By Carol South
Special to the Record-Eagle
July 01, 2008 07:14 pm Giddiness reigns among members of the Grand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve council, volunteers and supporters. As of June 6, the proposed preserve is officially the 12th Bottomlands Underwater Preserve. The area covers both arms of the Grand Traverse Bay on a line extending from Northport to Norwood, sweeping south to Traverse City. The quest for a preserve began in the fall of 2005 with paperwork filed the next summer. Despite hurdles along the way, the approval rocketed through the multi-step process that involved local and state officials. Most preserve designations take two to three times as long. "Spark plug" Greg MacMaster revived a vision dormant since the 1980s, said council president Jack Spencer, and the effort quickly coalesced into an inclusive team. Supporters reached from the community to state government with divers from around the country expressing interest and excitement. A core team of 30-40 volunteers sustained the ongoing effort. "This has been a real exciting road and what's real exciting for me is we've garnered people from all walks of life: people who have expertise in doing Web sites and underwater high definition video, people with education backgrounds, people who can write for grants," said Spencer, owner of Scuba North in Traverse City. "Greg has just bounced off all these people and brought them into the mix," he added. The Grand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve is a fund of the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation. The underwater preserve designation opens the door to documenting and protecting a treasure trove of history and archeology. Scans conducted the past two summers indicate that even more finds await detection. "Several schooners we know are out there we've got to find, there's a barge with a crane on it we've got to find and these drones," said Spencer, the latter referring to the Grand Traverse Bay's attraction during World War II as a testing site for new aircraft. As leaders begin the next stage of this work, the Grand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve has greatly benefited from two collaborations. First, Dr. Mark Holley, a prominent underwater archeologist, brings his research time, training and expertise. Holley has also been teaching underwater archeology classes at Northwestern Michigan College. In addition, preserve members stress the generosity of Brian Abbott of Nautilus Marine Group in Haslett, whose sonar scans can document wrecks in a day. Divers might take years of effort to match these results. "The sector scanning equipment is very expensive and we're very fortunate that they've donated their time and equipment," said Chris Doyal of Williamsburg, a volunteer with the organization. "In the short amount of time we've surveyed the bay, looking in a certain amount of areas, we've found all sorts of things, like a horse drawn carriage from the 1800s." One item common to other underwater preserves is an intentionally sunken vessel. The Grand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve council is not pursuing an intentional sinking, instead leaving it to a community group to spearhead. Beyond historical findings, another contribution of the Grand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve can make to the local community is money. The organization believes the preserve will generate millions of dollars from both recreational divers and archeological researchers. The preserve may help reinvigorate underwater tourism in Michigan, which, despite extensive bottomlands, ranks 13th in the nation as a desirable dive destination. "Scuba diving is one of those sports where most people can participate, as long as they don't have any major health risks," said Doyal, who has dived all over the world. "For an hour or so you just check out from your everyday life." For more information about the Grand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve, go to www.gtbup.org. The organization is hosting two upcoming free, public events. Dr. Mark Holley will present the paper he gave in June at the World Archaeological Congress on Wednesday, July 9, from 7-9 p.m. at the Hagerty Center. A celebration party for the Grand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve will be held at Shooters in Traverse City on Saturday, July 12, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
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Photos
Cleaning up what since just last week is part of the newly designated 12th Underwater Preserve in the state, divers from around the area participated in an annual clean up organized by the Traverse Area Association of Realtors Environmental Committee, the Watershed Center, Great Lakes Scuba and Scuba North. For the past three years, the Grand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve has worked to create the preserve, whose designation will be a boon for diving tourism and also boosts historical and archeological research. Special to the Herald
Remains of an old dock are just one of many dive opportunities at Hasserot Beach in Old Mission. Special to the Record-Eagle