Re: GLIN==>> Making Lake Michigan Great

["Janet Vail"<vailj@gvsu.edu>]

     MAKING LAKE MICHIGAN GREAT TOUR KICKS OFF IN MUSKEGON!!!!
     
     "How is Lake Michigan doing?  Can we safely swim in the lake?  Can we 
     drink the water?  Can we control zebra mussels?"  These were some of 
     the questions the public had as the W.G. JACKSON vessel of the Grand 
     Valley State University Robert B. Annis Water Resources Institute 
     (GVSU-WRI) made its way around Lake Michigan last summer on the Making 
     Lake Michigan Great.  Funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection 
     Agency, the tour will happen again in 1999.
     
     The Lake Michigan Forum
     
     The Making Lake Michigan Great '99 tour is a project of the Lake 
     Michigan Forum.  The Forum provides input from broad interests around 
     Lake Michigan for the development of the U.S. Environmental Protection 
     Agency (U.S. EPA) Lake Michigan Lakewide Management Plan.  The Forum 
     is a diverse stakeholder group of academia, government, business, 
     industry, sport fisheries, and others. 
     
     The Tour
     
     The purpose of Making Lake Michigan Great '99 is to spread the word 
     about the U.S. EPA Lakewide Management Plan for Lake Michigan as well 
     as research like the Lake Michigan Mass Balance Study.  It was funded 
     primarily by a grant from the U.S. EPA.  The tour provided hands-on 
     experience in water issues aboard the W.G. JACKSON, a 65 foot 
     university research/education vessel.  At the ports of call, there 
     will be cruises, open houses, and community forums.
     
     The Ports of Call
     
     The start of the tour was June 15th in Muskegon, Michigan which is the 
     home port of the W.G. Jackson vessel.  On June 24th and 25th, the 
     Waukegan Harbor Citizen's Advisory Group will host the W.G. Jackson.  
     This is followed by a stop at Navy Pier in Chicago on June 26th and 
     27th hosted by the U.S. EPA and the Chicago Academy of Sciences.  The 
     East Chicago Waterway Management District will welcome the vessel on 
     June 28th and June 29th.  The W.G. Jackson continues to St. Joseph 
     where the Friends of the St. Joe River will be planning events on June 
     30th .  The first part of the tour concludes in South Haven at the 
     Michigan Maritime Museum on July 1st .
     
     The W.G. Jackson will be on-hand for the festivities of Celebrate 
     White Lake on July 31st and the Coast Guard Festival in Grand Haven on 
     August 5th.  Later in August, the vessel will travel to the Wisconsin 
     Maritime Museum in Manitowoc on August 26th and Green Bay, Wisconsin 
     from August 27th -29th .  
     
     In September, the W.G. Jackson will join a number of research ships in 
     Milwaukee for the International Joint Commission meeting.
     
     The Results
     
     The Results
     Information about water quality will be collected at each port of 
     call.  Participants at the open houses will be sharing their concerns 
     about Lake Michigan with Forum members.  This will help in the 
     planning for Lake Michigan.  Building on the success of Making Lake 
     Michigan Great, there are plans for perhaps another tour in the summer 
     of 2000.  Follow the tour on the Lake Michigan Forum Internet site at 
     http://www.lkmichiganforum.org.
     
     For more information, call Janet Vail at (616) 895-3048.
     
     XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
     Dr. Janet Vail
     Co-chair, Lake Michigan Forum
     Grand Valley State University
     vailj@gvsu.edu