Clean Lakes 101: How is Climate Change Affecting Our Madison-Area Lakes?
January 14, 2026 @ 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Clean Lakes 101
Join us in-person for Clean Lakes 101 on Wednesday, January 14th, at The East Side Club from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. We’ll hear from Steve Vavrus about how a warmer, wetter climate is changing the Yahara lakes — altering water levels, ice cover, water quality, and ecosystems. This presentation will explore these impacts along with strategies for helping our lakes and lands adapt to a changing climate.
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About this Talk
The climate in Madison and the rest of Wisconsin has been getting warmer and wetter, directly impacting our lakes and other waterways. Lakes are especially important to us for many reasons, including recreation, aquatic ecology, and our sense of place. Ongoing climate change is affecting our area lakes in many ways by regulating lake levels, ice cover, water quality, and species composition. This presentation will describe how climate affects the Yahara Lakes, how future climate change is likely to impact the lakes, and various climate adaptation strategies to create a more climate-resilient watershed.
About our Speaker
Steve Vavrus is director of the Wisconsin State Climatology Office and a Senior Scientist at UW-Madison’s Division of Extension and the Nelson Institute Center for Climatic Research. He is an expert on Wisconsin climatology, extreme weather, global climate change, and Arctic climate. Steve also serves as co-director of the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts (WICCI) and is the chair of its Climate Working Group. He earned a master’s degree and Ph.D. in atmospheric sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and received a bachelor’s degree in meteorology from Purdue University.
Event Details
This event will be held at The East Side Club (3735 Monona Dr, Madison, WI 53714). Doors open at 3:30 p.m. The program runs from 4 – 5 p.m. A Q/A session will follow the presentation as time allows. Complimentary event parking will be available at The East Side Club. Parking spots fill up quickly and may be limited depending on capacity.
Clean Lakes 101 Lecture Series
Clean Lakes 101 is a series of educational events open to the public and a great chance to learn more about the science behind the issues that affect our lakes. Each month we feature a different expert to make the science accessible and interesting to non-technical audiences. The series is produced in partnership with the UW-Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and Extension Lakes, with presenting sponsor National Guardian Life Insurance Company, hosting sponsor The East Side Club, supporting sponsor Johnson Financial Group, and media sponsor WKOW. Additional support is provided by Alliant Energy Foundation, Hovde Properties, and Perkins Coie LLP.
