Susan Bence
Environmental ReporterSusan Bence entered broadcasting in an untraditional way. After years of avid public radio listening, Susan returned to school and earned a bachelor's degree in Journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She interned for WUWM News and worked with the Lake Effect team, before being hired full-time as a WUWM News reporter / producer.
Susan is now WUWM's Environmental Reporter, the station's first. Her work has been recognized by the Milwaukee Press Club, the Northwest Broadcast News Association, and the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association.
Susan worked with Prevent Blindness Wisconsin for 20 years, studied foreign languages at UWM, and loves to travel.
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Lake Michigan is teeming with life. But over time, its food web — from the smallest plankton to the largest fish — has been impacted. Overfishing and waves of invasive species have taken their toll. Now, climate change is flexing its muscles in the Lake Michigan ecosystem. On land, we’ve felt and seen it during what’s been the warmest winter on record.
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The poultry industry dreads avian influenza, but migratory and sea birds are succumbing to the virus in alarming numbers. Concern is rising not only about avian health but also about human health. How are our warming winters factoring into the problem?
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Wisconsin is emerging from its warmest winter since recordkeeping began in 1895. This news underscores the fact that climate change is impacting our world. Farmers have always dealt with the whims of weather. Now, they’re working on adaptation strategies.
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Experts say Wisconsin is feeling the impacts of climate change. In fact, it’s all but certain that on Friday, March 8, 2024, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will announce that this winter is Wisconsin’s warmest on record.
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We share our plans for "Thin Ice," a new project on the impacts of climate change on Wisconsin winters.
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The last remaining child of Aldo Leopold, Estella Leopold, died this week. Her father’s 1949 book, A Sand County Almanac , fueled the conservation movement. Estella carried on the family tradition, as a paleoecologist and conservationist.
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The tug of war between Wisconsin’s Republican-dominated Legislature and Democratic governor was on display again last week. The state Senate rejected one of Gov. Evers’ latest appointees to the Natural Resources Board — Todd Ambs. He’s regarded as a water policy expert and conservation advocate in both state and Great Lakes circles.
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The environmental and conservation movements stretch across generations. But historically, diversity was absent— especially in celebrating people who have played roles in those movements. A local group is working to set the story straight. Monday marked the 5th annual celebration of African American environmental pioneers and rising stars in Milwaukee.
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Members of the Ho-Chunk nation in Wisconsin are part of an effort to widen the circle of professionals and volunteers tending to the earth and passing along their knowledge to others.
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Members of Wisconsin's Ho-Chunk Nation are training master naturalists, avid observers of the natural world who study plants and animals and pass along their knowledge.