Wisconsin Coastal Management Program

The Wisconsin Coastal Management Program was initiated by the governor in 1974, when he appointed a 26-member Coastal Coordinating and Advisory Council charged with studying, evaluating, and, if needed, developing a coastal management program for Wisconsin. In 1977, the governor signed Executive Order No. 49, formally establishing the coastal management program and creating a coastal management council to oversee and implement the program. It was attached to the Dept. of Administration and supported by its Office of State Planning and Energy (WIHV85-A778). The Wisconsin Coastal Management Program, created to comply with the federal Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, was approved for federal funding in 1978. In 1983, the Program became a bureau within the DOA Division of State Energy (see WIHV87-A273). This division became the Division of State Energy and Coastal Management then the Division of Energy and Intergovernmental Relations. In 2003 the program became part of the Division of Intergovernmental Relations. By 1992, coastal management had returned to program status within the division. In Wisconsin State Archives' database entries, the above form of name is used for all appropriate records dating 1974-present.

The Wisconsin Coastal Management Program was created as a partnership of state and local governments to improve management of Wisconsin's coasts of Lakes Michigan and Superior. The program implemented and enforced state regulatory and management policies regarding coastal areas.