July 28, 2004

Boat benefits Baykeeper

22-foot aluminum tugboat will aid in covering 132 miles of shoreline

By Carol South
Herald contributing writer

       With 132 miles of shoreline and nearly 1,000 square miles of watershed, Baykeeper John Nelson just upgraded from kayak to tugboat.
      The Watershed Center proudly unveiled their new 22-foot aluminum tugboat Thursday evening at the Grand Traverse Yacht Club. The boat will allow Nelson greater reach in his patrol, education and outreach mission with The Watershed Center. In addition, it will provide a unique and visible presence on the water.
      "It will be great, it is a huge watershed and the Bay is much too big to use a kayak," said Nelson, who has been Baykeeper for the Watershed Center for nearly three years. "I plan on still using the kayak, plus doing a lot of walking and using my car."
      The Watershed Center is celebrating its tenth year as a non-profit advocacy group whose mission is to protect the Grand Traverse watershed. Adding the tugboat will help educate and inspire area residents about this water system, which is fed by more than 122 small streams as well as the Chain of Lakes and the Boardman River.
      "The boat itself is so unique," said Anne Brasie, executive director of The Watershed Center. "We had the option of buying a used boat of course but we felt strongly that it was more than just a boat but a symbol of our commitment."
      "We hope that as time goes on people will recognize it and it will be a reminder to others that we're out there working and to keep the bay clean for themselves and others," she added.
      Nelson also launched a Baykeeper Tugboat 2004 Tour this Saturday by taking the boat to the Suttons Bay Marina for public viewing. Each Saturday through August 21, he and the as-yet-unnamed tugboat will visit a different marina along the Grand Traverse Bay. Nelson will be in Traverse City at the Clinch Park Marina on Saturday, August 7, from 1-5 p.m.
      The tugboat can also be moved on a trailer, allowing Nelson greater range within the watershed.
      "We'll be able to get into the Chain of Lakes in Antrim County," he noted, adding that this system provides about 60 percent of the discharge into the Grand Traverse Bay; the Boardman River provides 30 percent.
      As a member of the Waterkeeper Alliance, a nationwide program dedicated to preserving and protecting waterways, Nelson must have a boat for his duties. He uses it to monitor the watershed, noting and tracking the water health and condition. He also tracks changes in water quality as well as the population of invasive species.
      "The tugboat is also built to be a research platform," Nelson said. "For example, if we're doing a near shore survey, we can take the boat around at a particular depth and take a look at what's offshore from the bay."
      Nelson said that the idea for a tugboat came from Northport resident Phil Von Voigtlander. When Nelson completed his walking survey of the Grand Traverse Bay shoreline a year ago, Von Voigtlander walked with him from the Grand Traverse Lighthouse to Omena.
      "He really had the vision to build this boat," Nelson noted.
      A firm in Ann Arbor built the frame, pilot house and installed the engines on the tugboat, delivering it to the region in late fall. Then volunteers took over and finished the boat, putting in flooring and other accouterments.
      Financing for the $65,000 came from a variety of donors, with one large matching grant of $22,500 coming from Rotary Charities.
      "We're still trying to raise an additional $20,000 to pay for it," Brasie noted.
      For more information about the tugboat or the Baykeeper program, contact The Watershed Center at 935-1514 or see their website at www.gtbay.org.