• Final Workshop Agenda (PDF)

Sponsored by the Statewide Public Advisory Council for Michigan’s Great Lakes Areas of Concern Program

Overview

The workshop brought together leaders from Michigan’s 14 Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs) to discuss opportunities and showcase resources and techniques that can help AOC communities leverage remediation and restoration efforts to accelerate environmental and economic revitalization. This includes sustaining environmental stewardship; integrating watershed restoration with sustainable economic growth; and developing a long-term vision that celebrates freshwater resources and coastal amenities as key ingredients for building a high quality of life for coastal communities.

Workshop Materials

• Workshop Participants List (PDF)
• The MiPlace Partnership Initiative: State Support To Strategic Local Placemaking Economic Development (PDF)
• Building Prosperous Places In Michigan: A study by the Land Policy Institute at Michigan State University (PDF)
• The National Trust Main Street Center: Revitalizing America's traditional business districts to build sustainable communities (PDF)
• Knowledge Network Community Branding Resources (webpage)

Agenda and Presentations

*Presentations are provided in PDF format

Welcoming Remarks and Workshop Purpose (no presentation)

• Mary Bohling, Chair, Statewide Public Advisory Council for Michigan’s Areas of Concern Program
• Rick Hobrla, Michigan Office of the Great Lakes

The Opportunity Before Us: Preparing for the Future in the River Raisin (no presentation)
Dan Stefanski, Chair, River Raisin AOC Public Advisory Council

Leveraging Freshwater Resources: Case Studies from Around the State

• Where Life Meets Water: Branding Manistee County
  Tim Ervin, Manistee County Community Foundation and Alliance for Economic Success
  
  
• Integrating Economic and Environmental Vision and Planning through the Boardman River Watershed Prosperity Plan
  Andy Knott, Executive Director, The Watershed Center Grand Traverse Bay
  Todd Kalish, Acting Supervisor for Lake Michigan, Fisheries Division, Michigan Department of Natural Resources
  
  
• Fact Sheet: Boardman River Watershed Prosperity Plan (PDF)


• The Marquette Waterfront Development Plan: A City Capitalizing on its Freshwater Assets
  Hon. Frederick Stonehouse, Marquette City Commission
  
  
• Community Master Plan: City of Marquette, Michigan (PDF)


• A Blue Economy Strategic Development Plan in Macomb County
  Gerard P. Santoro, Program Manager - Land & Water Resources, Macomb County
  
  
• Fact Sheet: Introducing the Blue Economy Initiative (PDF)
• Macomb County - Blue Economy Strategic Development Plan (PDF)

Know Thyself: An Introduction to Community Branding
Shannon Gray, Director of Research, North Star Destination Strategies

• Fact Sheet: From Research to Branding (PDF)
• North Star Destination Strategies Case Studies (PDF)

Small Group Discussions: Challenges, Opportunities and Next Steps (no presentations)

Common Themes and Next Steps: Reports from the Small Groups and Open Discussion (no presentations)

Contact

For more information on the workshop, or to request the agenda and registration materials, contact Matt Doss, Great Lakes Commission, 734-971-9135, mdoss@glc.org.

For background on the Statewide Public Advisory Council and Michigan’s Great Lakes Areas of Concern program, visit the Council website at www.glc.org/spac.