01-08-2008, 07:23 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: York, UK
Posts: 1,227
|  Underwater preserve proposed in Muskegon
Quote:
MUSKEGON -- Shipwreck enthusiasts are invited to a meeting this month that will focus on a proposed underwater preserve for the Lake Michigan waters off the Muskegon area's coast.
A local group is pushing the proposal as a way to protect shipwrecks, generate interest in West Michigan's maritime history and promote the area as an attraction for scuba divers, researchers and shipwreck enthusiasts. The seven-member board of the proposed West Michigan Underwater Preserve is in the process of completing the written application to gain preserve status.
The state's Underwater Salvage and Preserve Committee will make the decision on the application for the preserve. The Michigan Underwater Preserve Council, an organization that oversees the 11 preserves in Michigan, has endorsed the proposed preserve for West Michigan.
The preserve, if approved, would extend from a point between Grand Haven and Holland north to Pentwater. The local group, including divers, has identified 12 shipwrecks inside those boundaries, and expects more to be found.
The board meeting, which is open to the public, is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Jan. 19 at the Muskegon fire station No. 4.
Heather Bloom, the board's vice chairwoman, said the preserve would be a tourism attraction for divers, providing them with information about the area's shipwrecks and precise locations, and provide additional protection of the shipwrecks.
``Protecting the underwater shipwrecks is the goal of the underwater preserve system,'' Bloom said. ``By establishing the preserve, the laws are made more aware to the divers.''
The group also hopes to sink a cleaned vessel in the preserve for divers to explore. A preserve is allowed to sink one vessel.
Bloom and the other supporters have been attempting to get permission from the state for the new, artificial shipwreck for years. The state Department of Environmental Quality rejected the artificial shipwreck plan twice, citing environmental concerns and potential harm to the fishery.
Local supporters claim the environmental concerns are baseless because the vessel would be thoroughly cleaned. They also contend the shipwreck or ``artificial reef'' may actual improve fish habitat. They also point to the numerous artificial sinkings already done, including some in the Great Lakes.
Several local governments issued letters of support for the artificial shipwreck. The steering committee for the proposal included representatives of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Michigan State University's Sea Grant program and Grand Valley State University's Water Resources Institute.
The group, originally called the West Michigan Artificial Reef Society, formed in 1999. It was the forerunner for the proposed preserve.
``It's a new direction we're taking by trying to create a preserve,'' Bloom said.
Local board members are following the model that was used by the proposed Grand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve group. The Grand Traverse proposal's application is currently being considered by the state committee.
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