Climate Change
Already the impacts of climate change to the landscapes, economy and people of Wisconsin are felt with routine flooding occurring throughout Wisconsin, and less ice leading to increased evaporation on lakes.
Wisconsin’s average annual amount of precipitation is not expected to change much, but our summers are expected to become drier as warmer temperatures increase evaporation and seasonal precipitation patterns shift. Winter precipitation is projected to increase by as much as 30%, while summer precipitation may decline by as much as 20%. As the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere increases with global temperatures and warmer ocean waters, the air will become more humid. When it does rain or snow, it’s likely to be in larger amounts.
All of these changes mean we can expect an increase in extreme heat waves and more frequent droughts in summer. At the same time, severe thunderstorms may double in frequency, increasing the amounts of damage caused by heavy rainfall, hail and strong tornadoes. The winter season is likely to be punctuated with increasingly frequent mid-winter thaws, freezing rains, ice storms, and flooding. We may expect heavier snowfalls, especially over the next few decades, yet the average length of time the ground stays snow covered and our lakes remain ice covered will shrink with each passing decade If conditions become warmer and drier as projected, the current range, density, and type of forest species could be reduced and eventually replaced by plant communities more suitable for that climate. The acreage of Wisconsin’s northern forests of hemlock, spruce and fir, as well as birch and jack pine, are likely to shrink and perhaps disappear from the landscape altogether. These species will likely lose their ability to reproduce and compete with more suitable trees. Southern oaks and hickories are expected to migrate north, but their dispersal may depend on traits of individual tree species, such as seed dispersal methods. The ability of each species to adapt to changing climates also depends on human influences, including development, roads, and fragmentation.
Sport fishing will change as the range of warm-water fish expands northward, while cold-water species such as trout, and even some cool-water fish like walleye and perch, disappear from southern parts of the state. Ice fishing may become extremely limited. Many small streams may dry up, and wetland size and function could be diminished. All fish could face other threats including increased potential for oxygen depletion in waterways and possible increased pollution-related impacts from shallower water and storm-induced heavy erosion. Additional losses of wetland and forest habitat and food resources for migratory songbirds, shorebirds, and waterfowl will affect Wisconsin’s multimillion-dollar bird watching and hunting industries.
This publication is intended for local government officials and others interested in investigating the connections between climate change and land use. We present an introduction to climate change at the global and state level, examine infrastructure and economic implications, and show how natural resources may change through this current century. We wrap up by looking at state level policies and potential tradeoffs and community level mitigation and adaptation strategies.
Source: Wisconsin Land Use Megatrends: Climate Change. Center for Land Use Education, UWStevens Point, UW-Extension. Summer 2009.
Forest ecosystems across the Northwoods will face direct and indirect impacts from a changing climate over the 21st century. This assessment evaluates the vulnerability of forest ecosystems in the Laurentian Mixed Forest Province of northern Wisconsin and western Upper Michigan under a range of future climates.
Model projections suggest that northern boreal species such as black spruce, quaking aspen, and paper birch may fare worse under future conditions, but other species may benefit from projected changes in climate. Upland spruce-fir, lowland conifers, aspenbirch, lowland-riparian hardwoods, and red pine forests were determined to be the most vulnerable ecosystems. White pine and oak forests were perceived as less vulnerable to projected changes in climate. These projected changes in climate and the associated impacts and vulnerabilities will have important implications for economically valuable timber species, forest dependent wildlife and plants, recreation, and long-term natural resource planning.
Source: Forest Ecosystem Vulnerability Assessment and Synthesis for Northern Wisconsin and Western Upper Michigan: A Report from the Northwoods Climate Change Response Framework Project. U.S. Forest Service, Northern Research Station, General Technical Report NRS-136, August 2014.
Wisconsin’s average annual amount of precipitation is not expected to change much, but our summers are expected to become drier as warmer temperatures increase evaporation and seasonal precipitation patterns shift. Winter precipitation is projected to increase by as much as 30%, while summer precipitation may decline by as much as 20%. As the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere increases with global temperatures and warmer ocean waters, the air will become more humid. When it does rain or snow, it’s likely to be in larger amounts.
All of these changes mean we can expect an increase in extreme heat waves and more frequent droughts in summer. At the same time, severe thunderstorms may double in frequency, increasing the amounts of damage caused by heavy rainfall, hail and strong tornadoes. The winter season is likely to be punctuated with increasingly frequent mid-winter thaws, freezing rains, ice storms, and flooding. We may expect heavier snowfalls, especially over the next few decades, yet the average length of time the ground stays snow covered and our lakes remain ice covered will shrink with each passing decade If conditions become warmer and drier as projected, the current range, density, and type of forest species could be reduced and eventually replaced by plant communities more suitable for that climate. The acreage of Wisconsin’s northern forests of hemlock, spruce and fir, as well as birch and jack pine, are likely to shrink and perhaps disappear from the landscape altogether. These species will likely lose their ability to reproduce and compete with more suitable trees. Southern oaks and hickories are expected to migrate north, but their dispersal may depend on traits of individual tree species, such as seed dispersal methods. The ability of each species to adapt to changing climates also depends on human influences, including development, roads, and fragmentation.
Sport fishing will change as the range of warm-water fish expands northward, while cold-water species such as trout, and even some cool-water fish like walleye and perch, disappear from southern parts of the state. Ice fishing may become extremely limited. Many small streams may dry up, and wetland size and function could be diminished. All fish could face other threats including increased potential for oxygen depletion in waterways and possible increased pollution-related impacts from shallower water and storm-induced heavy erosion. Additional losses of wetland and forest habitat and food resources for migratory songbirds, shorebirds, and waterfowl will affect Wisconsin’s multimillion-dollar bird watching and hunting industries.
This publication is intended for local government officials and others interested in investigating the connections between climate change and land use. We present an introduction to climate change at the global and state level, examine infrastructure and economic implications, and show how natural resources may change through this current century. We wrap up by looking at state level policies and potential tradeoffs and community level mitigation and adaptation strategies.
Source: Wisconsin Land Use Megatrends: Climate Change. Center for Land Use Education, UWStevens Point, UW-Extension. Summer 2009.
Forest ecosystems across the Northwoods will face direct and indirect impacts from a changing climate over the 21st century. This assessment evaluates the vulnerability of forest ecosystems in the Laurentian Mixed Forest Province of northern Wisconsin and western Upper Michigan under a range of future climates.
Model projections suggest that northern boreal species such as black spruce, quaking aspen, and paper birch may fare worse under future conditions, but other species may benefit from projected changes in climate. Upland spruce-fir, lowland conifers, aspenbirch, lowland-riparian hardwoods, and red pine forests were determined to be the most vulnerable ecosystems. White pine and oak forests were perceived as less vulnerable to projected changes in climate. These projected changes in climate and the associated impacts and vulnerabilities will have important implications for economically valuable timber species, forest dependent wildlife and plants, recreation, and long-term natural resource planning.
Source: Forest Ecosystem Vulnerability Assessment and Synthesis for Northern Wisconsin and Western Upper Michigan: A Report from the Northwoods Climate Change Response Framework Project. U.S. Forest Service, Northern Research Station, General Technical Report NRS-136, August 2014.
The biodiversity of insects on planet Earth is staggering, as many as 30 million species. Insects pollinate our food, recycle dead things, supply fibers and raw materials to humans, provide food for birds, mammals, and fish, and help to reduce each other. Insects make up the base of our food chain and are critical to ecosystems and the health of our planet. Only a small fraction of insects are not beneficial to humans.
Alarmingly, insect populations have been plummeting. Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) have declined by 53%. The iconic Monarch butterfly is threatened by habitat loss, pesticides, and climate change. In the last 22 years, their numbers have decreased by 68%, with the Western population especially at risk of extinction. Native bee populations have also declined dramatically. Historically, the Rusty-patched bumble bee was found throughout Wisconsin. In 2017, it became the first federally listed endangered bumble bee species, and is now known to exist only in small pockets in western and southern Wisconsin.
The reasons behind insect population declines are both varied and complex. Habitat loss, climate change, pesticides, and pathogens top the list. As varied as the reasons are behind the widespread declines, the methods we need to halt and reverse declines are as complex. It is easy to say, restore habitat, but as we experience a changing climate, what is the best way? It is easy to say, use less pesticides, but how do we ‘redesign’ our agricultural fields to be productive and insect-friendly? What is known is that changes, both small and large, must occur. In order to help reverse the current loss of insect biodiversity, how we grow our food, build our homes, and live our lives, will need to be examined. Small changes that take place in our backyards, along lake shores, in the city, and in our farm fields, can benefit insects. Activities such as reducing light pollution, installing buffer strips, minimizing pesticide use, planting a pollinator garden, and letting our properties be a little more wild, all start at the local level, but have a much larger landscape-level effect.
Sources: Francisco Sanchez-Bayo, Kris A.G. Wyckhuys. “Worldwide decline of the entomofauna: A review of its drivers.” Biological Conservation, Vol. 232, April 2019, pp. 8-27. “Saving the Monarch Butterfly”, Center for Biological Diversity, www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/invertebrates/monarch_butterfly/
Alarmingly, insect populations have been plummeting. Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) have declined by 53%. The iconic Monarch butterfly is threatened by habitat loss, pesticides, and climate change. In the last 22 years, their numbers have decreased by 68%, with the Western population especially at risk of extinction. Native bee populations have also declined dramatically. Historically, the Rusty-patched bumble bee was found throughout Wisconsin. In 2017, it became the first federally listed endangered bumble bee species, and is now known to exist only in small pockets in western and southern Wisconsin.
The reasons behind insect population declines are both varied and complex. Habitat loss, climate change, pesticides, and pathogens top the list. As varied as the reasons are behind the widespread declines, the methods we need to halt and reverse declines are as complex. It is easy to say, restore habitat, but as we experience a changing climate, what is the best way? It is easy to say, use less pesticides, but how do we ‘redesign’ our agricultural fields to be productive and insect-friendly? What is known is that changes, both small and large, must occur. In order to help reverse the current loss of insect biodiversity, how we grow our food, build our homes, and live our lives, will need to be examined. Small changes that take place in our backyards, along lake shores, in the city, and in our farm fields, can benefit insects. Activities such as reducing light pollution, installing buffer strips, minimizing pesticide use, planting a pollinator garden, and letting our properties be a little more wild, all start at the local level, but have a much larger landscape-level effect.
Sources: Francisco Sanchez-Bayo, Kris A.G. Wyckhuys. “Worldwide decline of the entomofauna: A review of its drivers.” Biological Conservation, Vol. 232, April 2019, pp. 8-27. “Saving the Monarch Butterfly”, Center for Biological Diversity, www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/invertebrates/monarch_butterfly/
Metallic Mining |
Preface
In August of 2012, the Oneida County Board established a policy that states it would not pursue leasing County property for metallic mining. In response to 2017 Act 134, Oneida County re-wrote its metallic mining ordinance. The County Board ran an advisory referendum during the November 6, 2018 general election asking the electorate whether metallic mining on County owned lands in the Town of Lynne should be allowed. The electorate responded by a nearly 2-1 margin that metallic mining should not be considered. With regard to metallic mining in Oneida County, it is the intent of the LWCD and the Conservation Committee to establish and oversee goals and objectives that protect water, land, air, and quality of life for Oneida County to the fullest extent provided under law. (OC)
Introduction
Activities and processes that occur at metallic mining sites have the potential to affect the quantity and quality of groundwater surrounding the project area. At most surface or underground mines, groundwater will flow into excavated areas and must then be pumped out in order to dewater places where mining activities are intended to take place. Depending on the site's local hydrology, mining activities may affect groundwater quantity by lowering the water table elevation, which in turn may impact nearby lake levels and base flow in streams. Additionally, groundwater quality may be affected by the handling, storage, and disposal of mining wastes; the mine excavation itself; the water-table drawdown; the wastewater discharge; and the storage and handling of chemicals, reagents, and fuels at the mine site. (WDNR)
As explicitly stated in Wisconsin's mining laws and regulations, the contamination of groundwater quality must be prevented through compliance with strict performance based standards. (WDNR)
While there have been improvements to mining practices, significant environmental risks remain. Water pollution from mine waste rock (tailings) may need to be managed for decades after closure. These impacts depend on a variety of factors, such as the susceptibility to groundwater contamination, the composition of bedrock being mined, the type of technology employed; the skill, knowledge and environmental commitment of the company; and our ability to monitor and enforce compliance with environmental regulations. One of the problems is that high-grade ore has decreased, so low-grade ore is being mined. With the mining of low-grade ore comes a much greater tonnage of waste rock, and much smaller pieces that provide a higher surface area to potentially come in contact with water.
Types of Potential Soil and Water Contamination
1. Acid rock drainage
Many waste rocks contain sulfide minerals associated with metals, such as lead, zinc, copper, silver, or cadmium. An important sulfide mineral common in waste rock is pyrite, iron sulfide. When pyrite is exposed to air and water, it undergoes a chemical reaction called “oxidation.” The oxidation process produces acidic conditions that can inhibit plant growth at the surface of a waste pile. If water infiltrates into pyrite-laden waste rock, the resulting oxidation can acidify the water, enabling it to dissolve metals such as copper, zinc, and silver. This production of acidic water, is commonly referred to as “acid rock drainage.” If acid rock drainage is not prevented from occurring, and if it is left uncontrolled, the resulting acidic and metal-bearing water may drain into and contaminate streams or migrate into the local groundwater, therefore inhibiting its use for drinking water or irrigation.
2. Waste rock (tailings) erosion
Waste rock (also called tailings) disposal areas are either located as close to the mine as possible or as close to the processing plant as possible to minimize haulage costs. If not properly managed, erosion of waste rock into surface waters will most likely oxidize pyrite in the rock, leading to higher concentrations of acid and leached heavy metals into the stream bed and water, because the whole surface of this waste rock is now exposed within running water. When this occurs, the metals are considered to be “bioavailable” in the environment. Bioavailable metals are easily absorbed by plants and animals that are still alive within the acidic water, causing additional detrimental effects. Seepage from waste rock can be prevented or minimized by locating tailings basins on level topography, and placing a flexible, low-permeable barrier, such as compressed clay, at the bottom of the impoundment before waste rock disposal. Many pre-1970s tailings impoundments did not have such barriers. The infiltration of surface water into tailings can be prevented by using reclamation methods that facilitate water runoff before contacting the waste rock rather than ponding on tailings piles. If not prevented or controlled, the acidic and metal-bearing waters from tailings can impact stream habitats and groundwater.
Direct Sources:
(OC) – Oneida County’s CUW Committee. Material provided after June 5, 2019 public hearing. (DNR) – Department of Natural Resources. “Protecting Groundwater at Metallic Mining Sites.” Mining Information Sheet. Revised: February 2003. Accessed online: June 6, 2019.
Additional Sources:
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. “Taconite – Digging into Minnesota Minerals.” Accessed online: June 13, 2019. American Geosciences Institute. “How can metal mining impact the environment?” Accessed online: June 13, 2019.
In August of 2012, the Oneida County Board established a policy that states it would not pursue leasing County property for metallic mining. In response to 2017 Act 134, Oneida County re-wrote its metallic mining ordinance. The County Board ran an advisory referendum during the November 6, 2018 general election asking the electorate whether metallic mining on County owned lands in the Town of Lynne should be allowed. The electorate responded by a nearly 2-1 margin that metallic mining should not be considered. With regard to metallic mining in Oneida County, it is the intent of the LWCD and the Conservation Committee to establish and oversee goals and objectives that protect water, land, air, and quality of life for Oneida County to the fullest extent provided under law. (OC)
Introduction
Activities and processes that occur at metallic mining sites have the potential to affect the quantity and quality of groundwater surrounding the project area. At most surface or underground mines, groundwater will flow into excavated areas and must then be pumped out in order to dewater places where mining activities are intended to take place. Depending on the site's local hydrology, mining activities may affect groundwater quantity by lowering the water table elevation, which in turn may impact nearby lake levels and base flow in streams. Additionally, groundwater quality may be affected by the handling, storage, and disposal of mining wastes; the mine excavation itself; the water-table drawdown; the wastewater discharge; and the storage and handling of chemicals, reagents, and fuels at the mine site. (WDNR)
As explicitly stated in Wisconsin's mining laws and regulations, the contamination of groundwater quality must be prevented through compliance with strict performance based standards. (WDNR)
While there have been improvements to mining practices, significant environmental risks remain. Water pollution from mine waste rock (tailings) may need to be managed for decades after closure. These impacts depend on a variety of factors, such as the susceptibility to groundwater contamination, the composition of bedrock being mined, the type of technology employed; the skill, knowledge and environmental commitment of the company; and our ability to monitor and enforce compliance with environmental regulations. One of the problems is that high-grade ore has decreased, so low-grade ore is being mined. With the mining of low-grade ore comes a much greater tonnage of waste rock, and much smaller pieces that provide a higher surface area to potentially come in contact with water.
Types of Potential Soil and Water Contamination
1. Acid rock drainage
Many waste rocks contain sulfide minerals associated with metals, such as lead, zinc, copper, silver, or cadmium. An important sulfide mineral common in waste rock is pyrite, iron sulfide. When pyrite is exposed to air and water, it undergoes a chemical reaction called “oxidation.” The oxidation process produces acidic conditions that can inhibit plant growth at the surface of a waste pile. If water infiltrates into pyrite-laden waste rock, the resulting oxidation can acidify the water, enabling it to dissolve metals such as copper, zinc, and silver. This production of acidic water, is commonly referred to as “acid rock drainage.” If acid rock drainage is not prevented from occurring, and if it is left uncontrolled, the resulting acidic and metal-bearing water may drain into and contaminate streams or migrate into the local groundwater, therefore inhibiting its use for drinking water or irrigation.
2. Waste rock (tailings) erosion
Waste rock (also called tailings) disposal areas are either located as close to the mine as possible or as close to the processing plant as possible to minimize haulage costs. If not properly managed, erosion of waste rock into surface waters will most likely oxidize pyrite in the rock, leading to higher concentrations of acid and leached heavy metals into the stream bed and water, because the whole surface of this waste rock is now exposed within running water. When this occurs, the metals are considered to be “bioavailable” in the environment. Bioavailable metals are easily absorbed by plants and animals that are still alive within the acidic water, causing additional detrimental effects. Seepage from waste rock can be prevented or minimized by locating tailings basins on level topography, and placing a flexible, low-permeable barrier, such as compressed clay, at the bottom of the impoundment before waste rock disposal. Many pre-1970s tailings impoundments did not have such barriers. The infiltration of surface water into tailings can be prevented by using reclamation methods that facilitate water runoff before contacting the waste rock rather than ponding on tailings piles. If not prevented or controlled, the acidic and metal-bearing waters from tailings can impact stream habitats and groundwater.
Direct Sources:
(OC) – Oneida County’s CUW Committee. Material provided after June 5, 2019 public hearing. (DNR) – Department of Natural Resources. “Protecting Groundwater at Metallic Mining Sites.” Mining Information Sheet. Revised: February 2003. Accessed online: June 6, 2019.
Additional Sources:
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. “Taconite – Digging into Minnesota Minerals.” Accessed online: June 13, 2019. American Geosciences Institute. “How can metal mining impact the environment?” Accessed online: June 13, 2019.