Highlighted department initiatives that improve the landscape's ability to increase managed rainfall and mitigate climate change impacts. Initiative priorities help capture and store carbon and improve soil health which helps increase stormwater infiltration. View our Climate Initiatives webpage for other initiatives, projects, and programs.
Forests support thousands of species of wildlife and are important for water infiltration and carbon sequestration. Dane County Parks supports a variety of forest-related projects including tree and native shrub planting and sustainable timber harvesting.
The innovative "Suck the Muck" project is removing phosphorus-rich sediment from streambeds within the Yahara River Watershed. Part of this project also includes the restoration of prairies connected to the stream.
Prairies sequester carbon and soak up rain water which can help reduce flooding and recharge our groundwater supplies. Prairies also support a huge diversity of pollinators and other wildlife. Dane County restores hundreds of acres of prairie each year on county-owned lands.
Wetlands function as natural sponges that soak up rain, snowmelt, and flood waters. Dane County has several wetland restoration projects currently underway and offers funding to help landowners restore wetlands.
