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I attended the meeting regarding Isle Royale which was held yesterday in = Ann=0AArbor. While I could only stay for the open house portion, I spoke= at length=0Awith Elizabeth Valencia of the National Park Service. I thi= nk we divers have=0Anothing to worry about. Below is my summary, written as an article for submission to my dive club= =0Anewsletter for publication. It is lengthy, and has some information n= ot=0Adirectly related to diving, but which is related to the plans for th= e park.=0APlease feel free to forward it to anyone else you think might b= e interested. JS ----------------- << "Hello fellow divers, This note was sent to me through a sporting organization that I belong to= .. I=0Athink that anyone who has dived Isle Royale might be alarmed by th= is. It appears that this is the tip of the iceberg. If the park is closed to= =0Ahikers and canoeists and the public in general, us divers will probabl= y be=0Aincluded also. The current park service has a restriction of 140 = ffw for the=0Awrecks there. If you can take the cold, you will find a bu= nch of fantastic=0Adive sites from 0ffw to 200+ffw. " >> <<< "Subject: Isle Royale To All, We have a very important issue taking place in this great state of ours. = It=0Ais taking place up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula on Isle Royale. T= he United=0ANations ( that's right the U.N.) has claimed Isle Royal as a = "United Nations=0ABio-diversity site". There are currently plans to elim= inate any dwellings on=0Athe island, remove all the inhabitants and contr= ol the entire island under the=0Aguise of the United Nations. Last time = I checked, we the people of the state=0Aof Michigan owned this island. T= here is a open house/presentation slated for=0AMonday, April 27th in Ann = Arbor, Michigan. The address of the presentation is=0A2781 Packard and b= egins at 5:30 pm with the open house. The presentation is=0Ato follow at= 6:30 pm. We must show up in force and contact our elected=0Aofficials I= MMEDIATELY AND OPPOSE THIS! More information is continuing to flow in, and I will keep you updated=0A= A.S.A.P." >>> When I first saw the message on the cavers and techdiver mailing lists, i= t=0Asounded odd, but in regards to proposed modifications of access for d= ivers to=0AMichigan waterways, I've heard stranger things. The gist of the message was that Isle Royale National Park, located in La= ke=0ASuperior waters off of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, was to be de= signated a=0A"United Nations bio-diversity zone" and access to the island= would be severely=0Alimited. A public meeting was scheduled in Ann Arbo= r, Michigan on April 27,=0A1998. The address for the meeting was in the = message, but no location was=0Anamed. I'd never heard of UN bio-diversity zones, and I doubted that a national= =0Atreasure like the Isle Royale National Park would not be controlled by= US=0Ainterests and continue to allow visitors. As luck would have it, b= usiness=0Atravel took me to Ann Arbor on Monday April 27 and I was able t= o visit the=0Amystery location and attend a portion of the meeting. (The= address was within=0Atwo miles of the home I sold in Ann Arbor just a fe= w months ago before=0Arelocating to Florida. It turned out to be the bar= n next to Cobblestone Farm=0Ain Buhr Park.) I have been aware in the past of efforts to increase legislation in Michi= gan=0Aregarding underwater preserves and access to shipwrecks. This prop= osed=0Alegislation generally sought to limit diver access to shipwrecks, = while not=0Aaffecting access for boating or fishing. Meetings regarding = that proposed=0Alegislation have generally been held during the day, in t= he middle of the=0Aweek, in the state capitol in Lansing, Michigan, and n= ot been well publicized.=0AIn light of this past history, I could believe= almost anything was possible in=0AIsle Royale. Isle Royale is primarily a northwoods wilderness and maritime park. Ther= e is=0Aone overnight lodge at the east end of the main island. Visitors = come to the=0Aisland to hike, backpack, motorboat, canoe, kayak, sail, sc= uba dive, or fish. Those of us who have been concerned or alarmed by the prior information c= an=0Anow breathe a sigh of relief. No major upheaval is taking place. T= he=0ANational Park Service is in the middle of a process to update the Ge= neral=0AManagement Plan/Environmental Impact Statement (GMP) for Isle Roy= ale. The=0Aeffort is intended to address park management for the next 15= -20 years. The GMP process began in July 1995 and has solicited public input by hold= ing=0Ameetings and publishing newsletters explaining the proposals since = that time.=0ABased on public response, the plan and several alternatives = were proposed and=0Adetailed maps were created. Public meetings were hel= d in March 1997 in=0ADuluth, Minnesota, and Ann Arbor and Houghton, Michi= gan. These meetings were=0Aattended by 75-150 people each. The current proposal is the product of the public input from these meetin= gs=0Aand responses to information in the newsletters sent to interested p= arties. A=0Adraft of the GMP is available on the National Park Service w= eb site:=0Ahttp://www.nps.gov/planning/current.htm. Additional public in= put is again=0Abeing solicited through public meetings like the one in An= n Arbor. Some interesting points to note: The park was established by congress in= =0A1931. It has been designated as an International Biosphere Reserve un= der the=0AUnited Nations' Man and the Biosphere Program since 1980. The = effect of the=0AUN designation is simply to recognize that Isle Royale is= a special place. No=0Alaws or legislation are a result of this designat= ion. At the time the park=0Awas established, the National Park Service p= urchased the homes which were=0Acurrently on the island. Life leases wer= e given to the owners, who were=0Aallowed to remain there for their lifet= ime. Some owners are currently in=0Atheir 50's, so residents will remain= on the island for many years. The proposed GMP does include some changes to the island and the use of i= ts=0Afacilities, but most will have little or no impact to divers, and mi= nimal=0Aimpact to other park visitors. Two no-motorized boat zones will = be=0Aestablished in portions of McCargoe Cove and Pickeral Cove. These a= re the=0Aonly such zones in the current proposal. Other low-speed, no-wa= ke zones will=0Abe established in some areas. The docks at Three Mile and Siskwitt Bay are being removed. A new one, a= nd=0Acamping facilities, will be established at Fisherman's Home on Wrigh= t's=0AIsland. The dock at Hay Bay will be replaced. That dock will be m= oved about=0Ahalf a mile from its current location and another campground= will be=0Aestablished near the new dock. The campground near the existi= ng dock will=0Aremain. In Rock Harbor, the lodge units will be removed and additional housekeepi= ng=0Acabins will replace them. The dining room will be replaced by a caf= =E9. This=0Aaction is intended to reduce costs and make the non-camping = overnight=0Afacilities more reasonably priced to encourage utilization. = A section of the=0Ahiking trail near Lake Ritchie is being removed in ord= er to reduce congestion=0Aat Chippewa Harbor. The marina at Windigo and = Rock Harbor will stay. Currently, divers are required to register their itinerary with the park = prior=0Ato diving. For example, divers may say that they plan to dive th= e Camloops,=0Aand then the America. Afterwards, they are asked to indica= te where they=0Aactually dove. There are certain areas where running of = compressors is not=0Apermitted. The park does not dictate depth restrict= ions, or other dive=0Aprocedures. Any such restrictions would be imposed= and enforced by the four=0Adive charter services who have permits to ope= rate in Isle Royale. (Such=0Arestrictions are common in Great Lakes recr= eational dive charters.) It is=0Apossible to do technical dives from the= charter services in Isle Royale if=0Aarrangements are made with the char= ter service in advance. Private boats may=0Abe used to dive Isle Royale. The park has a good relationship with the divers who visit there. One=0A= organization in the twin cities area in Minnesota, the Great Lakes Shipwr= eck=0APreservation Society, has worked with the park to restore a wall an= d bunk on=0Athe America which were becoming damaged. This wreck is the m= ost dived in the=0Apark, receiving about 400 divers a year. More restora= tion efforts are=0Aplanned. The park is eager to have divers help them d= ocument the shipwrecks=0Anear the park's waters. In summary, the National Park Service is proposing changes to Isle Royale= =0ANational Park. Some of the changes will affect visitors to the park, = however,=0Amost of the changes in the current proposal minimally impact u= se, and have=0Aeven less impact on diving. Comments on the plan are bein= g accepted through=0AMay 15, 1998 and may be mailed to: Isle Royale General Management Plan Project Leader National Park Service Denver Service Center P.O. Box 25287 Denver, CO 80225 See the web site listed above, or call the superintendent for more inform= ation=0Aat (906) 482-0984. -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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