History

SAVE TOBICO TOWERS Receives $41,800 Grant

“SAVE TOBICO TOWERS” (STT) is a project of the Friends of the Bay City State Recreation Area (Friends) assisted by the Saginaw Valley Sustainability Society and individual volunteers.  Volunteer members of several groups in the Saginaw Bay Watershed have committed to raising the projected $74,000 it will take to restore the two viewing towers located inside Bay City State Recreation Area.  The towers were built in 1975 and need extensive repairs/rebuilding to be of future use.

The Frank N. Andersen Foundation on April 19, 2011 awarded a grant of $41,800 to the Friends for engineering design and construction activities that will be the foundation of the work to restore the TOBICO TOWERS.

FRIENDS of the Bay City State Recreation Area is sponsoring this project with Cherri Allen heading up the fund raising and Pat Race providing guidance for the technical planning and interface with the DNRE.  Four individual projects have raised $10,600 to date, so only $21,600 more is needed now that the Andersen Grant has been secured.

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The picture above was taken from the Liberty Bridge in Bay City, Michigan. It brings together the elements of sustainability in one dramatic view. It paints a contrasting picture of the natural beauty of the Saginaw River near its mouth and its commercial aspects.

At the center is a stone dock where materials for extensive road and highway systems are delivered. Commercial ships and recreational boating have an impact on the River both for fun and useful imports, yet leave behind gas, oil wastes, and invasive species that pollute this valuable water system. Visible are the stacks of the two coal fired power plants which provide our much needed electric power, while producing greenhouse gases, mercury, and arsenic contaminates.

Sustainability requires a careful balance between providing for important needs such as clean water, clean air, healthy food, and the level of toxicity that we allow into the production and delivery of essential products and raw materials. Exploring sustainable solutions through education and research may bring us closer to an environmental balance that can provide a healthy and pleasurable life for Saginaw Valley residents.

We now live on a planet with seven billion people; the answers may not be easy. The Saginaw Valley Sustainability Society will provide resources and materials about sustainable solutions to environmental problems, including global climate change, as they impact the natural resources and people of the Great Lakes region in general, with specific focus on the Saginaw Bay and its watershed. We need your help. Please join our efforts!