Michigan’s eastern Upper Peninsula boasts a vibrant natural and cultural history. However, the area has seen a notable loss in jobs, population, and tourism. One of the region’s challenges is to develop new economic opportunities and diversify the local economy. Thanks to the state’s diverse habitats and species, Michigan has many popular birding locations. By identifying and publicizing their own local birding hot spots, eastern Upper Peninsula communities can entice some of those visitors to their area.

Michigan Sea Grant helped create an interactive online birding trail and informational website to encourage winter tourism along the shores of Lake Huron in the Upper Peninsula. The interactive map and website direct birders to local birding hotspots, describe areas unique to the eastern Upper Peninsula, and help people understand the importance of shoreline habitat for bird migration and breeding. The North Huron Birding Trail has generated thousands of unique views since it debuted in 2016. In addition, Michigan Sea Grant held several birding presentations and hosted birding trips that reached 147 people — and brought tourist money to the eastern Upper Peninsula.

Michigan Sea Grant funds the Sustainable Small Harbors project to identify barriers preventing small harbors from becoming economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable, and to equip coastal community leaders with the tools to assess and strengthen their own waterfront assets.

 In 2017, Michigan Sea Grant hosted a webinar with state partners to share the Sustainable Small Harbors (SSH) Tools and Tactics Guidebook. More than 75 people from states across the Great Lakes participated in the webinar. Michigan Sea Grant acquired state funding to print and distribute the guidebook to several stakeholder groups. Michigan Sea Grant also expanded partnerships with state agencies and recreational harbormasters to further develop the SSH program and reach additional coastal communities. The Michigan Sea Grant team was recognized with a regional outreach award from the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network in June 2017 for its successful work on this project.

Recreational and commercial fisheries are a vital part of Michigan’s heritage, with Great Lakes fisheries valued at approximately $7 billion annually. Solid management of these resources begins with solid science - which requires solid data. Michigan Sea Grant developed three citizen science programs to engage anglers in learning about their fishery and provide data that could inform decision-making. The Salmon Ambassadors program and Great Lakes Angler Diary app enable anglers to submit observations on harvest of wild and stocked salmon and other species. The Huron-Michigan Diet Study encourages anglers to collect fish stomachs needed for research on the Great Lakes’ changing food web. Michigan Sea Grant’s how-to videos, signs, and demonstrations promote and teach volunteers proper collection procedures.

In 2017, Salmon Ambassadors and Great Lakes Angler Diary users recorded data on 1,305 Chinook salmon to determine the percent of fish that are wild or hatchery raised. App users also submitted complete data for an additional 363 fish of other species and collected 59 stomachs for the fish diet study. Volunteers with both programs collected a combined total of 146 Chinook salmon snouts that contained coded wire tags. Additional volunteers also collected more than 1,000 fish stomachs.