03/06/2007

Grant Helps Enhance Lighthouse Landscaping

Mackinaw City, Mich. – The Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse grounds will become more historically accurate and attractive as a result of a $15,000 grant from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s Coastal Management Program. The funds will be used to finance the purchase and planting of native trees and shrubs.

The terms of the grant stipulate that Mackinac State Historic Parks (MSHP) must match the grant contribution on a one-to-one basis, requiring MSHP to raise $15,000 from other sources. Any private funds contributed will be applied to meet this requirement. Categories of giving include:

▪ Oak Tree: $750
▪ Pine Tree: $500
▪ Cedar Tree: $300
▪ Birch Tree: $200
▪ Ornamental Shrub: $100

All gifts will be recognized with the name of the donating party (or in honor of another) on a special panel at the lighthouse’s Fog Signal Station. For more information, contact MSHP’s Government Grants Coordinator Diane Dombroski at 231-436-4100.

Mackinac State Historic Parks is a family of living history museums and nature parks in northern Michigan’s Straits of Mackinac and is an agency within the Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries. Its sites – which are accredited by the American Association of Museums – include Fort Mackinac, Mackinac Island State Park, and Historic Downtown on Mackinac Island, and Colonial Michilimackinac, Historic Mill Creek, and Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse in Mackinaw City. Visitor Information is available at 231-436-4100 or on the web at www.MackinacParks.com.