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Who Is Working Hard to Save Michigan’s Lighthouses?
By Dr. Steve Belko, Project Director of the Michigan Lighthouse Project As a result of the U. S. Coast Guard's decision to excess over seventy historic lighthouses in the state of Michigan, numerous individuals representing federal and state agencies, federal and state legislators, and national and regional nonprofit organizations convened in Lansing in the spring of 1998 to address the need for preserving these treasured structures on behalf of the public.
In order to more effectively resolve the various exigencies accompanying the transfer and preservation of such a large number of lighthouses, these governmental agencies and nonprofit organizations established the Michigan Lighthouse Project. In August of 1999, these same public and nonprofit entities signed a Memorandum of Agreement setting into motion the grand project of facilitating the transfer and ensuring the preservation of Michigan's historic lighthouses for generations to come.
The primary focus of the Project is the timely transfer of the historic lighthouses in Michigan to stewards capable of preserving the structures for the enjoyment of the public. Following the spirit and guidelines of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000, the Project seeks to transfer lighthouse property at no cost to federal agencies, state agencies, local governments, nonprofit corporations, or community development organizations. In most cases where a governmental entity takes ownership of a historic lighthouse, that entity will sign a lease with a nonprofit organization for the preservation and maintenance of the property. Furthermore, the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act specifically declares that light stations are to be used only for education, park, recreation, cultural, or historic preservation purposes.
The best procedure for securing public enjoyment of and support for preserving and exhibiting a Michigan lighthouse is to support policies and programs that mobilize and include community-wide interests, regardless of what governmental or nonprofit entity owns the property. A successful transfer and preservation of a lighthouse depends, therefore, on the active involvement and cooperation of the Project with local communities and nonprofit organizations. The Project also serves as a clearinghouse for all information concerning Michigan lighthouses and provides various types of assistance to all nonprofit and public entities owning, operating, preserving, or maintaining a lighthouse in the state of Michigan.
 The Project has two components: a transfer team consisting of all federal and state agencies and legislators responsible for the actual transfer process, and a community outreach coalition composed of nearly forty national, regional, statewide, and local nonprofit organizations. Current governmental members include, on the federal level, the U.S. Coast Guard, General Services Administration, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow. State governmental members include the State Historic Preservation Office, Department of Environmental Quality, Department of Natural Resources, and several state representatives and state senators.
The nonprofit arm of the Project is directly concerned with the future of Michigan’s historic lighthouses and possesses expertise in a variety of areas that directly affect these treasured structures. Whether by helping the efforts of the governmental members of the Project or by helping lighthouse stewards throughout the state, these nonprofit organizations not only assist the Project during the transfer process—by serving as a forum for offering and implementing ideas, plans, programs, or policies for better facilitating the transfer of lighthouses in Michigan; voicing grievances, concerns, or changes regarding the Project and its mission; and creating and directing any and all public relations, educational, and outreach programs concerning lighthouse transfers in Michigan—but they continue to assist lighthouse stewards throughout the entire process of preserving and maintaining the structures long after the transfer. The nonprofit organizations can help light station stewards and the communities in which they are located in a variety of ways: organizational development, technical assistance, community development, economic development, preservation and conservation, cultural and maritime heritage, tourism, and funding.
The Michigan Lighthouse Project also has a direct relationship to the Michigan Lighthouse Fund. Incorporated in the fall of 2002, the Michigan Lighthouse Fund receives and administers funds and other property solely for the purpose of preserving, protecting, restoring, rehabilitating, maintaining, and reconstructing light stations, lighthouses, and life saving stations located in the state of Michigan. Funds received are expended through grants, loans, and technical support efforts for agencies of Michigan State Government, local governmental units, and nonprofit organizations that own, or have a leasehold relationship with governmental units which own light stations, lighthouses, or life saving stations. The Fund can establish and support limited term, or “start-up,” organizations to support restoration and preservation efforts for light stations and other significant maritime properties. These auxiliary organizations, however, would be phased-out once a self-sustaining, locally based, organization is in place. The Fund will also act as the Project's fiduciary agent, assuming responsibility for all financial aspects concerning the administration of the Project and the Project Manager.
The state of Michigan has over 120 lighthouses -- more than any other state. Many reside along the extensive 3,200 miles of shoreline of Michigan’s mainland; some stand on remote islands or isolated shoals miles offshore. All have historic or architectural significance and are either listed or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. Two-thirds of Michigan’s lighthouses currently under federal ownership are scheduled for disposal within the next decade. The sheer number of these structures leaving federal jurisdiction created an immediate crisis, prompting the National Trust for Historic Preservation to name Michigan’s Historic Lighthouses to its list of America’s most endangered places.
Michigan’s lighthouses have become the state’s most identifiable icon, gracing tourism guides, welcome centers, city logos, and countless marquees, billboards, business cards, and storefronts. Rescuing these historic facilities and maintaining them on behalf of the public for generations to come has emerged as one of Michigan’s most popular endeavors. To facilitate this grand yet popular undertaking, the Michigan Lighthouse Projecthas emerged not only as the state's leader in lighthouse preservation, but it stands as the model for lighthouse transfer and preservation for the rest of the nation.
Read about Michigan’s Poverty Island Lighthouse.
Photos Used with Permission: (from top to bottom) DeTour Reef, White Shoal, Ludington NBW, and Fort Gratiot
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