Bay City has become the second community in Michigan to take the Lake Huron Forever Pledge.
The initiative is made up of communities, conservation groups and foundations in both the U.S. and Canada with the goal of protecting Lake Huron’s water quality and natural habitats.
Shelli Thurston is the economic development marketing manager with the City of Bay City.
One of the projects Thurston said the city is going to implement soon is naturalizing more city grounds and lots. She mentioned this will reduce mowing and allow funds to go into other projects.
"It helps out our city because we have you know, staffing shortages, just like everybody else. And then we're not trying to assign more staff to try and keep up mowing and things of that nature," said Thurston.
Several communities in Canada who have also taken the pledge, an aspect Thurston said she's looking forward to. Thurston mentioned it will open Bay City up to new ways of thinking about conservation.
Bay City’s other long-term projects include improving the city’s tree canopy and reducing storm water runoff into Lake Huron.
The first Michigan community to take the Lake Huron Forever pledge was Au Gres, just north of Bay City.