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Environmental & Economic Research Overview ERP Program Overview Research Reports Environmental & Economic Research Newsletters RFP Postings Grant Process FAQs Printable Version 
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February 2010 Research Update
NEW GRANT AWARDS FOR 2010  Once again in the autumn, the program issued its annual Request for Proposals. This year the RFP was issued in early September of 2009, for $860,000 in research funding available in January 2010. Areas of interest this year were projects that study the impacts of renewable energy or energy efficiency initiatives; agricultural or forestry-based biomass energy production and use to offset electric generation and/or natural gas; climate change in Wisconsin due to electricity or natural gas use; and impacts of existing fossil fuel-fired electric power generation on PM 2.5 levels in Wisconsin.The program received twenty seven highly competitive proposals. The quality of submitted proposals was particularly high this year, and the Research Forum found it challenging to select the winners. The Forum ultimately recommended ten projects for funding. Research dollars allocated totaled about $1.35 million, including funding for multi-year projects. The following projects received final approval:
WDNR NTN and MDN Monitoring Networks Renewed for Four Years The EERD Program has committed to long-term support of the two WDNR monitoring projects managed by Bruce Rodger, Air Monitoring Field Operations Team Leader. Agreements are in negotiation to fund the National Atmospheric Deposition Program in Wisconsin through the National Trends Network and the Mercury Deposition Network through 2013. The EERD Program will now regard these monitoring networks as multi-year projects, with contract agreements revisited every four years. The 2010 January Research Exposition: Energy, Carbon and Climate in Wisconsin The EERD Research Exposition on January 15 was the second of these events to be held, and a record number of registrants made it necessary to move the event to the Madison Concourse Hotel. Over 100 attendees listened to four researchers from the EERD program present their projects representing different aspects of the challenge of climate change. The program was very well received, with many attendees reporting that they had gained a greater understanding of climate issues in Wisconsin than they had expected by listening to these researchers talk about their work. Three of the projects presented have been completed and their final reports are published on the Focus on Energy web site. These are, Biodiversity in Selected Communities Related to Global Climate Change, presented by Craig Anderson, Botanist with the Natural Heritage Inventory Program at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources; Projecting Consequences of Altered Atmospheric Chemistry for Carbon Sequestration by Wisconsin's Aspen Forests, presented by Eric Kruger, Professor, with the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology at UW-Madison; and Impacts of Past and Future Changes in Climate and Atmospheric CO2 on Wisconsin Agriculture by Christopher Kucharik, Assistant Professor with the Department of Agronomy and Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment at UW-Madison. The fourth project, presented by Daniel Vimont, Assistant Professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at UW-Madison, was Climate Projections in Wisconsin, which is scheduled for completion in June 2010. This presentation was a progress report on his findings so far. Dr. Vimont will be posting Information about his project at http://ccr.aos.wisc.edu/cwg/. EERD hopes to host a second Research Exposition in 2010, depending on when new projects are completed. Newsletter recipients will be notified of the theme, date and location. RECENTLY PUBLISHED REPORTS: Two new final research reports have recently been published on the Focus on Energy website. To access the summaries and full reports, go to completed projects page.  Evaluating Bird and Bat Migration in the Upper Mississippi River Valley and Its Implications for Siting Wind Energy Facilities: A Workshop Series for Resource Agencies and Wind Developers (July 2009)Brian Bub and Jon Gumtow, Project Coordinators, Natural Resources Consulting, Inc.; Barbara Behlke, Facilitator, Behlke Consulting, Inc.; and Richard Purdy, Ph.D., Administrator, River Country Resource Conservation and Development Council, Inc. The Upper Mississippi River Valley (UMRV) is recognized as a globally important avian migration corridor. Increasing interest in locating wind energy facilities along the Mississippi River corridor has raised the need for objective and cost-effective means for evaluating and mitigating their potential impacts on migrating birds and bats. This project organized two stakeholder workshops that include participants from the Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, and Iowa Departments of Natural Resources, the USFWS, the USGS, wind developers, environmental consultants, and other organizations. The goals of the stakeholder group were defined as identifying areas for wind energy development within the UMRV that lessen the risks to migratory birds and bats, and to establish cooperation among stakeholders regarding siting of wind facilities at a regional level through open dialog and an understanding of the financial thresholds and natural resource implications. During the workshops, stakeholders identified and prioritized information needs for understanding the potential implications to wildlife from siting wind facilities in or along the UMRV. The information needs/gaps were generally categorized into 1) identifying species groups of concern, 2) recognizing important habitats, 3) understanding behavioral factors (e.g., timing and duration of migration, flight paths and heights), 4) understanding the wind resource and the siting criteria from a wind developers perspective, and 5) compiling applicable data spatially in a Geographic Information System (GIS) and on maps. The workshops set the foundation for continued stakeholder cooperation within the region and will help the group achieve the critical next steps of assembling mapping information and organizing a workgroup of bird and bat experts to analyze species groups and behaviors. Monitoring the Impact of Climate Change on Water Resources in the Northern Highland American Legion State Forest in Wisconsin (NHAL) (November 2009) Carl J. Watras, Principal Investigator, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources This report summarizes the results of Phase II of a multi-year effort to design and deploy a wireless, remote sensor network that could monitor the hydrochemical impact of greenhouse gas emissions and global warming on remote lakes and wetlands within the Northern Highland American Legion State Forest (NHAL) of Vilas and Oneida counties. During Phase I, several remote sensing technologies were evaluated, and then a prototype network of radio-controlled sensors was deployed within a wetland-dominated NHAL sub-catchment. The PI mote network, deployed in the CB catchment at the end of summer 2007, was interfaced with an existing high-power radio network operated by the University of Wisconsin (www.gleon.org). The initial deployment was promising but not all project performance criteria were met. Power consumption was higher than expected, and data from some nodes frequently had erroneous values. During this second phase (2008-09), the electrical circuitry at the heart of each CrossBow node was improved, and the network was re-deployed in Crystal Bog. The result was enhanced performance: both lower power consumption and higher reliability. This report summarizes the project status as of October 1, 2009, when Phase II was completed. The technology is described in detail, and the results of field deployments in Crystal Bog and Trout Bog are presented. The report also describes progress made in cooperation with a local non-profit organization to establish a citizen-based environmental monitoring network with broader coverage across Vilas County. Phase III, the final phase, is due to be completed in in the summer of 2011. OTHER PROJECTS IN PROGRESS:
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