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Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore has one million dollar plan to save lighthouse

National Park Service/Mark Lindsey

Shoreline has eroded within 45 feet of a historic lighthouse at Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore.

Lee Jameson is the Facility Manager at Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore. He said the lighthouse was built in 1871.

“We have an active volunteer group that donates thousands of hours annually that includes descendants of lighthouse keepers so this is a very meaningful historic landmark to a lot of folks here.”

Jameson said roughly 800 feet of shoreline have been impacted.

“Our funding availability however limits us to addressing just 250 feet of shoreline. So we have prioritized that area obviously directly in front of the lighthouse and fog signal building that are the most threatened.”

Jameson said the park struggled to find ways to pay for the project - and had to allocate it from elsewhere.

“That money from entrance fee revenues. We’ve relocated what was in our program for those funds to be able to take care of this need.”

Jameson said they hope to begin construction of the barrier in September.