SYMPOSIUM PRESENTER TITLE: Feast and famine: Effects of droughts and floods in the Lower Wisconsin River basin ABSTRACT: The Lower Wisconsin River (LWR) along with 45,000 acres of Ho-Chunk, federal, and state lands, is now a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance. Covering the longest free-flowing stretch of river in the Midwest, the site harbors twenty natural communities found along different gradients of topography, from blufftops on down to floodplain wetlands that border the river. These habitats support a vast array of plants and animals facing threats from climate change. Scientists have documented an astonishing array of native plants, birds, mussels, mammals, and herptiles, including rare, threatened, and endangered species within the riverway. This high ecological diversity, combined with a riverine landscape steeped in cultural heritage and history of native peoples followed by Europeans, are what gives this unique site its claim to Ramsar wetland fame. The site falls within the larger LWR basin encompassing 4,940 square miles of land and containing a vast network of 3,800 miles of streams. Fed by stormwater runoff and groundwater from the watershed, these streams flow through forests, fields, farmlands, and floodplain wetlands before ending up in the LWR. Recent droughts in the basin have reduced river water levels to the lowest recorded in a 111-year period. Yet, we have also seen 8 of the top 10 rainfall events occur within the past 25 years. In 2008, the LWR basin was hit hard, with some areas flooded for weeks to months. This had catastrophic consequences for humans, infrastructure, and natural ecosystems. After exploration of basin-wide floods and droughts, we’re faced with finding ways to either adapt to or mitigate the effects of climate change. BIO: Jean Unmuth worked 30 years as a Wisconsin DNR water quality and fisheries scientist. She’s on the Lowery Creek Watershed Initiative Team and leads a stream monitoring team. Working with WIsconson Wetlands Association, she chaired the team for the nomination of the Lower Wisconsin Riverway (LWR) as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance. She investigates LWR slough quality and helps reintroduce and monitor rare fish with Friends of the Lower Wisconsin’s Science Team.