Climate Change and its Impacts on the Upper Mississippi River: How LWVs can bring about change through education, advocacy and action

The LWV Upper Mississippi River Region's Annual Meeting will be on June 1, at Schaar's Bluff Gathering Space overlooking the Mississippi, just upstream from Hastings, Minnesota.  In the morning, we will hold our business meeting.  After lunch, the focus on the afternoon session will be Climate Change and what it means for the Upper Mississippi.  Join us to learn what changes are happening in the Upper Miss basin, what's being done to prepare and adapt, and what LWV provides our members to help them move the needle in their communities!  

We have an excellent slate of speakers lined up for the discussion.  We'll start by talking about the river and what we know about the impacts climate disruption will bring to the Upper Mississippi, and talk about some of the adaptations that cities in the region are undertaking to protect their citizens' lives and livelihoods.  

John Linc Stine, Executive Director of the Freshwater Society
Mr. Stine is the former Commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and has represented the state on the Great Lakes Commission and the International Joint Commission on the Red River of the North.  He will help us integrate what we see and know about climate change in the upper Midwest with what is happening to the Mississippi.  What are the water quality challenges the river will face? What are the effects of increased erosion?  How are cities up and down the river adapting to these challenges? 
 
 Matt Gladue, Program Director, Our Mississippi Our Future, the Nature Conservancy
The Our Mississippi Our Future project’s ambitious goal it to protect and restore thousands of acres of land in the Upper Mississippi watershed in Minnesota to prevent degradation.  Their 2019 report, “Mississippi Headwaters: The Business Case for Conservation” lays out the potential costs and benefits of this action.  Climate change is a factor here – and the work they are embarking on will help by providing additional carbon storage and wetlands for flood prevention.
 
Caryl Terrell, LWV Dane County and LWV US Climate Change Task Force
How can LWV’s effectively advocate for change? – the work of LWV US in Climate Change will be showcased here, and participants will leave with tools to lead stronger climate change adapations in their home communities.  This discussion will be led by Caryl Terrell of LWV Dane County (WI), a member of the initial LWV US Climate Change Task Force from 2006 to 2008. Read about the LWV US Tool Kit at this link.