ORAL PRESENTER CO-AUTHORS: Ryan Crum, Melissa Curran, and Josh Sulman, Stantec TITLE: Reconnecting a Lake Michigan coastal landscape: Wetland, stream, and watershed restoration in Manitowoc Co. ABSTRACT: Woodland Dunes Nature Center and Preserve (Woodland Dunes) owns and manages 1,500 acres in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. Woodland Dunes protects ecologically significant coastal resources, Great Lakes ridge and swale wetlands, and intact natural communities. Woodland Dunes, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), Stantec, and other partner organizations are working to address the challenges created by habitat degradation, fragmentation, and climate change with the ultimate goal of re-connecting these habitats and restoring hydrologic connections and functions at a watershed scale. A multi-phase project is underway to restore drained farmland to wetland; restore stream function and reduce barriers to fish passage in Forget Me Not Creek, a ditched waterway connecting the Preserve to Lake Michigan; enhance degraded coastal ridge and swale habitats; and restore dune and beach habitat along Lake Michigan. The successes of the project will be measured by Stantec and partner organizations through monitoring of floristic quality, birds, fish, wildlife, and water quality in Forget Me Not Creek. Working at a watershed scale, this project demonstrates that, through innovative partnerships, sustainable benefits to water quality, bird and wildlife habitat, and local communities can be achieved in an urban and agricultural landscape, ultimately restoring the function of a highly degraded watershed. BIO: Ryan Crum is a restoration ecologist with Stantec. Ryan started with Stantec as an ecosystem restoration tech six years ago. Over the years, Ryan has developed through the Ecosystem Restoration Implementation Team through extensive field work and now assists with business and project development, as well as project management with a focus on ecosystem restoration projects.