Ice on Lake Huron. Photo by Bob Montgomery.Ice on Lake Huron. Photo by Bob Montgomery.
Midwestern

Coastal Centre adds partner across the border

The Lake Huron Coastal Centre’s Coastal Watchers program now has a partner on the American side of the lake.

Coastal Stewardship Technician Alyssa Bourassa says they expanded their Coast Watcher volunteer base to the Michigan side of Lake Huron in 2022 with the help of Huron Pines. Bourassa says Huron Pines shares many of the same conservation values as the Lake Huron Coastal Centre, making the organization an excellent partner for the Coastal Watcher program. Its mission is to conserve and enhance Northern Michigan’s natural resources.

“Reports from Michigan Coastal Watchers will help develop a full picture to understand Lake Huron for us. So it’s really great to have some American Coastal Watchers be involved, and it’s just a really exciting prospect to grow the program,” said Bourassa.

Many challenges on the Canadian side of the lake also exist on the American side, with some differences.

“The way that the sediments move on that side of the lake, the way dunes are formed, some of the erosion aspects are flipped, like the way the winds go, the way the water generally goes is flipped because it’s the other side of the lake,” added Bourassa.

Bourassa says invasive species concerns are similar on both sides of the lake. Bourassa says they only have a handful of Coastal Watchers in Michigan but hope to grow the program. As the program grows, it'll get more information about conditions on the U.S. side of Lake Huron.

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