Federal Grant To Help Address Lake Michigan Shoreline Erosion

A three-year federal grant will help four Wisconsin counties along Lake Michigan that have seen more bluff erosion due to higher water levels.

The $840,000 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will go toward helping shoreline homes, beaches and harbors, according to the announcement Thursday.

David Hart, of the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant, says the money will help Racine, Kenosha, Milwaukee and Waukesha counties share ways of protecting coastal assets and mapping potential shoreline erosion, said David Hart of the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute.

Hart said the grant won’t pay for truckloads of sand or boulders.

“It’s really a way to work with communities to perhaps plan for these issues, look at policies that can be helpful, not put shovels in the ground and help build coastal defenses,” Hart said.

The Wisconsin Coastal Management Program will be the lead agency on the grant. Gov. Scott Walker has called the money “crucial to Wisconsin’s coastal communities.”