Protecting the Great Lakes
Continuing its commitment to the Great Lakes, the Fund for the Environment worked with a
number of institutional partners in the protection of the water quality of the Great Lakes.
In June 2020, the Fund, in collaboration with businesswoman and Great Lakes water protection
advocate Terri Wilkerson, began the process of documenting the physical condition of the 67-
year-old Enbridge Line 5 dual oil pipelines on the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac, traveling
between the Lower and Upper Peninsulas. Line 5 was the subject of litigation brought by
Michigan Attorney General’s office over whether it should be shut down to protect the
Great Lakes from a disastrous oil spill. The judge overseeing the litigation had indicated that he
was frustrated that there was no independent documentation of the condition of the pipelines.
Continuing its commitment to the Great Lakes, Fund for the Environment is working with a number of institutional partners in the protection of the water quality of the Great Lakes. If you are interested in supporting this effort, please go to the Donation page and join us!
Ancient Archeological Site Discovered
Thanks to support from the Fund, having raised more than $40,000 during the first few months,
Terri and representatives of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, along with a small group
of Water Protectors from Michigan’s tribes, as well as researchers from the University of
Michigan and several nonprofit partners, were able to secure a survey vessel that had a side-scan
sonar. The team used a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) acquired expressly to
conduct the research, and a jiimaan, a culturally significant community-owned 32-foot wooden
canoe, to support the research. As the images from the side-scan sonar came in, they appeared
to show evidence of ancient archeological sites similar to those in Grand Traverse Bay and on
Beaver Island. The images from the ROV taken over a period of three days suggest this may be
one of the most significant archeological finds in the Great Lakes in at least the last decade.
Evidence suggests the stones arranged in circular and linear patterns may be remnants from the
people living in this area during the Ice Age 10,000 years ago. At that time, the Great Lakes
were much shallower and these sites were located on land abutting a river connecting Lake
Michigan and Lake Huron.
To learn more, see the press coverage below.
Photo by: Adam Zwickle
Press Coverage: