Increased awareness and understanding of Lake Michigan issues leading to positive action is the goal of a Lake Michigan tour undertaken by Grand Valley State University's Robert B. Annis Water Resources Institute.
GVSU's research vessel, the W.G. Jackson, will be making the rounds of the lake in August, stopping in five cities ¿ Port of Indiana (July 31-Aug. 2), Chicago (Aug. 2-4), Sturgeon Bay (Aug. 17-18), Menominee (Aug. 19-20) and Escanaba (Aug. 21-22).
The tour will provide the public hands-on experience in water issues for the public aboard the W.G. Jackson. There will be cruises for students and the public, open houses and community activities.
The purpose of the tour is to raise awareness of the recently released U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Lakewide Management Plan. During the tour, highlights from the plan and the Lake Michigan Mass Balance Study will be unveiled. The mass balance data provide a wealth of information on how contaminants enter, remain in, or leave the Lake Michigan basin. This information could have a major effect on water quality policymaking in the region.
This is the fourth annual Making Lake Michigan Great tour. It is a project of GVSU's Annis Water Resources Institute and the EPA's Lake Michigan Forum. It was organized to provide input from broad interests around Lake Michigan into the development of the management plan from a diverse stakeholder group of academia, government, business, industry and others. Janet Vail, senior program manager for the Annis WRI serves as co-chair along with Ronald Baba of the University of Wisconsin.
