La Crosse Mayor Speaks At National Forum On Environmental Role Of River Cities

La Crosse’s mayor says river cities around the world need to do more to address the impacts of climate change.

As a member of the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative, La Crosse Mayor Tim Kabat is working with leaders who live along the world’s largest rivers. They’re looking for ways to deal with floods and droughts and improve food productivity and water quality.

Speaking from the National Adaptation Forum in St. Louis recently, Kabat said others can learn from how La Crosse is incorporating green infrastructure and restoring urban wetlands.

“We have a great love affair with the river and the La Crosse River marsh. And now really, it’s, how do we fix some of the challenges we have and add to the flood storage and flood capacity that’s in the La Crosse River marsh? Especially because we know that these are things we need to do to be better-prepared,” said Kabat.

Kabat said future city budgets will be dedicating more funds towards wetland restoration. He also said the city could eventually partner with more national environmental groups.