Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail receives $2 million in grants
From staff reports
The Leelanau Scenic Heritage Route Committee, Michigan Department of Transportation, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (National Lakeshore), Traverse Area Recreation and Transportation (TART) Trails, Inc., and Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes are proud to announce that the Federal Highway Administration has awarded two grants towards construction of 3.7 miles of the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail (SBHT). The National Scenic Byways Program awarded $328,000 to help fund the survey and design engineering of the trail from Glen Arbor north to the Port Oneida Rural Historic District, and the Public Lands Highway Discretionary (PLHD) program awarded $1.646 million towards the construction of the same section.
The SBHT will be a hard-surfaced, multi-use trail paralleling state highways M-22 and M-109 for 27 miles through the National Lakeshore. It will provide a safe, non-motorized, multi-use transportation alternative connecting the National Lakeshore’s main visitor destinations with the neighboring communities of Glen Arbor and Empire.
“All the trail supporters are very pleased and thankful for these grant awards,” said Patty O’Donnell of the Northwest Michigan Council of Governments, project manager for the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail. “These awards recognize that the SBHT will provide a meaningful transportation alternative, as well as an outstanding recreational opportunity for all users.”
National Lakeshore Superintendent Dusty Shultz noted that the grant awards were announced less than a week after the groundbreaking for the SBHT. “It has been a wonderful week!” said Shultz. “Having these grants come in on the heels of the groundbreaking event shows that the trail has support at all levels; from our neighbors in the community on up to the highest levels of government.”
Brad Anderson, one of the tri-chairs for the “Pathways to Sleeping Bear” trail campaign, said the grants motivate him to intensify his fundraising efforts. “Our fundraising plan is that 50% of the trail funding will come from government grants, and 50% from private donations,” said Anderson. “If people as far away as Washington can see the importance of funding this trail, I can only imagine that folks here in Leelanau County, and the Grand Traverse region will also want to help in some way.”
The National Scenic Byways Program provides funding to states and Indian Tribes to implement projects on highways designated as National Scenic Byways; All-American Roads; America’s Byways®; State Scenic Byways; or Indian Tribe Scenic Byways. Funding supports projects that manage and protect outstanding scenic, historic, cultural, natural, recreational, and archeological qualities along these byways; interpret these qualities for visitors; and improve visitor facilities.
The PLHD program provides funding for transportation planning, research, and engineering and construction of highways, roads, parkways, and transit facilities that are within, adjacent to, or provide access to federal public lands which includes national parks, refuges, forests, recreation areas, and grasslands.
The Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail is a project of the Leelanau Scenic Heritage Route Committee. Trail development is a partnership between the Heritage Route Committee, the Michigan Department of Transportation, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes, and TART Trails. Funding for trail development comes from federal and state grants, foundations, and individual donations.
For more information on the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail, please contact Patty O’Donnell at (231) 929-5039 or National Lakeshore Deputy Superintendent Tom Ulrich at (231) 326-5134. For information on how to support the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail, contact TART Trails at (231) 941-4300, or visit www.sleepingbeartrail.org.
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