Sanctuary Expansion Introduced

Senator Carl Levin, and Congressmen Stupak, Kildee, and McCotter.  Have introduced bills into the Congress, and the House of Representatives (S-380, H.R. 905) to expand the boundaries of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary.  This bill will increase the size of the Sanctuary from 448 sq. miles, to 3667 sq. miles or from the Northern Presque Isle county line to the Southern Alcona county line, and out to the International Boundary.

This in my opinion is a greatly needed expansion, the Alpena / Presque Isle area have some of the most pristine wrecks imaginable.  To name a few Cornelia B. Windiate, Kyle Spangler (recently announced), Florida, Norman, Audubon, Defiance.  NOAA also has a very good working relationship with the local community, and has done tremendous work on preserving the resources, and artifacts of the surrounding wrecks. Unlike shipwrecks in the Oceans which will disappear overtime, and the taking of artifacts is permitted,  here in fresh water the wrecks stay intact for hundreds of years. This should also help the surrounding areas in bringing in more tourists / divers.

Alpena News Article - Boundary Expansion

Congressman Stupak’s Letter

This entry was posted on 7. February 2009 at 07:34 and is filed under Diving. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.