Summary As a region where agriculture and urban life coexist, the Yahara Watershed of southern Wisconsin experiences complex and changing interactions between people, land, water, and climate that present an array of challenges for local communities and the natural conditions important to their well-being. The Yahara 2070 project, a research effort of the Water Sustainability and Climate Project at UW-Madison, seeks to better understand the long-term impacts of social and environmental change through the exploration of four potential future scenarios for water, ecosystems, and people in the watershed in the year 2070. Each scenario explores a different way the region could respond to freshwater challenges and the consequences for communities and ecosystems and incorporate scientific knowledge, public participation, computer models, stories, and art. Yahara 2070 highlights opportunities and challenges to building resilience for our communities and ecosystem and encourages creative thinking and discussion about the region’s long-term future.
Additional resources and information about the project can be found here.