Shipwrecks are a topic of enduring fascination and a window into Great Lakes history and science. The next installment in Wisconsin Sea Grant’s “Lake Talks” series will focus on a new sanctuary that will help protect Lake Michigan shipwrecks and enhance education and engagement surrounding them.

The free, online event takes place Thursday, Feb. 17 from 7 to 8 p.m. on Zoom. All are welcome to attend, but registration is required. Registration is open now.

Russ Green, pictured here, will be the featured presenter for the Lake Talks on Feb. 17. He’ll discuss a new marine sanctuary connected to Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan shipwrecks. (Submitted photo)

Russ Green, Great Lakes regional coordinator for the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, will present “What’s Next for the Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary?” Green will give an overview of the sanctuary and discuss several ongoing projects both on and off the water. The hour will include time for audience questions.

The sanctuary, which is administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), was officially designated in 2021. It stretches along Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan shoreline in state waters adjacent to Ozaukee, Sheboygan, Manitowoc and Kewaunee counties and encompasses 36 known shipwrecks.

Green brings a rich background to leading this effort, having worked in Great Lakes conservation for two decades, first as an underwater archaeologist for the state of Wisconsin and later as deputy superintendent at the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Alpena, Michigan.

He holds a graduate degree in maritime archaeology from East Carolina University. He has worked on maritime archaeology projects in Bermuda, Micronesia, Japan and along both U.S. coasts, including technical diving expeditions to the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor, which lies in 240 feet of water off North Carolina.

Green is also affiliated with Wisconsin Sea Grant, having joined its Advisory Council in 2021. Appointed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison chancellor, members of the council work to ensure that a variety of viewpoints inform Sea Grant’s functioning and that it remains accountable to stakeholders.

For Lake Talks event and registration information, visit the Sea Grant website, or follow Wisconsin Sea Grant on Facebook or Twitter. You can register for the Feb. 17 presentation now.

For questions about this series, contact Wisconsin Sea Grant science communicator Jennifer Smith.

The post Lake Talks series to explore Wisconsin’s marine sanctuary devoted to shipwrecks first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/lake-talks-series-to-explore-wisconsins-marine-sanctuary-devoted-to-shipwrecks/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=lake-talks-series-to-explore-wisconsins-marine-sanctuary-devoted-to-shipwrecks

Jennifer Smith

Russ Green, Great Lakes regional coordinator for the new Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary, dives a wreck. Contributed photo.

Russ Green used to be a college football coach. For four years, he was intimately familiar with the gridiron and its blocks, kick-offs and touchdowns. The precision of that turf configuration served him well in his succeeding profession, marine archaeology, which relies on exploratory dive sites that are mapped and measured in grids as a way to organize and understand underwater spaces and the heritage they yield.

His passion for marine archaeology has brought him to the role of Great Lakes regional coordinator for the Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary, which was officially designated this fall. In that role, he’s come quite a way since his graduate school days studying history. It was then he discovered the field. “I had no idea it even existed as a discipline; that it was a thing,” Green said.

A Lake Michigan shipwreck, the Continental, being sectioned into a grid to study the site. Photo by Tamara Thomsen, Wisconsin Historical Society.

He set aside history and went on to get a master’s degree in marine archaeology and marine studies from East Carolina University, worked for the Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS) Maritime Preservation and Archaeology Program and from 2004 to 2016 was at the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

Green has now joined the Wisconsin Sea Grant Advisory Council. His participation capitalizes on the complementary missions of the brand-new sanctuary and Sea Grant, a program cousin under the umbrella of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

“The sanctuary can be a great partner in communicating and studying climate change and other challenges facing Lake Michigan. I’m excited to join the council and learn more about how the sanctuary can support and facilitate broader Lake Michigan conservation,” Green said.

One example he called out are three buoys installed within sanctuary boundaries that will provide real-time data on wind, waves and water temperature at various depths. The information will mesh with Sea Grant’s research and education goals. The buoys were installed with support from the Great Lakes Observing System.

Green also already has a list of possible projects that draw on past activities, including educator participation in remote sensing with sonar. There has also been sanctuary support for an educator shipboard science workshop aboard the 19th-century replica schooner the Denis Sullivan. He hopes to see more of those in the future. Green also mentioned a series of mural installations in lakeshore communities, created in concert with Sea Grant, artists and educators based on prior collaborations.

Educators on a 2019 shipboard science cruise. Photo: Wisconsin Sea Grant.

“The sanctuary can support Sea Grant science. Eventually, we’ll have staff, vessels and other operational support on the coast that can help facilitate Sea Grant’s work here. The research we do also ties in really well with some shared goals in the science community—understanding the benthic habitat in Lake Michigan, for example” said Green. “The lakebed mapping that we’re doing can contribute to that with some back-end processing. Essentially, we can map once and use it many times.”

Out of the larger NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries that manages 15 locations protecting species, ecosystems and maritime history throughout the nation, the Wisconsin sanctuary is only the second based in fresh water. Its boundaries reach from Port Washington in the south to Two Rivers at the northern end, encompassing 36 known shipwrecks. Those wrecks are detailed on wisconsinshipwrecks.org, a joint Sea Grant-WHS website. The website is just one example from the 30-plus years Sea Grant has supported Great Lakes maritime archaeology, providing funding for projects and, more recently, educational workshops and a shipwreck learning kit.

The Wisconsin Sea Grant Advisory Council is appointed by the chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It is made up of leaders in academia; state, local and tribal bodies; industry and the public. It ensures that a variety of viewpoints inform Sea Grant’s functioning and is accountable to stakeholders. Current membership stands at 16 people.

The post From gridiron to shipwrecks to advisory council: Russ Green contributes to Lake Michigan care first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

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News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

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Moira Harrington

In late June, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) designated Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary (WSCNMS or sanctuary) in the fresh, cold waters of Lake Michigan. Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary Designation; Final Regulations, 86 Fed. Reg. 32,737 (to be codified at 15 C.F.R pt. 922). Following a review by Congress and the governor of Wisconsin, the designation will become effective in the first weeks of August, at which time NOAA will publish an announcement in the Federal Register. It will be the 16th national sanctuary and only the second in freshwater.

Authorized by the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce designates and protects sanctuaries of special significance for many reasons, including for their conservation, recreational, historical and educational qualities. The National Marine Sanctuaries Act aims to protect a sanctuary’s biological and cultural resources such as historic shipwrecks and archaeological sites. The secretary has delegated sanctuary management to NOAA. The Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast NMS, which is located in state waters adjacent to Ozaukee, Sheboygan, Manitowoc and Kewaunee counties, will be co-managed by the state of Wisconsin and NOAA.

“The new sanctuary brings well-deserved focus to the history and resources of this part of the Great Lakes. I am looking forward to new opportunities to work with another NOAA group on future education and outreach programs,” said Titus Seilheimer, a Wisconsin Sea Grant outreach specialist based in Manitowoc. For more than seven years, Seilheimer has coordinated sanctuary siting efforts with community leaders.

Fisheries Outreach Specialist Titus Seilheimer is gratified that seven years of collaborative planning for a new sanctuary has paid off.  (Photo: Wisconsin Sea Grant)

Encompassing more than 22,000 square miles, Lake Michigan is the second largest of the five Great Lakes. The lake’s water, and its fresh, cold temperatures are credited for playing a significant role in preserving 36 known shipwrecks and approximately 59 suspected shipwrecks with exceptional historical, archeological and recreational artifacts. The sanctuary has partnered with other groups to create web-accessible detailed maps of the lakebed, with potential for discovery of other wrecks. The documented ships wrecked within the 962 square miles of waters and submerged land of the WSCNMS, date back to as early as the 1800s.  They represent a part of history during the 19th and 20th centuries, when vessels of the like sailed and steamed west throughout Lake Michigan carrying goods, raw materials, and people. Wisconsinshipwrecks.org has details on Lake Michigan wrecks, along with those in Lake Superior and inland waters. There is also information other maritime attractions. 

One of the more notable wrecks in the sanctuary lies 165 feet below the surface. Sitting fully intact and upright on the lakebed is the Walter B. Allen, a 136-foot long boxy-hulled “canaller,” which sailed from 1866-1880. Walter B. Allen is a wooden schooner, which was used to transport grain and coal between New York and Chicago. Historically, canallers, like the Walter B. Allen, were constructed specifically to fit perfectly through the Welland Canal Locks and are unique to the Great Lakes.

Sea Grant funding allowed for the 3-D imaging of the Walter B. Allen by partners at the Wisconsin Historical Society. (Photo: Tamara Thomsen, Wisconsin Historical Society)

The preservation of the wrecks within the sanctuary extends beyond just the ships, as even the cargo remains intact. Among these preserved artifacts are locally produced goods, Christmas trees, general merchandise, a submerged aircraft and even cars, including 264 Nash automobiles from 1929. The designation protects artifacts from potential loss and damage by anchors from dive boats, entanglement of fishing gear, poorly attached mooring lines and the moving of, theft, or looting of the sunken artifacts. There is also the ever-present threat from further invasive species being introduced to the lake waters. Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary Designation; Final Regulations, 86 Fed. Reg. at 32,738.

Shipwreck artifacts, such as a Christmas tree (visible in the lower left), also tell the story of final Great Lakes’ voyages. (Photo: Tamara Thomsen, Wisconsin Historical Society)

The designation plans for the sanctuary are geared toward ensuring that it not only continues to exist, but also engages the community. For instance, the sanctuary is expected to boost the local economy by attracting 70,000 tourists from around the region, nation and globe each year and bringing in an estimated $10 million

Additionally, in response to community concerns, NOAA established a  Sanctuary Advisory Council comprising a diverse group of community leaders to provide advice on management and protection. With an incredible and rich maritime story, the sanctuary will provide communities a platform for heritage tourism as they educate and organize around an underwater museum.

Following the designation, NOAA announced a ban on grappling into or anchoring on shipwreck sites that will remain until October 2023. The ban provides NOAA with time to create a mooring program, develop maps, and install a permanent mooring system that balances public access and resource protection.

After several years of relying on state laws and Lake Michigan’s fresh cold waters as protection, the artifacts that lay on the lakebed will now enjoy more collaborative protections to help them survive for posterity. With history buffs and adventure seekers alike soon able to safely participate in regulated exploration and discoveries within her waters, the future of the Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary and all that she has to discover is bright.

The post New marine sanctuary adds protections for historic Lake Michigan shipwrecks first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/new-marine-sanctuary-adds-protections-for-historic-lake-michigan-shipwrecks/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new-marine-sanctuary-adds-protections-for-historic-lake-michigan-shipwrecks

Moira Harrington