Tuesday, January 31, 2023

12:00 – 5:00 pm

Session Overview

The Wildlife Working Group for the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts (WICCI) investigates how Wisconsin’s changing climate will impact wildlife populations and the habitats they depend on. We bring together managers and scientists interested in understanding and assessing the ecological impacts of modern climate. One of our most important efforts is the development of climate change adaptation strategies to help guide wildlife conservation now and into the future. Often, however, there are communication gaps between the research scientists working to develop climate change adaptation strategies and the managers who test and implement these practices in real-world conditions. Further, lessons learned from implemented projects may not be widely shared across regions and organizations. This symposium seeks to bring together practitioners of climate change adaptation in Wisconsin to discuss the opportunities and challenges of the various efforts being employed throughout the state.

This symposium is intended to emphasize the real-word activities and experiences of on-the-ground wildlife and habitat managers involved in climate change adaptation, although presentations about research with implications for adaptation strategies or the human or cultural dimensions of adaptation are also welcome. Presenters will discuss current projects and collaborations, lessons learned and associated challenges and opportunities, information needs, future plans, case studies, or other relevant topics. To accommodate the widest range of knowledge and expertise, presentations are not required to follow the format of traditional research studies. All presentations must, however, explicitly discuss a relationship to the broader context of climate change adaptation for wildlife conservation in Wisconsin.