CoPe: Coastlines & People

In August 2019, the International Lake Superior Board of Control (ILSBC) reported that Lake Superior’s water level is 41cm above the hundred year average. The combination of heavy rain events, high water levels, strong winds and big waves on Lake Superior make the risk of shoreline erosion and coastal damages imminent. Marquette County is important to the south shore of Lake Superior because it is the largest county in Michigan and one of the largest counties east of the Mississippi River, encompassing 1,873 square miles of land area. Marquette County is also one of the most populated areas in the Upper Peninsula and serves as the cultural and economic capital for northern Michigan.

Facing a dynamic and rapidly changing climate requires collaboration and capital – social, political, physical and financial capital. CoPe: Coastlines & People was a three-part workshop series designed to move scientists and stakeholders from historical conditions to a vision for the future with actionable recommendations for sustainable coastal development in an era of dynamic climate change. The workshop process offered decision-makers access to coastal research that addressed the interconnected issues of rural economic development, climate science, environmental history, and coastal ecology.

The results of our workshop series are summarized in this report: https://www.flipsnack.com/Northernmagazine/nmu-cope-mag_2020/full-view.html