Lake Floor Could Become State Park
Supporters Claim Plan Will Boost Tourism; Opponents Say Budget Crunch Sinks Idea
By Ryan Schlehuber

To stimulate tourism in Michigan by emphasizing the Great Lakes as a travel destination, a plan to create a state park of Great Lakes bottomlands was introduced to the legislature in April, and testimony from officials for and against it was heard during a Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs committee meeting in Lansing Wednesday, June 13.

If the bills are made into law, the Great Lakes State Park would be the largest public park established throughout the United States, covering 38,000 square miles of water and 11 underwater preserves, including the Straits of Mackinac Shipwreck Preserve and the DeTour Passage Underwater Preserve.

The proposal creates a state fund and state administration to promote the underwater preserves and other heritage features of the Great Lakes through existing private organizations, like divers and tourist bureaus.

"This will provide a mechinism for promoting tourism and create partnerships between private and public sectors," said Ken Vrana, a social scientist and underwater archaeologist, and director of the Center for Maritime and Underwater Resource Management in Laingsburg. "It gives credibility and an institutional charge for private sectors to use the Great Lakes as a marketing tool."

Senator Michelle McManus of Traverse City, a newly-certified scuba diver, along with two other senators and three state representatives, support the package of six bills. Debate centeres around how such a proposal would be funded and whether it will be effective.

If passed, the bills would revise 1899 legislation that created Michigan bottomlands to create the Great Lakes State Park and a fund for the preservation of the park, giving the state a more active role in ecotourism and the preservation of underwater features, including shipwrecks. .Supporters of the bills see the chance to promote the Great Lakes and their shipwrecks to boost the economy and provide new and expanding opportunities for ecotourism and organizations like scuba divers, shipwreck historians, and preservationists.

Some divers and administrators in the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) believe the state is in no financial shape to implement such a proposal. Since the new Great Lakes park would fall under the DNR, the agency is concerned an underfunded initiative could sap other programs. Divers are also concerned that a proposed $15 voluntary pass to the Great Lakes State Park will eventually become mandatory for divers; a user fee, like trail permits for snowmobiles.

As proposed, the voluntary fee would fund a Great Lakes State Park Preservation Fund to help manage the park and provide resources for organizations and programs focused on maritime history, underwater archaeology, and conservation. The fund would also be used to sink old ships for additional diving excursions, fund law enforcement and heritage education, provide money for tourism research and marketing.

Since the fee would be voluntary, the Senate Fiscal Agency has no idea how much it will contribute.

Undeterred, Mr. Vrana says the new park provides a ready-made theme for marketers to promote the Great Lakes as a tourist destination. I believe in the concept of state stewardship and I hope that the diving community will become a part of this."

Lynne Piippo, director of the St. Ignace Visitors Bureau, believes there are better avenues to take to accomplish these goals.

"The Great Lakes is a huge draw for the state of Michigan," she said. "It is identifiable as to who we are. The method of making the Great Lakes a state park, however, is not something I would choose to put forward."

Initiatives like The Great Waters, a campaign by the Eastern Upper Peninsula Nature Tourism Alliance that promotes ecotours and nature trails, Mrs. Piippo said, is a better way to market the Great Lakes, since the program is already ongoing.

"We're already marketing ecotourism in a whole new way," she said. "We just need to be able to use (state tourism funding) to enhance the programs. I don't think the idea of making a Great Lakes State Park pass to soak people for money is the way to go."

Some state officials believe the idea of a bottomlands state park is a good one, but say Senator McManus' implementation needs to be thoroughly reviewed and revised.

"It's an interesting conceptual idea, however, it would be a large undertaking," said Ron Olson, chief of the DNR's Parks and Recreation Division. "It creates many issues for us. There is no money to effectively study or implement this concept at this time."

The DNR is the only state department that is almost entirely financed by user fees from campgrounds, marinas, and federal passthrough money, Mr. Olson said.

Only about nine percent of the DNR's $280 million annual budget comes from the state's General Fund (tax dollars), which is down from about 23% just 10 years ago, creating a $40 million shortfall in the budget.

To generate more revenue, the DNR increased camping fees this year at state campgrounds. Plans to increase fishing and hunting license fees are on the table.

"Even putting in staff time to study this stresses us" financially, he said.

Like Mr. Olson, Larry Sanders, a Grand Haven recreational diver and president of the Straits of Mackinac Shipwreck Preserve, questions the state's financial commitment to such a program.

He points to the state's lack of involvement in placing buoys at shipwrecks in the Great Lakes as an example.

The local shipwreck preserve organization, said Mr. Sanders, voluntarily places seasonal buoys at each of the 15 dive sites in the Straits of Mackinac, which include shipwrecks and a rock maze. Members tie buoys to shipwrecks so other divers won't set buoys with grappling hooks, which can damage the wrecks.

"It would cost the state an estimated $40,000 to install permanent, cement moorings that would not damage the shipwrecks," Mr. Sanders said. "They have always looked the other way, though."

Divers are also concerned about the Great Lakes State Park pass to help support the Great Lakes State Park Preservation Fund. Senate Bill 431 makes purchase voluntary, but "Once the Great Lakes is designated as a state park, by law, the DNR has the authority to charge for use of the Great Lakes," said Mr. Sanders. "It opens a nasty door."

Mr. Vrana disagrees. He says the system will bring state government and private sectors dedicated to preserving and promoting the Great Lakes closer, and said the concern he has heard about the proposal opening the door to mandatory fees has no merit.

"Senator McManus dispelled a lot of myths at the [Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs] committee meeting," said Mr. Vrana. "I don't know why the argument of funding is brought up so negatively, because, just as the process in our democracy goes, the legislature is the one that is looked upon to find the way to make it a fiscal reality."

Tom Farnquist, director of Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society in Sault Ste. Marie, agrees, arguing that doing something to boost the state economy is better than doing nothing.

"It will be more beneficial than harmful," said Mr. Farnquist. "I'm confident that the final wording of this proposal will satisfy everyone."

Mr. Olson said he and his DNR are keeping an open mind about the proposal.

"We are always willing to explore the concept," he said, "and it is worthy of discussion, but you have to balance that with the feasibility and realities of the everyday operation.

"There may be a variety of ways of achieving the ultimate goal," he continued, "but we need to look at the end goals and establish who will be served best by that, and find the best way to get there. That's where we're at right now."