Before the end of this year, Congress may approve “wilderness” legislation for the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore that — despite the implication of the word — would forever guarantee public access to the Park’s pristine beaches along county roads, to historic manmade structures, and continue to allow hunting and fishing within the Lakeshore.
History comes alive at six historic sites during the annual Port Oneida Fair at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The Port Oneida Fair will be held Aug. 9 and 10 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. In addition to the many popular demonstrations, animals and exhibits, the fair will be a zero-waste event, will feature a chicken dinner on Friday, and will end with an astronomy party on Saturday night.
Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear (PHSB) was founded in 1998 in an attempt to halt the demolition of several buildings owned by the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Some 15 years later, the organization continues a partnership with the National Park Service in which its volunteers maintain and restore those buildings.
Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear (PHSB) preserves historic buildings and landscapes in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, but also provides ways for people to learn from and understand the history of these symbols of our past. This summer a number of interpretive programs are being offered that get people out on the landscape and inside some of the historic farmsteads of the Port Oneida Rural Historic District.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore will host its annual pruning workshop on Friday, May 3, in the Port Oneida Rural Historic District. The workshop will be held at the Dechow farmstead in the Port Oneida Rural Historic District, four miles north of Glen Arbor on M-22 across from Port Oneida Road. Directional signs will be placed to help participants to the location.
The Detroit Free Press and other media outlets report that the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has awarded $100,000 to the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) to extend the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Heritage Trail an additional 4.75 miles.
Join the Leelanau Outdoor Center on Feb. 2 for its first annual snowshoe stampede, including a 5K race and one-mile snowflake race (ages 12 and under), food and entertainment in the dodge and prizes for first, second and third place. Net proceeds from the event go to tuition assistance for schools to attend the Outdoor Center, which is located at 1653 Port Oneida Road. Here are the costs: $15 early registration includes lunch; $20 day of registration; $12 snowshoe rentals $8 kid rentals. Race starts at 10:30 a.m.
The nonprofit Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes works with the management and staff of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore to plan and implement projects that the National Park Service is unable to do because of limited budget or staff. This year has been a banner year in terms of volunteer hours and funds provided to the Park, reports Friends of the Sleeping Bear.
Despite the wet weather earlier this month, educators and community members from Leelanau, Grand Traverse and Antrim Counties attended the first annual Branch Out! Conference, hosted by the Leelanau Outdoor Center (LOC). This conference was designed to provide attendees with an awareness of the significant impact of getting students outside of classroom walls, and presenters included representatives from the National Wildlife Federation, the National Park Service and the Leelanau Outdoor Center.
