Proposal: Grand Traverse Islands National Park

Transcription

1 Proposal: Grand Traverse Islands National Park March 1, 2016

2 Contents: Map Summary Part 1: The Need Part 2: The Answer Part 3: The Why Part 4: The Proposal Part 5: The Process Conclusion

3 The Grand Traverse Islands

4 Summary The Grand Traverse Islands, stretching from Wisconsin s Door County to Upper Michigan s Garden Peninsula, are an incredible place. Encompassing 17 islands, five nineteenthcentury lighthouses, numerous Native American archeological sites, over 40 documented shipwrecks, the great estate of Chester Thordarson, and the last remaining Duluth-style US Life Saving Station on the Great Lakes, they are also home to many rare species of plants and animals and are part of the Great Arc the Niagara Escarpment spanning 650 miles from Northeast Wisconsin to Western New York. Since 1970, when the US Department of the Interior released its landmark Islands of America report, they have been considered worthy of public protection and recreational use. Yet 45 years later, after attempts made by both Wisconsin and Michigan, the island chain remains unopened, unprotected, unsung, and falling apart. This is a national tragedy. The answer is the creation of a new unit of the national park system similar to that found in the Apostle Islands. Such a park need not include any private property. Nor would it infringe upon the rights of hunters, boaters, or commercial fishermen. Additionally, it would increase tourism in a tourism-dependent region and likely be self-supporting once established.

5 This would not only help preserve historical properties, but a scenic and pristine area where citizens might walk nature trails, experience wildlife via boats, canoe and kayaks, and view those historic structures that were so very important to our maritime past. Wayne Wheeler, President US Lighthouse Society

6 Part One: The Need The Grand Traverse Islands, which bridge the gap between the Garden Peninsula in Upper Michigan and Door County in Northeast Wisconsin, are a richly bio-diverse, historically significant, and relatively undeveloped wilderness archipelago. In 1970, the US Department of the Interior recommended that they be protected and made available for recreational use in its landmark Islands of America report. And on the heels of that recommendation, Wisconsin and Michigan began jointly planning the creation of an interstate wilderness park. Wisconsin even commissioned an environmental impact study of the proposed Grand Traverse Islands State Park in 1978 and purchased five small plots of land on Detroit Island for inclusion into the park shortly thereafter. Sadly, either because of decreasing state coffers or the changing politics of the 1980s, the interstate park plan was abandoned. Decades later, the island chain remains unopened, unprotected, unsung, and falling apart. Critically important habitat for the threatened and endangered plants and animals found there is dwindling throughout the region. And some of the historic buildings located there are now among the nation s most endangered maritime structures. This is neither what the people who live here want nor what such a geologically, ecologically, and historically significant area deserves.

7 Part Two: The Answer The answer is the creation of a national park encompassing most of the chain s larger islands, in addition to sections of both mainland peninsulas. Specifically: a new unit of the national park system, open to public use, similar to that found in the Apostle Islands. Such a park need not include any private property, since a great deal of the island chain and nearby peninsulas are already owned by county, state, and federal agencies and organizations. Nor would such a park infringe upon the rights of hunters, boaters, or commercial fishermen, given that these activities occur in other national parks and lakeshores, such as the Apostle Islands.

8 We sincerely believe this project would be a certain asset to our community, as well as Michigan and Wisconsin as a whole. Along with sustaining and nurturing the immense wildlife habitat of the islands, creating a National Park would create a natural attraction which would have a positive economic impact on our area. Delta County Chamber of Commerce

9 Part Three: The Why Even without a pressing need, the Grand Traverse Islands are worthy of national park designation. Part of the vast Niagara Escarpment (spanning 650 miles from Northeast Wisconsin to Western New York), the islands consist of dolomitic limestone rock formed 420 million years ago from the compressed sediments of a shallow, tropical sea. Rare wildflowers and orchids found almost nowhere else on earth call them home. Neotropical songbirds, bats, and butterflies return to them each and every summer. And trees believed to be over 500 years old cling to their nearly vertical, rocky bluffs. Given their name by French Voyageurs paddling canoes from one peninsula to the other, they encompass eight large islands, nine smaller islands, five nineteenth-century lighthouses, numerous Native American archeological sites, over 40 documented shipwrecks, the great estate of Chester Thordarson, and the last remaining Duluth-style US Life Saving Station on the Great Lakes. Yet there is a pressing need, and there are many reasons why a national park is the right path forward. First of all: Northern Door County, the Grand Traverse Islands, and Delta County provide critical habitat for a great number of threatened and endangered species. Regionally, the habitat for these species is shrinking day by day. By protecting the area from future development, and managing the land as a single unit, those species will stand a better chance for survival. The National Park Service would allow for this in a way

10 that the currently fragmented system of local, state, and federal agencies and organizations does not, and a set of two state parks could not. Second: the area s maritime heritage is in grave danger. Many of the most significant historical structures found throughout the Grand Traverse Islands are threatened by disrepair and collapse especially those on Pilot Island, Poverty Island, and St. Martin Island. If we don t act to save them soon, they may be lost forever. Friends groups can only do so much. And the mission of the US Fish & Wildlife Service which is currently looking at acquiring many of the islands does not include historic preservation and interpretation. Thus, the National Park Service, whose primary mission does include historic preservation and interpretation, is the perfect candidate. Third: the creation of a national park in the Grand Traverse Islands would provide for greater public access than is currently available or would be available if the area became a National Wildlife Refuge under the control of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. As with all great wilderness areas, the Grand Traverse Islands have the power to help us discover ourselves and our connection to nature. They have the power to replenish our souls and help us literally re-create ourselves. But they cannot do that if public access to them is prohibited. A national park would ensure that that does not happen, and would also protect the health of the environment through the use of a backcountry permitting process. Fourth: the construction of several small docks in protected harbors throughout the Grand Traverse Islands would go a long way towards making the area a safer and more accessible place to visit. Currently, there are no public safe harbors between Rock Island and the Garden Peninsula. Given how quickly the weather can sour, it is therefore quite dangerous to visit the islands by sea kayak or sailboat if one is inexperienced yet that does not visitors from coming. The creation of a national park would allow for a

11 few small public docks to be built, thus improving public safety and accessibility. Finally: a national park would be marketable in a way that national wildlife refuges are not and the local and regional economic benefits of national parks and lakeshores are tremendous. In 2013, the entire national park system brought over $14.6 billion in spending to gateway communities! The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore alone accounted for $22.4 million of that visitor spending, supporting over 304 local jobs and the same thing would likely result from the creation of a national park in the Grand Traverse Islands. Local accommodations, restaurants, charter fishing cruises, outfitters, gas stations, grocery stores, retail shops, and countless other businesses would see a huge increase in traffic and sales volume. Countless new jobs would inevitably be created. And although these jobs would largely be directly connected to the seasonal tourism industry, proximity to a national park would make it easier to attract year-round employees in non-tourist industries.

12 The addition of a Grand Traverse Islands National Park would help our local and state economies realize incremental growth in our tourism dependent region. It would also provide another incredible opportunity for visitors to explore, experience and appreciate the incredible natural environment we are fortunate enough to call home. Door County Visitor Bureau

13 Part Four: The Proposal What might the Grand Traverse Islands National Park look like? The properties we are proposing for inclusion into the national park are first shown visually and then detailed in the pages that follow.

14 Proposed National Park Boundaries (Proposed Properties shown in green)

15 Proposed Properties Mink River State Natural Area, Door Peninsula, WI Acreage & Ownership: 1,787 acres under ownership of The Nature Conservancy. Features: Internationally recognized RAMSAR wetland, home to rare Dwarf Lake Iris & federally endangered Hine's Emerald Dragonfly. Newport State Park, Door Peninsula, WI Acreage & Ownership: 2,373 acres under state ownership. Features: Europe Lake, sand beaches w/ small dunes, critical stopover site for Monarch butterflies, maintained trails & backcountry campsites. Hotz Memorial Town Park, Door Peninsula, WI Acreage & Ownership: Approx. 1 acre under municipal ownership. Features: Sand beach & public kayak launch bordered by Newport State Park. Europe Lake Boat Launch, Door Peninsula, WI Acreage & Ownership: Approx. 1 acre under municipal ownership. Features: Public access to Europe Lake. Isle View Park, Door Peninsula, WI Acreage & Ownership: Approx. 1 acre under municipal ownership. Features: Public park & beach just south of Northport offering great view of Plum and Pilot Islands, bordered by newly forming sea caves. Garrett Bay Park, Door Peninsula, WI Acreage & Ownership: Approx. 1 acre under municipal ownership. Features: Public kayak launch on Garrett Bay, just south of Door Bluff Headlands. 50ft from Fleetwing shipwreck.

16 Proposed Properties Door Bluff Headlands County Park, Door Peninsula, WI Acreage & Ownership: 156 acres under county ownership. Features: Niagara Escarpment, Native American pictographs, beach, hiking trail, commanding view of Green Bay. Plum & Pilot Islands, Plum & Pilot Islands, WI Acreage & Ownership: 330 acres under federal ownership. Features: Niagara Escarpment, Pilot Island Lighthouse & Fog Signal Building; JE Gilmore, Forrest, & AP Nichols Shipwrecks; Plum Island Lightkeepers House, Fog Signal Building, & Range Lights; ruins of Old Plum Island Lighthouse; last remaining Duluth-style US Life Saving Station on Great Lakes; two beaches; Grapeshot shipwreck; maintained trails. Jackson Harbor Ridges State Natural Area, Washington Island, WI Acreage & Ownership: 70 acres under municipal ownership. Features: Sand dune complex near Rock Island State Park boat launch & ferry dock. Rock Island State Park, Rock Island, WI Acreage & Ownership: 912 acres under state ownership. Features: Niagara Escarpment, Thordarson Estate, small boat dock, sand beach, old fishing village site, numerous cemeteries, Native American archeological sites, the first lighthouse built on Lake Michigan, campground, maintained trails, and backcountry campsites.

17 Proposed Properties St. Martin Island (Federally-owned parcels), St. Martin Island, MI Acreage & Ownership: 1,244 acres under federal ownership Features: Niagara Escarpment, old hunting/logging cabins, old fishing village sites, small harbor on south shore with dock, access to St. Martin Island Lighthouse. Poverty Island, Poverty Island, MI Acreage & Ownership: 171 acres under federal ownership. Features: Niagara Escarpment, Poverty Island Lighthouse. Michigan State Forest Compartment 200, Summer & Little Summer Islands, MI Acreage & Ownership: 1,488 acres under state ownership. Features: Niagara Escarpment, limestone bedrock shoreline. Michigan State Forest Compartment 100, Garden Peninsula, MI Acreage & Ownership: 850 acres under state ownership. Features: Limestone bedrock shoreline. Michigan State Forest Compartment 99, Garden Peninsula, MI Acreage & Ownership: 1,158 acres under state ownership. Features: Wooded dune & swale complex, alvar ecosystem, Sucker Lake. Michigan State Forest Compartment 98, Garden Peninsula, MI Acreage & Ownership: 1,802 acres under state ownership. Features: Wooded dune & swale complex, alvar ecosystem.

18 Proposed Properties Michigan State Forest Compartment 97, Garden Peninsula, MI Acreage & Ownership: 436 acres under state ownership. Features: Limestone bedrock shoreline. Michigan State Forest Compartment 96, Garden Peninsula, MI Acreage & Ownership: 2,175 acres under state ownership. Features: Wooded dune & swale complex, ADA-accessible Portage Bay State Forest Campground, Fishery Lake, Charboneau Lake, hiking trail, and gravel boat launch. Michigan State Forest Compartment 95, Garden Peninsula, MI Acreage & Ownership: 1,662 acres under state ownership. Features: Wooded dune & swale complex, Garden Creek, Buck Fever Lake, Half Moon Lake. Sac Bay County Park, Garden Peninsula, MI Acreage & Ownership: 65 acres under county ownership. Features: Public boat launch and park. Total Acreage of Proposed Properties: 16,683

19 What Would Make It Unique? Fundamental Resources The Niagara Escarpment The Niagara Escarpment is one of the defining geological features of North America, spanning 650 miles in a wide arc across the northern Great Lakes region from Central Wisconsin through Michigan and Canada, then eastwards into New York. Formed over 420 million years ago from the compressed sediments of a shallow, tropical sea, it is an important and unique natural resource. Canada has successfully earned United Nations Biosphere Reserve recognition for its section of the escarpment and has established two national parks along its length, including Bruce Peninsula National Park and Fathom Five National Marine Park. In the United States, no federal management agency has acknowledged this incredible natural feature the most visible, accessible, and striking example of which is found in the Grand Traverse Islands. Water Resources Marking the divide between Green Bay and Lake Michigan, the Grand Traverse Island Chain is defined by water. Frozen water created glaciers during the last Ice Age that sculpted the Grand Traverse Islands out of the Niagara Escarpment. Depressions left behind by those same glaciers then filled in with water, creating Lake Michigan, Green Bay, and the shoreline of the Grand Traverse Islands that can be seen today. These great bodies of fresh water continue to sculpt the islands to this day. Moreover, the wetlands around the Grand Traverse Islands are internationally significant earning RAMSAR designation in 2014.

20 Lighthouse Landscapes The Grand Traverse Islands are home to one of the densest concentrations of lighthouses and associated structures in the United States: five lighthouses, one United States Life Saving Service station, four fog signal buildings, two separately constructed lightkeeper s houses, one set of range lights, and a number of other associated outbuildings all within a span of less than 25 miles. Pottawatomie Lighthouse on Rock Island was the first lighthouse built in Wisconsin (and northern Lake Michigan) and the U.S.L.S.S. Station on Plum Island is the last remaining Duluth-style Life Saving Service station on the Great Lakes. Threatened and Endangered Species Hine s Emerald Dragonflies (E), Dwarf Lake Iris (T), Bats (all WT, including Northern Long-Eared T), Glacial Relict Land Snails (WE, WT), Snow Trillium (WT), Lady Slipper Orchids (some WT), Artic Primrose, Canada Yew, Bald Eagles, Monarch Butterflies, and numerous species of migratory birds (in addition to a wide range of other plants and animals) call the Grand Traverse Islands home, and rely on them during their annual migrations.* Night Sky Very little light pollution exists in the Grand Traverse Islands, offering unparalleled opportunities to observe the night sky. Additionally, the island s north-south orientation, with Green Bay to the West and Lake Michigan to the East, offers many opportunities for seeing stellar, solar and lunar phenomenon including the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights). * E Federally Endangered, T Federally Threatened, WE Wisconsin Endangered, WT Wisconsin Threatened

21 Other Important Resources Rock Island s Cultural Landscapes In 1910, all of Rock Island apart from the lighthouse was purchased by a wealthy Icelandic-American inventor and pioneer in high-voltage electrical equipment named Chester Thordarson for use as a summer estate. Thordarson had won a gold medal at the St. Louis World s Fair in 1904 for designing and building the first million-volt transformer and quickly became a prominent businessman in Chicago, considered both a friend and rival of Thomas Edison. In the 1920s, using limestone rock quarried from the island, he had expanded his estate to include a boathouse and Great Hall, several cottages, a pagoda, and a summer kitchen among other buildings and structures. Archeological Resources Numerous Native American archeological sites have been found across the Grand Traverse Islands, including pictographs and an Ottawa-Huron palisade wall from the 1600s. A great number of archeological resources from French Voyageurs and Jesuit Missionaries have also been recovered and documented. These Voyageurs and Missionaries often traveled through the area on their way to and from Central Wisconsin, and it was the Voyageurs who gave the area its name because it represented to them in their canoes a Long Crossing. Recreational Values The Grand Traverse Islands offer a wide range of recreational opportunities, including hiking, camping, birding, backpacking, boating, sailing, kayaking, canoeing, snorkeling, SCUBA diving, fishing, hunting, skiing, snowshoeing and photography.

22 Shipwrecks There are over 40 documented shipwrecks in the Wisconsin section of the Grand Traverse Islands alone three of which (the JE Gilmore, AP Nichols, & Forrest) can be found within 40ft of each other in just over 20ft of water off of Pilot Island. The Grand Traverse Islands are also the last known location of and most likely location for discovering Le Griffon, the first sailing ship built and sailed on the Great Lakes, which went missing in 1679 after leaving Rock Island. It remains missing to this day.

23 Part Five: The Process How are national parks created? One of two ways: through an Act of Congress or through an Executive Order of the President although the second method can only be applied to lands currently under federal control and would result in a national monument, rather than a national park. Before either can happen, however, the National Park Service must conduct a Special Resource Study (SRS) of the area in question, in order to determine its significance, suitability, and feasibility. The National Park Service can only conduct an SRS if it is authorized by Congress to do so and the process is as follows: Congress must pass legislation requesting the National Park Service to conduct an SRS of the proposed park. The National Park Service must return with a positive SRS. Congress must then pass legislation creating the new national park (or the President must declare the creation of a national monument).

24 Conclusion Forty-five years after they were identified for protection in the U.S. Department of the Interior s Islands of America report, the Grand Traverse Islands remain unopened, unprotected, unsung, and falling apart. This is neither what the people who live here want nor what such a geologically, ecologically, and historically rich and significant area deserves. The answer is the creation of a national park that is more open to public use similar to that found in the Apostle Islands. The reasons are many: environmental, historical, recreational, and economic. No private lands need be included. And the rights of hunters, boaters, and commercial fisherman would not be curtailed.

25 These islands, many of them very remote, are not only beautiful but important to bird migration, the eco system and tourism. Please support this effort to forever protect this national treasure. Jim Robinson, Owner Shoreline Charter Cruises

26 Contact: Friends of the Grand Traverse Islands 253 N 1 st Ave, Suite 1 Sturgeon Bay, WI info@grandtraverseislands.org