Research Projects

The Midwest CASC funds projects that address the Midwest region’s science priorities, which include heavy precipitation events and drought, loss of winter, altered hydrological regimes, novel terrestrial landscapes, and barriers to and opportunities for adaptation.

As of January 2025, there are 45 projects in our research portfolio.

Midwest CASC Projects

Year	Title	Principal Investigator(s)	Topic(s)	Status
2019	Managing and Promoting the Resiliency of Winter-Adapted Species to Climate Change	Benjamin Zuckerberg	Wildlife and Plants	Completed
2019	Fish Habitat Restoration to Promote Adaptation: Resilience of Sport Fish in Lakes of the Upper Midwest	Jordan S Read , Gretchen Hansen	Water, Coasts and Ice, Wildlife and Plants	In Progress
2020	Characterizing Climate Change Impacts on Species Ecology to Support Species Status Assessments	Marta P Lyons	Science Tools for Managers, Wildlife and Plants	In Progress
2020	Scoping the Feasibility of Incorporating Climate Change into Risk Assessments of Aquatic Invasive Species in the Upper Midwest	Mark Wiltermuth , Benjamin Letcher, Jordan Read, Nicholas Phelps	Water, Coasts and Ice, Wildlife and Plants	Completed
2020	Quantifying the Impacts of Climate Change on Fish Growth and Production to Enable Sustainable Management of Diverse Inland Fisheries	Gretchen Hansen	Water, Coasts and Ice, Wildlife and Plants	In Progress
2020	Modeling the Interaction of Forest Management and Climate Change on the Spread and Impact of Non-Native Invasive Plants	Hong He	Landscapes, Science Tools for Managers, Wildlife and Plants	In Progress
2020	Linking Stream Fish Thermal Ecology and Adaptive Capacity to Inform Watershed-Based Management and Species Status Assessments	Craig Paukert	Water, Coasts and Ice, Wildlife and Plants	In Progress
2020	Impacts of Climate Change on Vegetation, Ecohydrology, and Management of Manoomin (Wild Rice) Watersheds	Daniel Larkin	Indigenous Peoples, Wildlife and Plants	In Progress
2020	Identifying Effects of Weather and Land Use on Autumn and Winter Waterfowl Distribution Dynamics in the 21st Century	Lisa Webb	Wildlife and Plants	In Progress
2020	Exploring the Potential for Adaptive Tree Plantings to Restore and Sustain Forest Habitats Across the Upper Lake States	Anthony D'Amato	Landscapes, Science Tools for Managers, Wildlife and Plants	Completed
2020	Evaluating the Role of Climate on Midwestern Butterfly Trajectories, Monarch Declines, and the Broader “Insect Apocalypse”	Elise Zipkin, Leslie Ries	Wildlife and Plants	In Progress
2020	Climate, Storms, and the Drivers of Cyanobacteria Blooms in Lake Superior	Hilary Dugan	Water, Coasts and Ice	Completed
2020	Can Climate Change Mitigation Through Forest Management Save the Moose in Minnesota?	Deahn Donner	Landscapes, Wildlife and Plants	In Progress
2020	Supply-and-Demand Dynamics Associated with Using Stocking to Maintain Walleye Fisheries in the Face of Climate Change	Daniel Isermann	Water, Coasts and Ice, Wildlife and Plants	Completed
2020	The Impact of Future Climate on Wetland Habitat in a Critical Migratory Waterfowl Corridor of the Prairie Pothole Region	Owen McKenna	Water, Coasts and Ice, Wildlife and Plants	Completed
2020	Understanding and Forecasting Potential Recruitment of Lake Michigan Fishes	David Bunnell	Water, Coasts and Ice, Wildlife and Plants	Completed
2021	Walleye Fisheries: Bright Spots in a Changing Climate	Holly Embke	Water, Coasts and Ice, Wildlife and Plants	In Progress
2021	Public Acceptance and Preferences for Climate Change Adaptation in the Midwest	David Fulton	Wildlife and Plants	In Progress
2021	Evaluating How Changing Climate and Water Clarity Can Affect Restoration of Native Coregonine Fish in Midwestern Lakes	David Bunnell	Water, Coasts and Ice, Wildlife and Plants	Completed
2022	Mapping Effects of Wetland Change on Amphibians in the Upper Midwest	Owen McKenna, Marta Lyons	Water, Coasts and Ice, Wildlife and Plants	In Progress
2022	Assessment of Adaptation Plans and Practices for Natural and Cultural Resources (Synthesis Research Project)	Diele Lobo, Melissa Kenney	Science Tools for Managers	In Progress
2022	Indigenous Perspectives on Lake Sturgeon and the Potential Impact of Climate Change	Holly Embke	Indigenous Peoples, Water, Coasts and Ice, Wildlife and Plants	In Progress
2022	Characterizing Climate-Driven Changes to Flood Events and Floodplain Forests in the Upper Mississippi River to Inform Management	Molly Van Appledorn	Drought, Fire and Extreme Weather, Landscapes, Water, Coasts and Ice	In Progress
2022	The Combined Effects of Seasonal Climate and Extreme Precipitation on Flood Hazard in the Midwest	Daniel Vimont	Drought, Fire and Extreme Weather, Water, Coasts and Ice	In Progress
2022	Assessing the Impacts of Emerald Ash Borer and Adaptation Strategies on Habitat Quality for At Risk Wildlife in Black Ash Forests	Alexis Grinde	Indigenous Peoples, Landscapes, Water, Coasts and Ice, Wildlife and Plants	In Progress
2022	Climate-Driven Connectivity Between Prairie-Pothole and Riparian Wetlands in the Upper Mississippi River Watershed: Implications for Wildlife Habitat and Water Quality	Owen McKenna	Water, Coasts and Ice, Wildlife and Plants	In Progress
2022	Identifying Thermal Refugia for Brook Trout Climate Adaptation in Coldwater Streams	Diana Karwan	Water, Coasts and Ice, Wildlife and Plants	In Progress
2022	Improving the Midwest Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Tool to Support Regional Climate Adaptation	John Delaney	Science Tools for Managers, Water, Coasts and Ice	Completed
2022	Leveraging Genomic Data to Increase Adaptive Potential and Inform Management Action for the Endangered Mitchell's Satyr Butterfly Under Climate Change	Sarah Fitzpatrick		In Progress
2022	Technical Assessment of Climate Science Needs in the Midwest	Jessica Hellmann	Science Tools for Managers	Completed
2022	Developing a Decision Making and Climate Adaptation Framework for National Wildlife Refuge System Managers in the Midwest	Max Post van der Burg	Landscapes, Science Tools for Managers	In Progress
2022	Workshop: Natural Solutions to Ecological and Economic Problems Caused by Extreme Precipitation Events in the Upper Mississippi River Basin	Ryan Burner , Kristen L Bouska, John Delaney , Molly Van Appledorn	Science Tools for Managers, Water, Coasts and Ice	Completed
2023	Assessing and Advancing Different Ways of Knowing in Climate Adaptation in the Midwest	Jessica Hellmann	Indigenous Peoples	In Progress
2023	Climate Adaptation for Data-Limited Inland Fisheries	Chris Cahill	Science Tools for Managers, Water, Coasts and Ice, Wildlife and Plants	In Progress
2023	Groundwater and Stream Temperature Modeling to Assess the Effect of Warming Temperatures on Coldwater Fish	Chanse Ford	Science Tools for Managers, Water, Coasts and Ice	In Progress
2023	How Management Decisions Might Improve the Resilience of Prairies Under Winter Climate Change	Ellen Damschen	Landscapes, Science Tools for Managers	In Progress
2023	Prioritizing Sites for Habitat Restoration to Enhance Connectivity in the Upper Midwest	Marissa Ahlering	Landscapes, Science Tools for Managers, Wildlife and Plants	In Progress
2023	State Wildlife Action Planning in the Midwest	Hugh Ratcliffe	Science Tools for Managers, Wildlife and Plants	In Progress
2023	Synthesizing the Responses and Vulnerabilities of Freshwater Invertebrates to Droughts and Heavy Precipitation in the Midwest	Jason Bried	Drought, Fire and Extreme Weather, Water, Coasts and Ice, Wildlife and Plants	In Progress
2023	A Decision-Support Tool for Invasive Plant Management Under Fluctuating Great Lakes Water Levels	Wesley Bickford	Science Tools for Managers, Water, Coasts and Ice, Wildlife and Plants	In Progress
2024	Nature-Based Solutions for Flood Risk Reduction and Community Resilience in the Upper Mississippi River Basin	Nfamara K Dampha	Science Tools for Managers, Water, Coasts and Ice	In Progress
2024	Critical Knowledge Gaps in Climate Change Risks to Wetlands and Wetland Ecosystem Services in the Midwest (Synthesis Project)	Angela Burrow	Wildlife and Plants	In Progress
2024	Identifying Past and Future Climate Change Refugia for Midwestern Birds	Benjamin Zuckerberg	Wildlife and Plants	In Progress
2024	Relieving the Sting: Spatial Prioritization for Pollinator Conservation Under a Changing Climate	Kristen Ellis	Science Tools for Managers, Wildlife and Plants	In Progress
2024	Climate-Driven Changes to Forested Wetland Inundation Dynamics: Implications for Frogs and Toads	Ryan Burner	Water, Coasts and Ice, Wildlife and Plants
2024	Does Less Ice Cover Lead to More Turbulent Overwinter Conditions on Great Lakes Fish Spawning Reefs?	Corbin Hilling	Water, Coasts and Ice, Wildlife and Plants	In Progress
2024	Collaborative Synthesis on Traditional Ecological Knowledge & Climate Adaptation in the Midwest (Synthesis Project)	Michael Dockry, Jessica Hellmann, Florencia Pech-Cárdenas	Indigenous Peoples, Science Tools for Managers	In Progress
2024	The Role of Phenotypic Plasticity in the Adaptive Capacity of Midwestern Fish and Wildlife (Synthesis Project)	Sarah Ramirez, Benjamin Zuckerberg, Jake Vander Zanden, Dan Vimont	Wildlife and Plants	In Progress
2025	Climate Adaptation Technical Services (CATS)	Marta Lyons, Ryan Boyles	Science Tools for Managers	In Progress
2025	The Combined Impacts of Climate Change and Intensive Agriculture on Wild Rice, a Culturally Critical Resource and Relative for Indigenous Communities	Crystal Ng	Indigenous Peoples, Wildlife and Plants	In Progress