Michigan Underwater Preserves or Michigan Bottomland Preserves are protected areas of the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

's coast. The thirteen designated areas, comprising a surface area of over , are considered to be "Underwater museums" and serve to protect concentrations of shipwrecks, unique geologic features and other submerged sites through awareness and public interest. The program is currently receiving no funding from the state and does not offer any extra legal protection for the sites in the preserves. However, it is a felony to remove or disturb underwater artifacts in the Great Lakes. Persons apprehended and convicted of removing or willfully damaging underwater artifacts risk confiscation of their equipment (boats, cars, dive gear, etc.), stiff fines and up to two years imprisonment.DEQ – Michigan Underwater Preserves System
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Michigan Underwater Preserve Council The Michigan Underwater Preserve Council (MUPC) is a private, non-profit, volunteer driven organization that oversees activities relating to the Michigan Underwater Preserves. The council was formed in order to educate divers and non-divers on the ...

advocates on behalf of all of Michigan's Underwater Preserves. Below is a list of the 13 underwater preserves in the State of Michigan: *

Alger Underwater Preserve The Alger Underwater Preserve is a preservation area in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located in Lake Superior, it protects waters that lie offshore the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and the Grand Island National Recreation Area. Pictured Rock ...

* De Tour Passage Underwater Preserve *

Grand Traverse Bay Bottomland Preserve The Grand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve is a preservation area that encompasses all of Grand Traverse Bay, a bay of Lake Michigan, in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is in size and is located off Traverse City, Michigan. Description The Grand ...

Keweenaw Underwater Preserve The Keweenaw Underwater Preserve is a preservation area in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located in Lake Superior, it protects waters that lie offshore Keweenaw Peninsula. Keweenaw Point The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, which ove ...

Manitou Passage Underwater Preserve The Manitou Passage Underwater Preserve is a preservation area in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located in Lake Michigan, it completely surrounds North Manitou Island and South Manitou Island. It includes much of that portion of Lake Michigan that ...

Marquette Underwater Preserve The Marquette Underwater Preserve was established in 1990 to promote conservation of the submerged historical resources in Lake Superior near Marquette, Michigan. The Preserve is composed of two separate units, the Marquette Unit and the Huron Isla ...

Sanilac Shores Underwater Preserve The Sanilac Shores Underwater Preserve was established to promote conservation of the submerged historical resources in Lake Huron near Port Sanilac, Michigan. The Sanilac Shores Underwater Preserve spans a total of of Lake Huron. The Michigan U ...

Southwest Michigan Underwater Preserve The Southwest Michigan Underwater Preserve is a preservation area in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located in Lake Michigan, it protects a five-mile-wide strip of water offshore from Michigan's Allegan County, Michigan, Allegan, Berrien County, Mich ...

Straits of Mackinac Shipwreck Preserve The Straits of Mackinac Shipwreck Preserve is a state preserve in and around the Straits of Mackinac. The preserve is divided in two by the Mackinac Bridge. The waters of the preserve include the waters offshore from Mackinaw City and St. Ig ...

Thumb Area Bottomland Preserve The Thumb Area Underwater Preserve is a preservation area in Lake Huron in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is in size and is located off Michigan's Thumb north of Detroit. Description The Thumb Area Underwater Preserve protects bottomlands off ...

Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve is a United States National Marine Sanctuary on Lake Huron's Thunder Bay (Michigan), Thunder Bay, within the Northern Michigan, northeastern region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It pr ...

and Underwater Preserve *

West Michigan Underwater Preserve West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve The Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve was established in 1987 to protect and conserve shipwrecks and historical resources on of Lake Superior bottomlands in Whitefish Bay and around Whitefish Point, Michigan. The formation of the Michigan Und ...

References

External links

Grand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve WebsiteMichigan Underwater Preserves Council WebsiteSouthwest Michigan Underwater Preserve Website Straits of Mackinac Shipwreck Preserve Website Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary Website West Michigan Underwater Preserve Website
{{Recreational dive sites, wrereg Marine parks of Michigan