State of Michigan to receive Big Sable Lighthouse The Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Land Management, United States Coast Guard and the Big Sable Lighthouse Keepers Association will host a Nov. 1 transfer ceremony of the Big Sable Lighthouse to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. This historic event will be held at the Great Lakes Visitor Center, located within Ludington State Park, at 2 p.m. In 1866, By Executive Order, the Big Sable Point Lighthouse property was withdrawn from general public use and set-aside for lighthouse purposes. The US Coast Guard in 1994 notified the Bureau of Land Management that the lighthouse was no longer needed as a guiding light for ships. The Michigan DNR then submitted an application for the property to become part of Ludington State Park. The ceremony is held to recognize the first transfer of a lighthouse property from the Federal government to the State of Michigan through the signing of the Federal patent, and to sign the lease from the Michigan DNR to the Big Sable Lighthouse Keepers Association, who will operate the lighthouse. Those invited include representatives from the Michigan DNR, BLM, Coast Guard, Big Sable Lighthouse Keepers Association, Michigan Lighthouse Project, Senator Carl Levin (D- MI), Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI, 1st), Congressman Peter Hoekstra (R-MI, 2nd), and state officials. The public is invited to join in the ceremony. Prior to the ceremony everyone is invited to participate in a naturalist-guided, 3-mile hike to the lighthouse and back. That group will meet at the parking lot in front of the state park booth by the fish cleaning station at 10 a.m. for the hike. Lighthouses around the Great Lakes are viewed by many as national resources and treasured for their historic, cultural and scenic values. The lands surrounding the lighthouses also merit special attention because they provide important habitats for the hundreds of animal, bird, and plant species, which rely on the Great Lakes ecosystem for their survival. For more information contact Paul Salvatore, BLM Eastern States Milwaukee Field Office at 414-297-4413 or Jerry Bukoski, Michigan DNR at 517-241-3213
Source: MDNR
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