CONSERVANCY LEADS
CLIMATE CHANGE INITIATIVE

Climate change is negatively affecting our land and lakes and will continue to impact Walworth County in the decades ahead.

Extreme Weather Events Continue To Rise

A new report by the Nelson Institute for Climate Research at the University of Wisconsin Madison documents that statewide annual temperature averages have increased about three degrees Fahrenheit since 1950. As the below graph demonstrates, temperatures are expected to rise another three degrees Fahrenheit over the next three decades in Wisconsin.

The report predicts that the number of these extreme weather events will continue to rise. Warmer temperatures and changing precipitation are also decreasing water quality and changing aquatic ecosystems.

Impacts In Walworth County

Many of these climate change impacts are already being felt in Walworth County as extreme storms cause a runoff of excess pollutants into our lakes. Phosphorus levels in most Walworth County lakes continue to rise and combined with rising temperatures increase the risk of algae blooms. The Conservancy, as well as other organizations and landowners, are working to restore the county’s forests by removing invasive species to make them more climate resilient while also improving the forest’s habitat for declining bird populations.

Conservancy Continues To Take The Lead

The Conservancy will continue to take the lead in addressing local climate change impacts by:

Leading the Water Alliance for Preserving Geneva Lake to slow polluted runoff into our lake.
Protecting open lands to contribute to the federal 30 x 30 Plan to protect 30 percent of the United States as open land by 2030.
Planting hundreds of oak trees throughout the County. Oak trees sequester more carbon than any other tree in North America and provide habitat for more than 500 species, including many threatened bird species.
Conducting Conservation@Home visits with private landowners to educate and encourage them to plant more native trees and plants to provide wildlife habitat and better filter stormwater.
Stewarding its 3,153 acres of open land protected by conservation easements by encouraging landowners to remove invasive species and plant native species to make their land more resilient to climate change and to better sequester carbon.