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Great Lakes
Article:
Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Breaks Ground on Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center
PRNewswire
Published October 26th, 2004
Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve
broke ground today on a 20,000-square-foot facility in
Alpena, Mich., that will preserve and highlight the maritime
heritage of the Great Lakes and the shipwrecks of Michigan's
Thunder Bay. The Sanctuary is managed by NOAA, the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the State
of Michigan. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Department
of Commerce. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041022/DCF003LOGO
).
When completed, the facility will feature a maritime heritage
"discovery center" featuring over 8,000 square-feet
of exhibits on the Great Lakes, shipwrecks, archaeology,
and maritime history. The center will also have an auditorium
for showing films and live video feeds from Thunder Bay
shipwrecks, an archaeological conservation laboratory,
and an education resource room.
"The Thunder Bay Sanctuary is important to the people
of Michigan and the community of Alpena," said Michigan
Sen. Carl Levin. "The project will initiate a redevelopment
initiative that will greatly benefit the sanctuary and
the community."
"The new center will be a national destination that
will allow people of all ages to share in the discovery,
exploration and preservation of the Great Lakes' historic
shipwrecks and rich maritime past," said Sanctuary
Manager Jefferson J. Gray. "In addition, the laboratories,
archives, dockage for research vessels and a field station
for visiting scientists will make the center a regional
research facility, not just for historians and archaeologists,
but for other scientists working to ensure the health
of the Great Lakes."
The facility will be housed at the former Fletcher Paper
Mill, a historic property that will be renovated with
an initial investment of $2.5 million from NOAA. The agency
signed a 20-year lease with the building's owner, Alpena
Marc, L.L.C., in September 2004.
Located in Lake Huron, the 448-square-mile Thunder Bay
National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve was
established in 2000 to protect an estimated 200 historically
significant shipwrecks ranging from nineteenth century
wooden side-wheelers to twentieth century steel-hulled
steamers. The Sanctuary brings to the American public
the lore of Great Lakes maritime heritage through exploration,
education and research.
NOAA's National Marine Sanctuary Program seeks to increase
the public awareness of America's maritime heritage by
conducting scientific research, monitoring, exploration
and educational programs. Today, the Sanctuary Program
manages 13 national marine sanctuaries and one coral reef
ecosystem reserve that encompass more than 150,000 square
miles of America's ocean and Great Lakes natural and cultural
resources.
NOAA's National Ocean Service manages the sanctuary program
and is dedicated to exploring, understanding, conserving
and restoring the nation's coasts and oceans. The National
Ocean Service balances environmental protection with economic
prosperity in fulfilling its mission of promoting safe
navigation, supporting coastal communities, sustaining
coastal habitats and mitigating coastal hazards.
NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national
safety through the prediction and research on weather
and climate-related events and providing environmental
stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine
resources.
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