Coastal Resiliency Plan

Planning for Coastal & Climate Trends
An Appendix to the 2021 Master Plan for Alpena County, Green Township, Ossineke Township & Wilson Township.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PLANNING IN COASTAL COMMUNITIES
It is no secret that the Great Lakes are one of the most unique and precious environmental systems in the world. In fact, “the
Great Lakes basin contains more than 20% of the world’s surface freshwater supplies and supports a more than 30 million population.”

Michigan is home to nearly 3,300 miles of Great Lakes shoreline, 36,000 miles of rivers and streams,
and 11,000 inland lakes. Yet in general, riparian land (adjacent to a water body) throughout Michigan is not adequately protected from development pressures.

Coastal communities especially have an important role to play in protecting the Great Lakes. In 2001, the Michigan
Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), now the Department of Environment, Great Lakes & Energy (EGLE), acknowledged “fragmentation of coastal habitats, loss of agricultural and forest lands, increased impervious surfaces and resulting stormwater runoff, and the increased development in coastal hazard areas, wetlands, and Great Lakes Islands, could be improved through better coastal land-use planning.”

Planning for coastal areas at the local level requires knowledge of both local conditions and state and federal regulations. This chapter aims to address these needs for Alpena County and provide clear, well-founded recommendations for future land-use planning.