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Adopt-A-Beach Program

Thousands of people are drawn to the beautiful beaches of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore each year. Each person is responsible to leave the beach in the same or better condition than they found it. Visitors are encouraged to take out all their trash and used containers and to pick up any trash that they see while at the beach, but it is important to have a program of regular maintenance to assure the beauty of the beaches.

The Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes in cooperation with Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and the Alliance for the Great Lakes has developed an Adopt-A-Beach program to provide regular monitoring and clean-up of the Lake Michigan beaches within Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. When you become an Adopt-A-Beach volunteer, we request that you or your group make five (5) clean-up visits per year. These visits will usually occur once a month during spring through early autumn. You will be asked to evaluate the state of the beach and related facilities, keep an inventory of the trash you pick up, and do some simple water quality tests. Learn more about what is involved at the Alliance for the Great Lakes Adopt-A-Beach web site. Still interested?

At this time, the following beaches are in the Adopt-A-Beach program:

• Platte River Point
• Tiesma Road
• Peterson Road
• Esch Road (Otter Creek)
• North Bar Lake
• Glen Haven
• Mouth of the Crystal River North
• Sunset Shore
• County Road 669
• County Road 651

Here is how you can become an Adopt-A-Beach Volunteer:

1. Contact the Adopt-A-Beach Coordinator, Kerry Kelly, by e-mail or phone (231-228-4050) to indicate your interest. The Coordinator will help you select a beach and help you through the process of getting signed up and obtain the materials you will need including an Annual Pass to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
2. Sign up as a Volunteer-in-Park (VIP) at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. If you are already a VIP, we will add this job to your existing VIP profile. If you are not a VIP, fill out the VIP Application Form.
3. After you are assigned a beach, you will register with the Alliance for the Great Lakes by contacting Jamie Cross by e-mail at jcross@greatlakes.org or by phone 866-850-0745 ext. 12 to request a registration form. After registering, you will receive an introductory packet from the Alliance including a water quality test kit.
4. During your visit to the beach, walk about one mile in each direction from the beach access point. Pick up and inventory all trash on the forms provided. Take a water sample and conduct the test at home. Inventory but DO NOT BURY OR REMOVE ANY DEAD BIRDS. Natural Resources staff at the Park inventory and test the dead birds to determine the cause of death. If you bury the birds, they will not have an accurate count.
5. After each visit to your beach, you will log into the Alliance for the Great Lakes web site to enter the data from your clean-up.
6. After each visit, send an e-mail to the Park Volunteer Coordinator (lisa_myers@nps.gov) with a copy to Molly McCombs (jmccombs1514@charter.net) to report the hours you spent including time on the beach, entering data, and water testing.

Any Questions?  Contact Web Page Editor  231-421-1645