MISSON STATEMENT
To promote the economic vitality and ecological integrity of the Thunder Bay River watershed through education, research and environmental stewardship.
THE RIVER CENTER
For more than 70 years, the 500-acre Alpena Wildlife Sanctuary has served as an oasis of natural beauty nestled within the heart of Northeast Michigan's largest city. Since the addition of Island Park in 1985, the City-appointed Wildlife Sanctuary Board has served the community through:
- The River Rats environmental education program;
- Guided and self-guided School fieldtrips;
- An Artist in Residence program;
- The Blue Heron Water Trail;
- Invasive Species Management trainings;
- Water Quality Monitoring programs;
- The Reel Fun Ice Fishing Tournament;
- and, The publication of nine Wildlife Sanctuary Field Guides.
As the Wildlife Sanctuary Board looks to the future, it aspires to provide an even greater service to the community-to not only educate and inspire an appreciation of the natural world, but also to revitalize the economy of the region.
Though the Northeast Michigan economy has lost much of its former industrial might, what it has lost in industry it stands to make up for through a thorough rediscovery of its many, extraordinary natural features including:
- More than 200 miles of Lake Huron shoreline;
- Hundreds of inlands lakes;
- And, hundreds of thousands of acres of publicly accessible natural areas.
The Alpena Wildlife Sanctuary Board therefore seeks to tap into Northeast Michigan's spirit of ingenuity in order to create the River Center, a physical and informational gateway to the natural and cultural wonders of Northeast Michigan.
The Alpena Wildlife Sanctuary recognizes and celebrates the efforts of the several State and Federal agencies and not-for-profit organizations that work tirelessly to conserve the natural resources that make Northeast Michigan unique. The significant investments of NOAA, USFWS, DNR Huron Pines, Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative and others have opened a window of opportunity to bring about a “green economy” in Northeast Michigan-what's missing is the catalyst, the unifying force at the local level that lends synergy to the environmental education, research and stewardship efforts underway in the region.
The River Center will be that catalyst by providing the coordination and infrastructure requisite to the monumental task at hand-the task of revitalizing Northeast Michigan as a tour de force for environmental entrepreneurship, an epicenter of environmental research and stewardship, and an Eden for eco-tourism and ecologically sustainable outdoor recreation.
The LEED-certified Alpena Wildlife Sanctuary River Center will provide for the expansion of existing educational programming through distance learning-enabled classrooms; enable locally relevant ecological research via state-of-the-art laboratories; and draw in visitors and local alike through world class art installations, interactive exhibits, and public programming that interprets and celebrates the rich natural history of the Thunder Bay River Watershed. The River Center campus will showcase various green technologies and serve as a visitor center and gateway to Island Park, the Alpena Wildlife Sanctuary and Northeast Michigan. As a non-partisan, community-based not-for-profit organization, the River Center will serve as an epicenter for environmental entrepreneurship and a rallying point for the next generation of local innovators. And, in doing so will serve to revitalize a community poised to write the next chapter of its storied history-a tale that has, and will forever be inscribed upon the shorelines, wetlands and rolling hills that nurture the abundant wealth and inescapable beauty of Northeast Michigan.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Greg Sundin
Address: 208 N. First Ave.
Phone: (989) 354-1771
Fax: (989) 354-1709
Email: gregs@alpena.mi.us
City of Alpena Wildlife Sanctuary Board