The mission of the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts (WICCI) is to generate and share information that can foster solutions to climate change in Wisconsin.
WICCI engages citizens, private and public decision-makers, and scientists from Wisconsin and the region in a collaborative network to:
- Develop scientific understanding of climate impacts
- Identify vulnerability to climate change and climatic variability
- Enable better adaptation activities
WICCI is a network of many groups and individuals who work together through communication and collaboration.
History
WICCI was formed in the fall of 2007 by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies. The Nelson Institute had been approached by several state legislators who wanted to understand the impact of climate change on their constituents. DNR staff wanted to understand impacts on the state’s natural resources, so they could make better management decisions.
In the summer of 2007, about 40 UW-Madison and state agency scientists met to launch WICCI. An ad hoc group continued meeting to work out the details. WICCI quickly grew to include people from other state and federal agencies, several UW System schools, tribal organizations, businesses, and non-profit organizations. Major funding was provided by the Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment.