Contact: Tim Ervin
231-723-4325
tervin26@charter.net

COMMUNITY RALLIES AROUND PROTECTING
PORTAGE LAKE WATERSHED FOREVER

Onekama, Michigan – Hundreds of people that live, work, and recreate in Manistee County’s Portage Lake watershed have put a plan in place that is second to none and their goals are not modest: to protect the Portage Lake watershed forever.

And that plan is now available for everyone to review and comment on in draft form; the Portage Lake Watershed Forever Plan.

“People have rolled up their sleeves, put a plan in place and now we need to get comments and put that plan into action,” said Mike Acton, chair of the Portage Lake Watershed Forever Executive Committee. “For this lake and this watershed to be protected forever, we knew that everyone needed to get involved from day one and build a plan that is by, for, and about the Portage Lake watershed. The outpouring of people, talent and event funding has been awesome, unlike anything that’s ever happened that we know of in Manistee County.”

A copy of the draft plan is available for review at the Onekama Branch Library and online at www.pscinc.com/documents/PLWF/. Comments or questions can be directed to Laura Heintzelman at laura_heintzelman@yahoo.com or 231-409-0211. The deadline for comments on the draft plan is December 7, 2007, but input is always welcome.

Acton said that an endowment has been established at the Manistee County Community Foundation in an effort to ensure that the plan will be implemented forever. Acton said that the initial goal is raise a minimum of $500,000 in endowed funds so that about $25,000 could be available annually for a variety of watershed protection, improvement and monitoring projects. More information about the Portage Lake Watershed Forever Endowment Fund is available by contacting the Community Foundation at 231-723-7269 or www.manisteefoundation.org.

Public Sector Consultants (www.pscinc.com), a Lansing-based firm, provided neutral guidance to the community in the development of the plan. Heintzelman reports that the citizen involvement in molding the plan included:

 Over 50 individuals, businesses, civic groups and organizations, and units of local, state, and federal government signed the Portage Lake Watershed Forever Plan Partnership Agreement, expressing their support for the development of the plan.
 More than 150 stakeholders representing diverse interests participated in community conversations and a community forum to provide information about how they use the watershed, their concerns about its health, and their vision for its future.
 Individuals representing 250 households in the watershed participated in a telephone survey conducted by Public Sector Consultants to provide more detailed information about watershed uses, concerns, and their level of support for potential solutions.
 A Portage Lake Watershed Forever Committee was formed with over 50 individual members representing diverse interests, and membership is open to anyone.
 An 18 member Executive Committee, formed as a subset of the full committee, helped guide and track the day to day planning process.
 Over 40 technical advisors from local, state, and federal government agencies and organizations provided technical expertise and guidance in the development of the plan.
 Over 200 people to date have attended various other community meetings to learn about and provide input on the draft Portage Lake Watershed Forever Plan.

“The planning process for the Portage Lake Watershed Forever Plan is exemplary because it is for, by, and about everyone concerned with the long-term health of this watershed that is directly connected to Lake Michigan”, said Mike Stifler, director of the Water Division of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) Cadillac District Office.

A final plan will be submitted to the MDEQ for approval in early 2008 and approval is anticipated by spring 2008. Approval will make the community eligible for sources of state and federal funding for plan implementation.