Nitrate Even Better – 1/21/22
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Joe Sanford with the University of Wisconsin-Platteville has spent his academic career getting his hands dirty. The assistant professor of soil and crop science has been studying uses for biochar, a form of charcoal that’s made by burning wood and plant byproducts (such as pine chips or dried corn plants) under low oxygen conditions.…
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Episode 38: Radium and Strontium Research – 11/2/21
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Matt Ginder-Vogel and Amy Plechacek with the University of Wisconsin-Madison are studying how interactions between water and rock in Fond du Lac County might result in natural contamination of public and private drinking water wells.By University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
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Episode 37: Lake Michigan Bluff Restoration – 9/2/21
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A two-year project by three Sea Grant programs seeks to address complex erosion issues on Lake Michigan through an integrated physical, social and community approach. It’s led by Chin Wu with the University of Wisconsin-Madison.By University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
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Episode 36: Beach Ambassadors Fill Vital Role, 7/8/21
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Sea Grant’s Deidre Peroff and Jumana Tanner are part of a program designed to keep beachgoers in Milwaukee safe even though there are no lifeguards on beaches there this summer.By University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
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Episode 35: Coastal Engineering Education Project, 6/11/2021
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Wisconsin Sea Grant’s Anne Moser and Adam Bechle are beginning a project designed to connect middle-school students in Racine to their watershed by exploring coastal engineering concepts.By University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
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Episode 34: Great Lakes Shipping and Ice Cover Study, 6/3/21
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Richard Stewart and Daniel Rust at the University of Wisconsin-Superior are undertaking a study that looks at the impacts of reduced ice cover on Great Lakes marine transportation.By University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
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Episode 33: Healthy Potatoes and Healthy Water – 4/1/21
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Kevin Masarik with the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is working to reduce fertilizer pollution in the Central Sands area, a popular place to grow potatoes.By University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
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Deidre Peroff and Belle Pappalardo are working with Milwaukee Riverkeeper on a project designed to educate school children about microplastics and reduce the amount of plastics entering Lake Michigan.By University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
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Episode 31: Freshwater Steel Corrosion – 1/26/21
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People still tracking the mysterious accelerated corrosion of steel in Lake Superior have discovered the issue is occurring on inland lakes and in a river, as well.By University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
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Episode 30: PFAS in Green Bay and Lake Michigan – 1/8/21
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Sea Grant researcher Christina Remucal is looking into the fate of harmful PFAS chemicals in the water and sediments of Green Bay and Lake Michigan. She describes her preliminary results.By University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
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Episode 29: Trash Trunk Learning Treasure – 10/29/20
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This new learning kit focuses on trash found in waterways. Sea Grant educators Ginny Carlton and Anne Moser describe what’s in it, who can use it and how to request it.By University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
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Episode 28: Fight to Keep Milwaukee Pool – 8/19/20
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The Friends of Lincoln Park successfully fought the closing of an aquatic center in their neighborhood on Milwaukee’s north side thanks to data from a mapping project by Sea Grant’s Deidre Peroff and Reflo.By University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
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Toben Lafrancois helps lead a unique underwater photography program in northern Wisconsin that uses the healing value and inspiration of spending time in water to aid youths facing significant mental health challenges, and to educate middle and high school students.By University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
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Episode 26: Untangling a Complex Phosphorous Issue, 6/15/20
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Sarah Vitale and other researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire are investigating the possibility that phosphorous deep in the aquifer is the driver behind elevated levels of phosphorous in both surface water and groundwater in western Wisconsin.By University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
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Caitlin Zant with the Wisconsin Historical Society describes how they are developing online educational resources about Lake Michigan shipwrecks, along with a field school for budding maritime archaeologists – all with funding from Wisconsin Sea Grant.By University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
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Episode 24: Watershed Education Program, 5/1/20
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A new Lake Michigan project addresses the need for skilled water workers and will enhance an online resource hub to promote cohesive stormwater messaging along the Wisconsin coast. Deidre Peroff, Rebecca Abler and Jacob Fincher describe how they will cooperateBy University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
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Episode 23: Barker’s Island Improvements, 2/26/20
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Changes are coming to Barker’s Island in Superior in 2020 and 2021, all designed to reduce stormwater runoff. Julia Noordyk, Todd Breiby and Andrea Crouse describe what’s up and where the money’s coming from for the improvements.By University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
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Episode 22: Pow Wow Educator Workshop, 2/7/20
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Educators from Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan learned more about Ojibwe culture, treaty rights and water ecology recently thanks to a Sea Grant-sponsored workshop.By University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
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Tim Campbell with Wisconsin Sea Grant describes results from a 2018 survey of boaters in Wisconsin regarding their knowledge of aquatic invasive species.By University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
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Christine Remucal with the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Kristine Wammer with the University of St. Thomas found that various amounts and types of dissolved organic matter combined with sunlight can break down different pollutants in the St. Louis River.By University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
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Episode 19: Rivers2Lake Education Program, 10/10/19
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Deanna Erickson with the Lake Superior Reserve runs a program designed to connect teachers and students to the Lake Superior Watershed.By University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
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Episode 18: Mystery of Rising Silica Levels, 9/13/19
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John Berges and Erica Young with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee are investigating a drastic rise in dissolved silica in Lake Michigan, which plays an important role in the base of the food web.By University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
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Episode 17: Over the Moon Over Manoomin, 7/24/19
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Sarah Dance, a Ph.D. student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was recently awarded a Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment grant to fund research into wild rice in Wisconsin. Her advisor, Matthew Ginder-Vogel, was pretty psyched that she was awarded the grant.By University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
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Episode 16: Lake Guardian Teacher Cruise 2019, 7/19/19
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Three Wisconsin teachers joined a dozen others from around the Great Lakes on a week-long research cruise on Lake Erie with scientists. Hear how the teachers built on knowledge they gained during a previous Sea Grant cruise and how their students will benefit from the teachers’ new insights into large lakes. Jody Henseler and Brian Henrickson are i…
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Episode 15: Dangerous Currents Workshop, 7/1/19
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A workshop about dangerous currents on Lake Superior’s South Shore drew community members to Ashland recently. Hear how Chin Wu, Todd Brieby and Deidre Peroff are doing to help with safety measures for swimmers and hear why excursion boat captain Shelly Holland attended the event.By University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
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Kenosha Dunes is a scenic natural area along Lake Michigan. Unfortunately, the dunes are eroding at an alarming rate. A team of specialists, including Chin Wu, Adam Bechle and Titus Seilheimer, are looking for new solutions to the old problem of erosion in order to save the dunes.By University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
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Greg Kleinheinz is in the middle of a Wisconsin Sea Grant project to assess effectiveness of beach redesigns along Lake Michigan. He’s finding that fixing beaches benefits both the environment and economy.By University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
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Episode 12: Listen to the People of the Sturgeon, 4/30/19
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Throughout the process of writing the book, “People of the Sturgeon,” about the culture surrounding surgeon spearing on Lake Winnebago, the authors interviewed 69 community members and researchers. Hear excerpts from two interviews from a new audio collection made possible by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries and the Oshkosh Public Muse…
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Episode 11: Meteotsunami-Generated Rip Currents
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Conditions from a July 4, 2003, storm that caused seven drownings on Lake Michigan came under scrutiny by Wisconsin Sea Grant scientists who are studying a storm-induced wave called a meteotsunami -- a contraction of the term meteorological tsunami, which means a wave caused by weather. Chin Wu, Eric Anderson, Robert Duksherer and Megan Dodson are …
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