New Legislation Would Preserve Sleeping Bear Dunes As Wilderness - Northern Michigan's News Leader

New Legislation Would Preserve Sleeping Bear Dunes As Wilderness

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A new effort to preserve the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore as Wilderness, is gaining traction in Washington, D.C.

A bill that gives the highest possible Federal Protection to much of the Lakeshore, passed in the Senate earlier this week, and is now waiting for a possible vote in the House of Representatives.

The bill would protect more than 32,000 undeveloped acres of the Lakeshore.

Those at Sleeping Bear Dunes are hoping it will pass, protecting and preserving one of the Nation's most beautiful places.

Environmental Protection Specialist, Dianne Flaugh says,

     "It will give us a lot of clarity.  Right now, we're managing a lot of our park as wilderness, based on a 1981 recommendation; and that 1981 recommendation included some areas that are not included in the current recommendation that's before Congress." 

If passed, the bill would still allow people to hunt, fish, hike, and camp in designated areas of the park.