PARALEON PLANS: Laura Ogar Leads Chamber Rally to Open Bay Access to Public
New Saginaw Bay BlueWays Trail Concept Designed for Tourists
November 8, 2013
By: Dave Rogers
The county and the chamber have teamed up to push forward a campaign to open Saginaw Bay to public access at a historically-attractive point, Paraleon Beach at the foot of State Park Drive.
The reappearance of trout in the Saginaw River and mink on the shore signal the success of a six year cleanup project by the Saginaw Bay Coastal Initiative.
"The animals know the water is cleaner, it's time the folks in Lansing acknowledge it," said a fired-up Laura Ogar, speaking to a full house eye-opener breakfast of the Bay Area Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday at Bay Valley.
Chamber President Mike Seward reiterated the business group's assignment of priority to the bay project that aims to insure public access to the bay and envisions a boardwalk pier, restaurant, bait shop and links to the new Saginaw Bay BlueWays Trail.
"We need this access point!" emphasized Ms. Ogar, with Mr. Seward and Chamber Chair Pat O'Brien nodding emphatic agreement.
The trail is a kayaking and canoe water pathway from the Thumb to Iosco County that, along with a Birding Trail, offers a phenomenal economic bonanza, she said.
The DNR Land Strategy Report indicates there should be public access points on the shoreline every five miles, planners noted at a meeting earlier this year. The DNR has stated there are several access points in Bay County, "however that is not the case," Ms. Ogar said. For 100 miles of shoreline, public access is extremely limited.
Environmental experts have reviewed three years of water sampling data, 99 percent of which met recreational standards, said Ms. Ogar, the Bay County Director of Environmental Affairs and Community Development.
The county and the chamber have teamed up to push forward a campaign to open Saginaw Bay to public access at a historically-attractive point, Paraleon Beach at the foot of State Park Drive.
The target area is a 6.7 acre parcel with about 600 feet of waterfront on the bay that the local planners hope to re-acquire from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Plans have surfaced to trade a wetland area the county would acquire with grant funds for the Paraleon Beach parcel.
The federal Clean Water Act, adopted 20 years ago, is finally paying dividends on the quality of the water in the bay and river, said Ms. Ogar. Historical industrial practices caused elevated bacteria, excessive algae growth and sediment, nutrients and contaminants in the "area of concern."
Combined sewage discharges today are mostly without bacteria, having undergone treatment consisting of primary and secondary chlorination of the wastewater, she said.
"The State Park Beach is rated among the cleanest in the nation," she said.