In September, NOAA released a final rule and environmental impact statement expanding the boundaries of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Lake Huron from 448 square miles to 4,300 square miles.
The new boundaries now include the waters of Lake Huron adjacent to Michigan’s Alcona, Alpena and Presque Isle counties to the Canadian border.
The expansion is based on several years of research by NOAA and its many scientific partners, and now protects an additional 100 known and suspected historic shipwreck sites.
Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary is one of 14 sites managed by NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, and the only one in the Great Lakes. Thunder Bay features some of the world’s best-preserved shipwrecks.
The final rule and environmental assessment may be downloaded from the sanctuary’s website, http://thunderbay.noaa.gov.
source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration