| "When it comes down to it, purchasing the development rights or making an outright acquisition is often the only way to protect these sites for future generations." | |
| Christy Fox-Weaver, Michigan Coastal Zone Management Program |
|
Michigan is home to the most extensive freshwater dune system in the world. Some coastal dunes along Lake Michigan are so vast and dramatic that it is reported they can be seen by astronauts orbiting the Earth.
But like many coastal areas around the country, the dunes of Lake Michigan are experiencing pressures from new residential development.
Protection provided by critical dune regulations under Michigan law only applies to about 70,000 acres, leaving hundreds of thousands of acres of dunes open to potential development.
In addition to residential development, the state's dunes face threats from invasive species, sand mining, and recreational activities, such as off-road vehicles.
To help protect the state's remaining dunes, a conservation coalition of every regional land trust active along Lake Michigan, as well as state and federal agencies and other nonprofit conservation organizations, was formed in 1999.
The resulting Michigan Dune Alliance promotes conservation and stewardship
of coastal marshes, dunes, forests, and freshwater river systems along the
shores of
Lake Michigan.
"There are a few remaining large tracts of land along Lake Michigan with high conservation values that are still undeveloped," says Christy Fox-Weaver, project manager for the Michigan Coastal Zone Management Program. "This is our final chance to help [land trusts] acquire these sites if we can."
Fox-Weaver adds, "When it comes down to it, purchasing the development rights or making an outright acquisition is often the only way to protect these sites for future generations."
Starting in 2000 with a $50,000 seed grant from the Michigan Coastal Zone Management Program, the Dune Alliance was able to get funding from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to identify and target 14 ecologically important sites for conservation efforts, and to develop the capacity of the participating organizations.
"I think the greatest success [of the Dune Alliance] so far has been the strengthening of the local conservation organizations," by providing everything from operating support, funds to hire additional staff, and assistance with geographic information system mapping to community education funds, says John Legge, conservation director for the West Michigan Program Office of the Nature Conservancy.
Legge adds, "A number of really significant conservation actions have been happening that may not be solely because of the Dune Alliance, but that certainly have been facilitated" by alliance support.
Legge and the Nature Conservancy have been hired by the Dune Alliance to "build on its prior success" and evaluate where it should go from here. This began with a strategic planning session last year where, Legge says, the group expanded the priority lands for protection to 42 areas along the coast, and committed to beginning activities that will address coastal wetlands restoration and stewardship, as well as invasive species.
Legge and the Nature Conservancy also are creating outreach materials for use by Dune Alliance members to educate private coastal landowners about the importance of protecting their property.
By bringing the "money, resources, and knowledge" of the various organizations
and agencies together, says Fox-Weaver, "we've been able to accomplish really
big things."
For more information on the Michigan Dune Alliance, contact Christy Fox-Weaver at (517) 335-3452 or foxcl@michigan.gov. You also may contact John Legge at (616) 785-7055, ext. 12, or jlegge@tnc.org.
