History of Shoreline Development & Mapping the Coastal System

Northern Michigan University professor Jessica Thompson provided an overview of the day and explained the purpose of the project. Then Sarah Mittlefehldt, an environmental historian from Northern Michigan University, provided participants with a brief overview of the history of coastal planning in the greater Marquette region. After Mittlefehldt’s talk, participants were challenged to think of key events that have shaped the region’s shoreline. Together, workshop attendees created a large timeline of coastal development that spanned the length of a fifty-foot wall. The timeline highlighted key events and influences to better understand how the past has shaped current conditions. This activity led to lively conversation as participants walked the timeline and contributed to a collective understanding of coastal history.

After discussing the key events and historical moments included on the timeline, Don Lafreniere and Ryan Williams from the Geospatial Research Facility at Michigan Tech spoke about several exciting initiatives that use spatial information from the past to inform the future. For example, they have created the Keweenaw Time Traveler that allows people to explore the history of the Keweenaw region through an interactive online platform: http://www.keweenawhistory.com. The work coming out of Michigan Tech’s Geospatial Research Facility inspired workshop participants to consider similar applications that could be created to better understand coastal development along the south shore of Lake Superior.

In the afternoon, workshop participants learned about another Coastline + People program led by the Remote Sensing/GIS Lab (RS/GIS) at Michigan State University. RS/GIS Director Erin Bunting and Senior Geosptiial Analyst Robert Goodwin spoke about their efforts to develop a citizen science-based coastal monitoring program through the use of drones and digital mapping. MSU coastal geomorphologist Ethan Theuerkauf explained how that spatial data, created by everyday citizens, could be used to track coastal changes over time. Like the MTU team, researchers from MSU helped workshop participants to think about coastal development in new ways, and invited area residents to participate in their CoPe project. Both teams emphasized the importance of collaboration and multidisciplinary perspectives in coastal planning.

The final activity of the day involved a systems mapping exercise in which participants at each table discussed what they viewed as major drivers affecting coastal dynamics and development along the shoreline. Each group worked together to draw a map illustrating the factors that influence relationships between coastline ecosystems, Lake Superior, and coastal communities. A representative from each table posted the map on the wall and explained their group’s thinking. Each group took a slightly different approach, yet some common themes emerged. For example, all groups emphasized the dynamic interaction between climate change and extreme weather events; ecosystem changes and influences on economic and sociopolitical systems such as access, infrastructure and public health.

The day ended with workshop participants primed for the February meeting, which will emphasize current conditions along Lake Superior’s southern shore, and how our region can learn from other coastal communities in Michigan to increase our resiliency in an era of rapid change.