James Stancil came to work at the Zablocki Veterans’ Administration Medical Center in Milwaukee just like every other Monday.

As a supply technician, he made sure nurses and doctors had the medical equipment they needed, like wound vacuum supplies or infusion pumps that deliver fluids and medications. He cleaned, stored and sterilized equipment used to care for veterans just like him.

But by the end of the day, he was out of a job.

The 61-year-old veteran served in the Army from 1985 to 1989, spending two years in West Germany along the Iron Curtain. Stancil said he received an honorable discharge, but that’s not how he described his firing on Feb. 24.

“This is just a slap in the face,” he said.

Stancil is among 10 employees who were fired at Zablocki and more than 2,400 veterans who have been laid off in recent weeks by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Stancil was on “probationary” status after he was hired last April. He, along with other federal employees in Wisconsin, received almost identical termination notices that said their performance did not show “further employment at the agency would be in the public interest.”

“To disparage my character by saying my performance has not met the burden to show that I’d be in the public interest. How dare you?” Stancil said, adding he’s appealing the decision.

The most recent available federal data shows Wisconsin had around 3,000 federal workers who have been serving for less than one or two years in their current roles. Often called probationary employees, they’ve been the first to be fired as President Donald Trump and the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency seek to slash the federal workforce.

While a federal judge has ruled the firings were illegal, the Trump administration is directing agencies to develop plans for “large-scale reductions in force” by March 13.

Almost 11,000 federal employees work for the VA in Wisconsin, but it’s unclear how many have been affected. A VA spokesperson didn’t provide details on how many workers have been fired in Wisconsin, but confirmed a “small number of probationary staff” had been “dismissed” at Zablocki.

“This decision will have no negative effect on veteran health care, benefits or other services and will allow VA to focus more effectively on its core mission of serving veterans, families, caregivers and survivors,” VA spokesperson Bill Putnam said.

Michele Malone is president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3 union that represents Zablocki, which she said has more than 2,000 employees. Even so, she said the center was already running on a “skeleton” crew. A report last year by the VA’s Office of Inspector General found the facility had a severe shortage for 21 types of positions, including one of the positions held by Stancil.

“They’re harming people that work hard. … They do an awesome job in their jobs, and they’re just deliberately dismissing them without any probable cause,” Malone said.

Stancil said he was among two guys fired out of four in his department, saying that means double the work for those who remain. As for him, he still receives VA benefits as a veteran, but he received no severance and must now seek unemployment benefits.

“I drive a 1990 Buick that I just spent 1,800 bucks on to get out of the shop, so to lose that paycheck … I’ll be running out of money here in about 10 days,” Stancil said.

In recent town hall meetings, Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin noted veterans can receive special preference for jobs and may work their entire career on probationary status. She demanded transparency over mass layoffs at the agency. When asked by a constituent about cuts at the VA, Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said the agency has been mismanaged, adding he hoped Trump and Musk could make it run more efficiently.

Disabled combat vet says this isn’t what he fought for after firing

Rob, a disabled combat veteran, found out via email on Feb. 13 that he had been fired from his position at the Natural Resources Conservation Service within the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Rob requested WPR to only use his first name because he fears retaliation as he appeals his termination.

Rob served for more than a decade in the U.S. Army, including in the 82nd Airborne Division. He deployed in 2003 to Iraq and in 2004 to Afghanistan. In 2005, he joined the honor guard at Arlington National Cemetery, performing military honors for late President Gerald Ford and thousands of fallen service members.

When he got out of the military, he went back to school and worked in the oil and timber industries. Last year, he and his wife moved roughly 2,200 miles from northwest California to Chippewa Falls to accept a job he had held about three months before his firing. Struggling for words, he described his termination as his face reddened.

“It was frustrating. I’ve served my country and I’ve fought in war, and this is what I get,” Rob said.

Rob said he feels betrayed and wants to see all federal workers reinstated, including more than 50 people he said lost their jobs at the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Wisconsin. He said he’s heard some farmers may lose their farms due to the loss of aid from the agency.

With no severance, Rob is trying to figure out unemployment benefits and applying for jobs in his field with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and private consulting firms.

“My wife and I gave up everything. We owned a house that hasn’t sold yet. We’re renting here till our house sells. We left our friends, our family, everything, to come across the country for this,” Rob said. “Then, we just get basically kicked to the curb, and they haven’t even paid me my last paycheck yet.”

He and his wife reached out multiple times to the office of former Navy SEAL and Wisconsin Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, but Rob said that’s gone nowhere. He said his 10 years of military service counts toward time served in the federal government.

WPR reached out to Van Orden’s office about Rob’s termination and veteran status. In a statement, a spokesperson said the office has reached out to him.

“Since he is a veteran, he was first contacted by the congressman’s veterans liaison to ensure his well-being. Additionally, our agriculture staffer spoke with (Rob) today to gather more information on his situation. We are actively looking into ways to assist him,” the spokesperson said.

With a baby on the way, Ashland mom hunts for jobs after firing

Five months pregnant with her second child, Hayley Matanowski was planning to take maternity leave in the coming months. Now, she’s hunting for a job after the U.S. Forest Service fired her from her role as an administrative operations specialist at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center in Ashland.

Matanowski said she was terminated for poor performance on Feb. 18 after working in the role for about 10 months. Her husband also works for the agency.

“It’s been really hard. We have a 3-year-old, so at home when she’s awake and we’re interacting with her, we’re trying really hard to just be, you know, business as usual,” Matanowski said. “She doesn’t know that mommy lost her job.”

Matanowski said three other center employees were also fired, including two she supervised who had no record of poor performance. At least a dozen employees with the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest have been fired, according to a union official.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which houses the Forest Service, said it didn’t have state-specific figures on firings. The agency said thousands have been let go in line with Trump’s order to “eliminate inefficiencies” and strengthen services.

“As part of this effort, USDA has made the difficult decision to release about 2,000 probationary, non-firefighting employees from the Forest Service,” a USDA spokesperson said. “To be clear, none of these individuals were operational firefighters. Released employees were probationary in status, many of whom were compensated by temporary IRA funding.”

In her position, Matanowski supervised three front desk staff and assisted the center’s director with overseeing the annual budget. The Forest Service shares the center with several other agencies, and she said they lost half of the four staff members who interact with tens of thousands of visitors who stop there every year.

“It’s hard for us to schedule our five days a week with just three people, like, if someone’s out sick,” Matanowski said. “With two of the four gone, I know for a fact that they’ve had to have other completely non-related Forest Service and also partner employees step in to staff the front desk that … are being taken away from their other duties and responsibilities.”

As for Matanowski, she said she and her husband have some savings, as well as support from family for child care. While he’s still employed, they stress over whether his job may also be eliminated.

She still worries more for others who have been let go, including her fired staff. One of them shared with WPR that they had lost their “dream job.”

NIH worker says she’s reeling from the loss of her job

That’s how Rachel felt when she was placed on administrative leave on Feb. 15. She was responsible for translating research for patients, clinicians and policymakers in her role working remotely in Milwaukee for the National Institutes of Health.

Rachel asked WPR to use only her first name because she fears retaliation as she’s appealing her termination.

Her work included helping people understand the science behind daily habits or preventive measures that can either avoid chronic conditions or keep them from growing worse. Rachel felt her job helped make the agency more efficient and accountable, which included developing a report to Congress on the agency’s performance.

She was just shy of her one-year anniversary when she received her notice of termination, which is set to take effect on March 14.

“It’s just really hard to accept. I wasn’t prepared for this. I’m pretty devastated,” Rachel said, her voice wavering.

The day before, she said a virtual goodbye to her team and frantically downloaded her performance review and federal records in anticipation of mass firings. As many as 1,500 probationary workers were cut at the National Institutes of Health, according to NPR.

Rachel lost her health insurance, and she said she never thought she would be applying for unemployment benefits. It’s still unclear whether her termination letter that cited poor performance will affect her ability to apply for benefits or future employment prospects.

While Rachel’s partner has a stable job, it’s been unsettling and destabilizing for them both. As she appeals her termination, Rachel doesn’t know what the future holds if she’s reinstated due to “return to work” mandates.

“The return-to-office (order) puts some pretty big barriers in the way because I’m not sure that we can afford for me to move out to (Washington) D.C. I’m not sure I want to do a long-distance marriage,” she said. “I’ve even thought about commuting weekly and finding an apartment, but I don’t think that that’s feasible either.”

She thought her USDA job was secure. Now, she’s looking for work.

In the days leading up to her firing, Jules Reynolds had heard from leadership that the Department of Agriculture was a “safe ship” amid rumors of looming layoffs.

On the morning of Feb. 14, she woke to an email notifying her she had been terminated from her position at the Dairy Forage Research Center in Madison due to poor performance.

The center is the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service station. Reynolds had been employed for about six months as program coordinator for the Soil Health Alliance for Research and Engagement or SHARE initiative. She supported research conducted by the program’s partners on issues like soil health and education by strengthening collaboration and guiding internal resources.

Reynolds said around a quarter of the center’s staff were fired, which included 20 scientists. That morning, she went into the office where she was told she needed to return a government-issued laptop and access card by the end of the day.

“There was this overwhelming sense of loss at the center, and not sure what would happen within the research or the projects of the center, because we had lost so many people,” Reynolds said.

While she said about half a dozen researchers were reinstated, Reynolds said the future of her position remains uncertain.

She was able to download her employment records and has since signed up to be part of a class action lawsuit. For the last six years, Reynolds said she worked as a server and bartender during grad school. Now, she’s once again looking for jobs or other sources of income to pay her rent and other bills.

“Even though I want my career to be one thing in the short term, I can go back to the service industry and at least buy groceries that way,” she said.

While she wants her USDA job back, she wonders whether it may be only temporary. She fears the firings will have ripple effects on early career scientists, as well as research that relies on federal funding.

As federal workers stare down large-scale layoffs, Reynolds said they’re not alone and support systems are available.

Rachel encouraged federal employees to hang in there, and Rob urged employees who have not yet been cut to download their electronic Official Personnel Folder to maintain copies of their records.

As federal workers fight for their jobs, James Stancil said he would go back to the Zablocki VA Medical Center in a heartbeat if reinstated. He likes the work and helping fellow veterans.

If not, Stancil said he’s not too worried because he believes God’s plan is more about being a good person rather than any job or title one may hold.

“If you’re a good person, don’t worry about the other stuff,” Stancil said. “It’ll take care of itself.”

Editor’s note: Anna Marie Yanny contributed reporting for this story.

This story was originally published by WPR.

‘A slap in the face’: Federal workers in Wisconsin fight their firings after mass layoffs is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Thousands of federal workers have been fired since late last week, including probationary employees with the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service in Wisconsin.

The mass layoffs come as the Trump administration takes sweeping steps to slash the federal workforce, with job cuts led by billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency. The firings follow a Feb. 11 executive order issued by President Donald Trump to scale back the number of workers.

The U.S. Forest Service is firing 3,475 employees nationwide, said Matt Brossard, general vice president of the Forest Service Council with the National Federation of Federal Employees union. The Forest Service Council represents about 20,000 employees, including workers in Wisconsin.

“The U.S. Forest Service manages national forests, manages all the recreation areas, campgrounds, visitor centers, all of that is going to take a hit,” Brossard told WPR.

The agency did not immediately provide details on the firings in Wisconsin. WPR spoke with several Forest Service workers and a union representative in Wisconsin about the cuts. They requested anonymity due to fear of retaliation. The union official said a dozen probationary employees were fired in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest over the weekend, adding workers fear that layoffs are just beginning to ramp up.

One Forest Service worker in Wisconsin said they were called in on Saturday by their supervisor and notified their termination was effective immediately due to poor performance. They were directed to fill out paperwork, return federal credentials or access cards and log out of computers. The federal worker said they never had anything but excellent performance reviews.

“It’s not right,” the fired worker said. “It’s illegal. It’s a lie.”

Another U.S. Forest Service worker with knowledge of the situation corroborated the account. Agency workers say those affected include veterans, people who just purchased a home and another individual with a baby on the way.

One individual said they received no severance. The employee will receive a final paycheck, as well as any unpaid leave. While they’re eligible for unemployment, the worker said the maximum payment is nowhere near what they were making.

Some say they’re exploring appeals or potential legal challenges, which might include joining lawsuits filed by unions. Unions are seeking a court order to temporarily bar the Trump administration’s firing of federal employees, which they have said is unlawful. Brossard said union lawyers are seeking a ruling that would retroactively bar firings that began last week, and a federal judge planned to release a decision in the near future.

Wisconsin has about 2,200 workers across federal agencies that had been employed for less than a year, according to the most recent federal data. However, one Forest Service employee with knowledge of firings in Wisconsin said there’s a misconception that probationary workers are new to government work. Some staff members who were fired have been in federal service for 10 years or longer.

“We’re not nameless, faceless federal bureaucrats,” the federal worker said. “We’re people living in these communities, too.”

The Forest Service employee said some might be forced to leave rural northern Wisconsin to look for other jobs.

Elsewhere in northern Wisconsin, several federal probationary employees with Apostle Islands National Lakeshore have also been fired, according to Julie Van Stappen, the lakeshore’s former chief of resource management. The National Parks Conservation Association said Friday that 1,000 employees with the National Park Service are being laid off nationwide, but the agency plans to exempt 5,000 seasonal workers.

Van Stappen said probationary workers at the Apostle Islands received an email Friday, noting the lakeshore has more new employees than normal due to staff turnover in recent years. She said the Apostle Islands typically has an estimated 25 to 30 permanent employees each year and about 35 to 45 seasonal workers. It’s unclear how many workers might have been affected by cuts and whether they were permanent or seasonal staff.

“I don’t know if any of the seasonal employees are able to come back or be hired,” Van Stappen said.

Staff with the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore and National Park Service did not immediately respond to a request for details on the firings. The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore has 21 islands spread over an area of Lake Superior that’s nearly 290,000 acres, which is larger than Rocky Mountain National Park.

The cuts come as Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany has proposed designating the Apostle Islands as the first national park in Wisconsin. While Van Stappen doesn’t think that designation would provide any advantage to the public, she questioned how resources and services would be maintained while staff is being cut.

She noted seasonal employees interact with the public on reserving campsites, providing safety information, conducting field work, managing natural resources, maintaining historic structures and aiding with search and rescue.

“I don’t have any idea how the park is going to function or how the resources will be negatively affected. But for sure, the public will be,” Van Stappen said.

WPR also verified firings at other agencies, including researchers with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin expressed alarm over the mass firings.

“Trump and Republicans are finding every which way to make room in the budget for tax breaks for their wealthy friends – even cutting support for our veterans, aviation employees tasked with making flying safe, and nurses, doctors, and scientists who work to keep Wisconsin families healthy,” Baldwin said in a statement.

In a statement, Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said the nation is now more than $36 trillion in debt with a $1.8 trillion deficit.

“A private sector entity in this financial condition could not survive and would employ no one. To avoid a destructive debt crisis, a dramatic reduction of federal spending must occur. We are witnessing the beginning of that process,” Johnson said. “Better we do it in a controlled manner instead of in an uncontrolled crisis.”

This story was originally published by WPR.

‘It’s illegal’: Federal workers in Wisconsin fired amid nationwide layoffs is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Thousands of federal workers in Wisconsin are under pressure to consider buyouts under President Donald Trump’s plans to shrink the federal government, which could affect services offered in the state.

A federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s deferred resignation program for federal employees, which is being challenged by several labor unions. Union leaders are warning workers that the deal may not be honored because Congress hasn’t authorized funds for it. The judge has set another hearing for Monday afternoon.

Meanwhile the White House has set a deadline of 11:59 p.m. Monday for federal workers to decide whether to take buyout offers.

As of last March, Wisconsin had more than 18,000 federal employees, and it’s unclear how many may have accepted the offer. 

They perform a wide range of duties that may include enforcing federal environmental regulations, providing financial aid to small businesses, maintaining medical centers and clinics for veterans, prosecuting criminal cases, providing military aid and disaster relief and much more.

Federal data shows most federal employees in Wisconsin work for the Department of Veterans Affairs, which has nearly 11,000 employees based in the state.

Crystal Knoll, a veterans service officer in Vernon County, said most counties work with the regional Veterans Affairs office in Milwaukee when veterans file claims for benefits. Knoll said a shortage of staff, particularly doctors and nurses, would be a detriment.

“The VA is already kind of strapped for staffing, so it can kind of get hard to get veterans in for appointments,” Knoll said. “Thankfully, we do have community care programs so veterans can use the local facilities that are contracted with the VA, but it still puts a strain on even the general public getting appointments when we’re trying to use both the VA and civilian side of healthcare.”

The state has more than 323,000 veterans. In 2023, the VA spent more than $4.3 billion in Wisconsin for veterans services, including medical care and compensation for service-related disabilities.

The administration’s “Fork in the Road” directive warned employees that most federal agencies will likely be “downsized through restructurings, realignments, and reductions in force.” It’s been promoted by billionaire Elon Musk, who is leading the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.

In a statement, Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin said forcing out VA doctors, nurses and caseworkers would deprive veterans of care.

“Our federal government is not perfect — and I have some ideas on how to make it more efficient — but ripping the rug out from those who served is just beyond the pale,” Baldwin said.

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson said in a social media post that he had more faith in Musk to investigate waste, fraud and abuse than bureaucrats.

“They’re not accountable to anybody. They don’t provide the American public information through their elected representatives here in Congress, who else could investigate that?” Johnson told Fox Business news. “I applaud Elon Musk. I applaud the Trump administration.”

Knoll, who served with the Wisconsin National Guard, said she hasn’t observed any disruptions in service, but she’s heard conflicting information about whether the VA would be exempt from hiring freezes. The Office of Personnel Management has said a few agencies will see staff increases, and the agency noted it may grant exemptions for provision of veterans, Medicare and Social Security benefits. 

Federal union leaders say agencies already face staffing challenges

Jessica LaPointe, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Council 220, represents nearly 27,000 field workers with the Social Security Administration nationwide.

Based in Madison, LaPointe has spent much of the last 16 years processing claims for seniors and people living with disabilities. She said the proposed buyouts and threats of layoffs come as the agency is facing a 50-year low in staffing amid a growing number of beneficiaries.

“We’ve been in a hiring freeze for a year, so losing mass amounts of staff at the Social Security Administration would have a snowball effect as workloads mount on a stressed out workforce,” LaPointe said. “And how that translates to the public is severely long service delays.”

Most recent data shows 550 federal workers with the Social Security Administration are based in Wisconsin. LaPointe said people living with disabilities have seen wait times grow from two to eight months for approval of their benefits. At the same time, former Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley told Congress in September that an estimated 30,000 people died in 2023 while waiting for such claims to be processed.

“We don’t just grapple with the uncertainty of our own job. We grapple with the uncertainty of the public that are relying on these earned benefits to survive,” LaPointe said. “We’re really sort of operating under a fight or flight or freeze environment.”

Federal workers weigh options and whether to return to offices

Most federal workers would also be forced to return to offices. One local union representative for federal workers in Wisconsin, an employee of the U.S. Forest Service, said such mandates done in the name of efficiency are decreasing productivity among employees. The person spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.

“I have heard stories of people being furloughed because they’re speaking out against the administration,” the worker said. “As a union representative, I could potentially have a target on my back just for that, and that’s scary.”

The worker said many remote employees hired to work at offices in Wisconsin don’t live anywhere near them, leaving some in rural areas with tough choices and limited alternatives for other jobs. The worker said it feels like the administration is bullying people to accept buyouts, but many employees would lose their pensions if they left now.

The Forest Service is housed under the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which employs more than 1,700 people in Wisconsin. Wisconsin workers with the Forest Service oversee timber sales, compliance with federal environmental laws, recreation in national forests and other duties.

The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest bills itself as one of the nation’s top timber-producing forests, and annual harvests directly support around 57,000 jobs in the state’s forest products industry.

The union representative warned timber sales could be hamstrung or shut down amid buyouts or layoffs.

“We only have so many projects cleared and prepped that eventually, if we don’t have the people to even do the review … then we’re not going to be able to manage the national forests in the ways that the public deserves,” the union leader said.

Westby dairy farmer Darin Von Ruden, president of the Wisconsin Farmers Union, noted farmers often work with federal employees at the Farm Service Agency to sign up for crop insurance or access financial assistance when milk prices drop. They also take part in conservation programs that provide payments or cost-share assistance for practices that benefit water quality and control runoff.

He said reduced staffing could hurt Wisconsin farmers. 

“It could mean that farmers simply don’t get a check, or the check might come too late to help with making sure that the monthly bills get paid,” Von Ruden said. “Timeliness is everything, and that means that we have to have an accurate or a good amount of folks hired to make sure the process happens.”

In 2023, falling milk prices led to record payments under a program to help dairy farmers, including $276.8 millon to around 4,300 farms in Wisconsin.

Federal workers like LaPointe say they’ve devoted years of their life to serving the public.

“The public feels emboldened to attack federal workers instead of thank us for our service to this country,” she said. “We’re being demonized, and that takes a toll.”

This story was originally published by WPR.

Wisconsin has 18,000 federal workers. Trump’s plans for cuts could erode services. is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

A new study builds on previous research that shows winters on the Great Lakes are growing shorter due to climate change.

The Great Lakes have been losing an average of 14 days of winter conditions each decade since 1995 due to warming air temperatures, according to the study published in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Research Letters.

The study’s lead author, Eric Anderson, an environmental engineering professor with the Colorado School of Mines, said researchers arrived at their findings by examining ice conditions and surface water temperatures.

“We do see that winter time — whether you think about it in terms of ice or think about in terms of really cold water temperatures — we’re just seeing less days where those conditions exist,” Anderson said.

Research has already found the Great Lakes are losing ice cover at a rate of about 5 percent each decade for a total loss of 25 percent between 1973 and 2023. Those changes are occurring as the region has seen among the greatest increases in average winter temperatures over the past 50 years.

The study builds on that research by focusing on changes in water temperatures during the winter months. Anderson noted only Lake Erie typically sees heavy ice cover each winter, whereas the other Great Lakes often see areas of open water.

Winter is typically a blind spot for researchers due to difficulties in obtaining measurements when there’s less ice cover on the lakes. For the study, they relied largely on satellite data, as well as several monitoring stations, to examine how mixing of the lakes from top to bottom may be changing during the winter. Typically, the lakes tend to mix in the fall and spring when temperatures are the same at the top and bottom.

Winter days on the Great Lakes are being lost to spring and fall

During the summer, the surface of the lakes is warmer and the bottom is colder. In the winter, the opposite is true.

The study’s co-author, Craig Stow, said the reason for that is the maximum density of water is 4 degrees Celsius or about 39 degrees Fahrenheit. Stow, who is a scientist with NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab, said researchers found there’s been an increase in the number of spring and fall days in the lakes.

“The winter days are being lost to those spring and fall times where the temperatures are essentially the same from the very top to the very bottom,” Stow said.

Stow said that means the lakes are staying warmer in the fall and warming up earlier in the spring.

Winter days on the lakes were defined as days with ice cover or having surface temperatures of less than 2 degrees Celsius. The loss of winter days was found over nearly the entire area of lakes Superior, Huron and Erie. In lakes Michigan and Ontario, the loss of winter days was primarily along the shorelines and bays.

“We saw decreases in ice cover in areas where you tend to see large amounts of ice, so Green Bay and up near Beaver Island and Straits of Mackinac,” Anderson said. “We didn’t see big decreases in ice for the rest of the lake, so you didn’t have a lot of coastal ice loss along the eastern side of Wisconsin or down near Chicago.”

However, researchers did see a loss of colder temperatures in open waters around the southern shoreline of Lake Michigan, shifting to more days that had temperatures like spring or fall.

Lake Superior didn’t lose as many ice days as lakes Huron or Erie because it doesn’t see as much ice cover in the middle of the lake. 

“It was losing some number of days with coastal ice, particularly along the Wisconsin shoreline of Superior in the western end there,” Anderson said.

Even so, he said the lake experienced a big shift to temperatures closer to what one might expect in the spring and fall out in open waters.

Anderson and Stow said the changes could have implications for the Great Lakes in terms of extended periods when algal blooms may occur, the duration of shipping seasons, effects on the food web and the $7 billion fishing industry.

“We looked at a couple decades here of  change that we see you’re losing a half a month of what we used to think about being the winter,” Anderson said. “That’s really important for the chemistry of the lake. It could be important for the biology of the lake.”

Researchers say questions remain about whether the loss of winter days may stay the same or accelerate, which is one of the things they hope to examine in the future.

This story was originally published by WPR.

Study finds winter days on the Great Lakes growing shorter due to climate change is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.