Senators Stabenow, Peters Announce Support to Conserve Wildlife Habitats in Abbaye Peninsula and Huron Bay

U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters today announced support to conserve wildlife habitats in the Abbaye Peninsula and Huron Bay of Lake Superior in Baraga County. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Keweenaw Land Trust received a $1,000,000 grant through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program. The grant will be used to purchase 1,374 acres of coastal wetlands and near shore aquatic habitats, including approximately a mile of Lake Superior shoreline, which support a diversity of mammal and bird species like raptors, waterfowl, and black bears.

‘The Upper Peninsula's beautiful coastal shoreline is home to a diversity of wildlife from waterfowl to black bears," said Stabenow. "This funding will protect important natural habitats from development in the Abbaye Peninsula and Huron Bay of Lake Superior."

"The Great Lakes and their coastal wetlands are critical resources for Michigan's economy and our way of life, supporting millions of jobs and creating billions of dollars in wages every year," Peters said. "Preserving our state's natural resources is critical, and this grant will help ensure that the Lakes are protected for generations to come."

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service awarded $21 million to 25 projects in 13 coastal and Great Lakes communities, which will enhance and protect 11,000 acres of coastal wetlands and natural habitats and generate billions of dollars in recreation and tourism.