For Friday, July 22, 2022

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1 – Bay City recently received $80,000 from the Michigan Coastal Management Program to study and engineer “Resilient Launching Access for Boats and Paddlecraft in Bay City.” 

Leaders are asking people to take a survey to better understand how the city can serve users. 

The survey focuses on launch facilities for boats and other watercraft at Bigelow Park, the Cass Avenue Boat Launch, the Edward M. Golson Boat Launch and Veterans Memorial Park.

The survey asks how often people use the current ramps and how they’d rate each facility. It also asks what kind of water-related activities people would like to see more of on the Saginaw River in Bay City.

The survey is online at BayCityLaunchingSurvey.com. 

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2 – A Michigan island is one of a dozen sites selected for a national Department of Energy project.

Officials say project partners will work with Beaver Island in Lake Michigan and 11 other remote and island communities around the United States. The effort is meant to help strengthen energy infrastructure, reduce the risk of outages, and improve future energy and economic outlooks for the areas. 

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Former Michigan Gov. and current U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm says that as climate change intensifies, remote and island communities are more at risk to extreme weather events.

The energy department says Beaver Island will use its assistance to identify opportunities for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects to improve energy security through local production and storage. 

Partners include the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

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3 – The Michigan Outdoor Writers Association has selected Midland-based Little Forks Conservancy as the recipient of this year’s Clean Waterways Award.

The award recognizes organizations that demonstrate continuous, voluntary efforts to protect, preserve and enhance the lakes, rivers and streams of Michigan. 

The conservancy is lauded for efforts to improve the health of the Cedar River watershed in Gladwin and Clare counties, and land adjacent to the Tittabawassee River between Midland and Sanford.

The association says threats to Michigan’s waterways are on the rise and protection is more important than ever. 

– Mr. Great Lakes is heard Friday mornings in Bay City, Michigan, on Delta College Public Radio 90.1 FM (listen live). Follow @jeffkart on Twitter #MrGreatLakes

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