Current State of Lake Superior & Coastal Planning Intiatives

Information about our Workshop Presenters

Chris Warren, P.E.

Chris Warren is a Senior Hydraulic Engineer at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Detroit District Office of Great Lakes Hydraulics and Hydrology. His current focus is operational hydrology within the Great Lakes and he holds a M.S. in Civil Engineering (2011) from the University of Michigan and is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Michigan.

As someone who grew up visiting the UP as often as possible, he’s thrilled to be back. From hunting and exploring as a young boy, to racing sled dogs down Washington Street in Marquette, to graduating from Michigan Tech in 2008, the shores of Lake Superior hold a special place for him and he feels incredibly fortunate to serve in his current role in the Great Lakes Hydraulics and Hydrology Office. He is involved in a variety of engineering projects throughout the Great Lakes region and supports the Great Lakes Water Level forecasting mission which is led by the Detroit District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Dr. Lauren Fry

Dr. Lauren Fry is an Environmental Engineer at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Detroit District Office of Great Lakes Hydraulics and Hydrology. She is trained in sustainability and water resources, with experience in hydrologic modeling, geographic information systems, and interdisciplinary research. Her current focus has been hydrological modeling in the Great Lakes basin, including basin-wide runoff estimation and watershed modeling. In 2010, she earned her PhD in Environmental Engineering from Michigan Technological University.

Dr. Lucinda Johnson

Dr. Lucinda Johnson is the Associate Director of the Natural Resources Research Institute at the University of Minnesota - Duluth. There she instructs courses about Landscape and Stream Ecology, as well as performs research on aquatic communities, coastal ecology, and the development of tools for managing and communicating science to end users. Johnson also serves on the International Joint Commission Science Advisory Board, the EPA Board of Scientific Counselors Executive Committee, the Friends of the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve Board, and is a Scientific Advisor to the Environmental Law Policy Center.

Wendy Rampson, AICP

As an American Institute Certified Planner (AICP), Wendy Rampson is the Director of Programs and Outreach at the Michigan Association of Planning (MAP) and the Director of Admissions of the Urban and Regional Planning Program at the University of Michigan. As Rampson's passions lie in education and outreach, she also serves on the Board of Building Matters Ann Arbor, a nonprofit cultural organization centered around architecture, construction, and urban planning and development. Its goal is to inspire curiosity about, appreciation of, and agency over the built environment by illuminating and interpreting it.

Guest Speaker Presentations

Presentation Resources & Helpful Links:

USACE Detroit District High Water

USACE Great Lakes Monthly Hydrology Water Level Summaries

NOAA Climate at a Glance | National Centers for Environmental Information

NOAA | Tides & Currents Gauging Stations

Questions about Lake Levels?

Email John T. Allis at john.t.allis@usace.army.mil or Chris Warren at christopher.j.warren@usace.army.mil.

Questions about emergency management or technical assistance?

Email Detroit District Emergency Management at celre-eoc@usace.army.mil.

Presentation_1_USACE_Lake_Levels.pdf
USACE Chris Warren P.E. & Dr. Lauren Fry, "2019 - 2020 Great Lakes High Water"
Presentation_2_Lucinda_Johnson_Feb 21 2020.pdf
UM - Duluth, Dr. Lucinda Johnson, "The Lake... It is A-Changin'"
Planning for Coastal Resilience - CoPe Feb 2020.pptx
Wendy Rampson, AICP; Michigan Association of Planning, "Coastal Resilience Planning in Michigan"

Additional Resources:


Michigan State University (MSU) RS&GIS Lab

Please complete this brief survey about Shoreline Changes

MBOGLWL-combined_bulletin_and_backpage.pdf
Living on the Coast Booklet.pdf
update205_final.pdf
EL&PC_Great-Lakes-Climate-Change-Report.pdf
MM FEA Shore Rescue FINAL (1).PDF
MAP_WhitePaper_2019_Final.pdf
sensitive_areas_homeowners_guidebook.pdf
michigan_resiliency_handbook_web.pdf