GLIN==> Ohio Sea Grant Publishes Lake Erie Shipwrecks Brochure

["Jill Jentes Banicki" <jentes.1@osu.edu>]

Ohio Sea Grant Publishes Lake Erie Shipwrecks Brochure

Lorain, OH – Ohio Sea Grant has released a new full-color brochure, Lake Erie Shipwrecks and Maritime Tales, which details the location of 28 shipwrecks. The free brochure can be located at all Ohio Sea Grant Extension offices, coastal visitor's bureaus, maritime museums, coastal dive centers, or by calling the Lorain County Visitors Bureau at 1-800-334-1673.

Lake Erie Shipwrecks and Maritime Tales coincides with the launch of the interactive Lake Erie shipwrecks website found at www.ohioshipwrecks.org, where the brochure can also be found for printing. Together, they seek to inform and educate the public of the presence of Lake Erie shipwrecks and the importance of preserving and protecting these historic time capsules.

“The advantage of having the brochure is that people can carry it with them when they are visiting Ohio's Lake Erie coastal area,” states Dave Kelch, Ohio Sea Grant Extension Specialist. “We really want the public to discover the maritime history of Lake Erie.”

The brochure boasts 28 wreck sites, providing details on latitude, longitude, vessel description and history as well as specific tips for divers. Also included are locations of 30 historic lighthouses and museums and maps for directions. An online version of the brochure can be found at http://www.ohioshipwrecks.org/images/siteimages/Eric013_Shipwreck_web.pdf.

Despite being the shallowest of all the Great Lakes, averaging depths of 62 feet, Lake Erie is home to more than 1,700 shipwrecks, of which only 277 have been found. Increased water clarity over the years now gives the public new opportunities to see these sites for themselves.

The grant for this publication was provided by the Ohio Lake Erie Commission, through its Lake Erie Protection Fund. Funding for the grant comes from Ohioans purchasing “Erie…Our Great Lake” License plates. Additional funding was provided by Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Ohio Coastal Management Program.

Ohio Sea Grant Extension is within The Ohio State University Extension and is part of Ohio Sea Grant College Program. For more information on Ohio Sea Grant visit www.ohioseagrant.osu.edu. For the shipwrecks website, visit www.ohioshipwrecks.org.

For more information on the publication, contact Dave Kelch at 440.326.5851 or kelch.3@osu.edu.