The Designation of the Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary is official as of today. Manitowoc Mayor Justin Nickels tells us that after 45-days in Congress the final rule is published fulfilling a dream dating back to 2009.
“We waited the 45 days. The 45 days are done. If you go to the Federal Registry you will see the final published rule that spells out specifically that we have a National Marine Sanctuary in our own backyard –a National Park basically.”
The official announcement came 45 days ago that the Marine Sanctuary was going to be listed in the Federal Registry; however, an old law remains on the Congressional books stating it must sit 45 days before becoming in the Mayor’s words “officially official.”
“You can think of it as a history museum tagged along with discovery, education deep water diving, a lot of different benefits the Federal Government can provide now. All of it revolves around tourism and as Wisconsin’s Maritime Capitol. These shipwrecks tell stories that built Manitowoc.”
The National Marine Sanctuary basically encompasses the Lake Michigan coastline from Two Rivers to Port Washington and only the second such entity on the Great Lakes. Nickels describes what’s next, “How do we capitalize on this? How do we share this story with the world because these national marine sanctuaries are tourist traps. How do we capitalize on that along with everything else we have going on?.”
Mayor Nickels adds that the Wisconsin Maritime Museum will and has played an integral role in this process and will serve as a centerpiece of this sanctuary which will exist into perpetuity.
