Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Releases Final General Management Plan / Wilderness Study

Looking North from Empie Bluff

Terry Phipps

News Release Date: November 4, 2008

Contact: Dusty Shultz or Tom Ulrich, 231-326-5134

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Superintendent Dusty Shultz announced today that the Final General Management Plan/Wilderness Study/Environmental Impact Statement (Final GMP/WS/EIS) is now available for public review.

The planning process for this Final GMP/WS/EIS began in early 2006. Since the process started, National Park Service (NPS) staff members have conducted an extensive public involvement and outreach program, meeting with more than 2,600 people in more than 95 informational meetings.

The Final GMP/EIS/WS was crafted from the valuable public comment received on the draft plan, and includes revisions to the preferred alternative based upon this input. Perhaps the most significant changes are that the Cottonwood Trail into the dunes from the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive has been removed from proposed wilderness, and electric motors will be allowed on Otter, Tucker, and Bass (Leelanau County) lakes.

Copies of the plan are available online at the following web link: Final GMP/EIS/WS, at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Visitor Center, and at the following public libraries: Benzie Shores District Library, Darcy Library of Beulah, Glen Lake Community Library, Leelanau Township Library, Leland Township Library, Library of Michigan, Suttons Bay Bingham District Library, and Traverse City District Library.

Following distribution of the plan and a 30-day no-action period, a “Record of Decision” will be signed by the National Lakeshore Superintendent and the NPS Regional Director documenting the selection of the alternative to be implemented.

Superintendent Shultz said, “I would like to express my appreciation for everyone’s continued interest in this very special place. Working together, we have developed a final plan that maintains a variety of recreational opportunities while continuing to preserve and protect the natural and cultural resources of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. We could not have done this without the public input we received.”

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