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Anniversary Year Activities

This anniversary year list will be updated throughout the year, so check our website often for the latest info!

Thursday, May 3, 7:30 p.m.-- Ah, Wilderness! The 25th Anniversary of the Michigan Wilderness Act at the Birmingham Unitarian Church, 38651 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills. Free. A presentation by Anne Woiwode, director of the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter, that takes a behind-the-scenes at the making of a historic piece of legislation that protected 90,000 acres of old growth forests, spectacular dunes and remote lakes in Michigan in 1987. The law created 10 now-familiar wilderness areas:  Big Island Lake, Delirium, Horseshoe Bay, Mackinac, McCormick, Nordhouse Dunes, Rock River Canyon, Round Island, Sturgeon River Gorge, and Sylvania. The remarkable victory came only after a suspense-filled, 10-year political battle that Woiwode, who was a young environmentalist at the time, recounts in detail. Sponsored by the Southeast Michigan Group of the Michigan Chapter.

Thursday, May 24, 7pm--Political Program for Election Year 2012 sponsored by the Central Michigan Group at East Lansing Library. Free. Part of a series of statewide discussions on electoral politics and legislative issues in 2012 will affect the quality of Michigan’s air and water. Mike Berkowitz, Michigan Chapter Organizer, and Richard Barron, Michigan Chapter Political Committee Chair, will speak about the coming year’s key races and issues. Find out how to make a difference in local, state and national elections. For details, email mike.berkowitz@sierraclub.org.

MICHIGAN WILDERNESS ACT CELEBRATION

Friday-Sunday, May 18-20 – Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Hike and Campout in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Michigan Wilderness Act. The Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness is part of the 90,000 acres of old-growth forests and pristine dunes and lakes protected by the historic Michigan Wilderness Act 25 years ago.  It encompasses about 3,500 acres between Ludington and Manistee including three miles of dunes on Lake Michigan and 20 miles of trails in dunes and forests. For details and to register, call Lorne Beatty at 810-632-7766 or email lorne.beatty@michigan.sierraclub.org.

Sat., May 19, 11 am-Noon – Special presentation and hike at Nordhouse Dunes featuring some of the people and groups that helped pass the Michigan Wilderness Act 25 years ago. To RSVP, email lorne.beatty@michigan.sierraclub.org.

July 12-15--Sylvania Wilderness Camp-Out and Canoeing. This is the place to canoe or kayak -- 34 different lakes, many connected by portages, so you can link together several lakes on a day paddle or move from lake to lake on a three-four day trip. To register, contact John Rebers at 906-250-0442 or jrebers@gmail.com.

Sun., July 15, Noon-2pm – Special presentation and picnic at Sylvania featuring some of the people and groups that helped pass the Michigan Wilderness Act 25 years ago. Meet at Ottawa National Forest Visitor Center in Watersmeet for presentation followed by a catered picnic at Day Use Building on Clark Lake just outside Sylvania Wilderness. To RSVP, contact John Rebers at 906-250-0442 or jrebers@gmail.com. 

Friday-Sunday, Aug. 17-19 – Horseshoe Bay Wilderness Camp-Out and Hike. Horseshoe Bay Wilderness north of St. Ignace contains seven miles of spectacular Great Lakes frontage on Hroseshoe and St. Martins Bays in northern Lake Huron. Contact Pat Egan at pegan@up.net or 906-437-5526.

Sat., Aug. 18, 10 am-Noon– Special presentation and hike at Horseshoe Bay featuring Anne Woiwode and others involved in the fight for the Wilderness Act. To RSVP, email pegan@up.net.

FALL EVENTS

Saturday, Sept. 8, 10 am—Au Sable River Cleanup and Tree Planting starts at Gates Au Sable Lodge, 471 Stephan Bridge Road, Grayling. The Sierra Club has been fighting to protect this waterway from damaging oil and gas drilling nearby for several years.  This popular annual gathering involves planting cedar saplings and maintain previously planted cedars in the morning followed by an afternoon barbecue and optional overnight camping. For details, contact Lorne Beatty at 810-632-7766 or email lorne.beatty@michigan.sierraclub.org.

Tuesday, Oct. 16, 7:30 pm— Ah, Wilderness!  The 25th Anniversary of the Michigan Wilderness Act at Matthaei Botanical Gardens, 1800 N. Dixboro Rd, Ann Arbor. A presentation by Anne Woiwode, director of the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter, that takes a behind-the-scenes at the making of a historic piece of legislation that protected 90,000 acres of old growth forests, spectacular dunes and remote lakes in Michigan in 1987. The law created 10 now-familiar wilderness areas:  Big Island Lake, Delirium, Horseshoe Bay, Mackinac, McCormick, Nordhouse Dunes, Rock River Canyon, Round Island, Sturgeon River Gorge, and Sylvania. The remarkable victory came only after a suspense-filled, 10-year political battle that Woiwode, who was a young environmentalist at the time, recounts in detail. Sponsored by the Huron Valley Group of the Michigan Chapter.