Bay City Recreation Area

Bay City Recreation Area
Map showing the location of Bay City Recreation Area

Location within the state of Michigan

Location Bay County, Michigan, USA
Nearest city Bay City, Michigan
Coordinates 43°39′58″N 83°54′19″W / 43.66611°N 83.90528°W / 43.66611; -83.90528Coordinates: 43°39′58″N 83°54′19″W / 43.66611°N 83.90528°W / 43.66611; -83.90528
Area 2,100 acres (850 ha)
Governing body Michigan Department of Natural Resources
http://www.michigandnr.com/parksandtrails/Details.aspx?id=437&type=SPRK

Bay City Recreation Area or Bay City State Recreation Area (formerly Bay City State Park) is a 2,100-acre (850 ha) state park located near Bay City, Michigan in Bay County, Michigan, on the shore of Saginaw Bay. The Tobico Marsh, one of the largest remaining freshwater, coastal wetlands on the Great Lakes is located in the park. Other natural features of the park include a mile of sandy beach, over 2,000 acres (810 ha) of wetland woods, meadows, oak savannah prairies, and cattail marshes. The park is a haven for migratory birds and wetland wildlife.[1]

Facilities and activities

Spray Park

Beach pollution

Pollution on the beaches bordering the Saginaw Bay consisting of organic matter has been a significant issue to park patrons and local waterfront land owners in recent years. Although beach grooming has been implemented to clean up the beaches, much of the shoreline along the bay is muddied with "muck".

Much of the pollution found along the bay shore has been attributed to waste runoff from local farms settled within the Saginaw River watershed, wastewater treatment failures, and leaking septic systems, which contribute nutrients into the water, causing algae blooms. [2]

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, July 07, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.