LETTER: Shipwrecks are well taken care of without NOAA’s interference

To Ozaukee Press:

I’ve been following the ups and downs of the marine sanctuary proposed for Lake Michigan by the federal agency NOAA, and I stand with Gov. Walker.  The shipwrecks are already protected, studied, evaluated, cataloged and photographed. Please check this out on www.wisconsinshipwrecks.org, a website created by maritime preservation program of the Wisconsin Historical Society and the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute.

 It seems that our local officials have been sold the idea that these sunken ships will bring in tourists. Really? And this assumption is based on one city (population 10,122) on Lake Huron? 

Considering that there are over 6,000 shipwrecks in the five Great Lakes (Smithsonian magazine), I’d like to know how many cities along the shoreline of all the Great Lakes have had their tourism numbers boosted solely by sunken ships. 

Many cities appear to have built maritime museums without having to create a federal sanctuary. Claiming that one city on Lake Huron (Alpena, Mich.) has exploded with tourism since NOAA arrived is not enough proof that Wisconsin needs a federal sanctuary.

Sally Lensink

Oostburg