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Lake Michigan's Rebirth Enhances An amazing variety of activities takes place annually along the 60 miles of Lake Michigan's shoreline in Illinois, ranging from swimming and fishing to concert performances by great orchestras. By Robert D. Espeseth
"Water is Magic" or "Water is a Magnet" are a couple of phrases which readily relate to recreation and its close association with water. Illinois residents search diligently for high quality water in (or on) which they can pursue outdoor recreation. Sailing, swimming, sunning, fishing, boating, water skiing, surf sailing or just sitting and watching the action of the water are examples of recreation activities related to water. Most residents look to inland lakes, ponds, rivers and streams for water-oriented recreation; however, an ever increasing number of people are turning to Lake Michigan for their water-oriented activities. Only 60 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline are within Illinois boundaries, yet no shoreline on the entire Great Lakes is used more heavily. Between five and six million Illinois residents live within a one hour drive of Lake Michigan and put a great deal of pressure on this unique resource. The percentage of publicly owned shoreline is exceptionally high, 53 percent, or 31 1/8 miles of the 60 miles of shores, is publicly owned, and general access to the shores is widespread; however, the number of good access points for boat launching or boating use is somewhat restricted. There are 14 units of local government, two units of county government, one state park, two federal entities, two universities and several public utility companies controlling the shoreline which is open to certain public uses, albeit restricted in use in some instances. The Chicago lakeshore is primarily controlled by the Chicago Park District. This represents public ownership of about 90 percent of the 30 miles of shoreline within the city limits. There is not another major metropolitan area in the world that controls this large a percentage of an associated water resource. This shoreline is open to a wide variety of recreational uses by the public, including boat slips or moorage for thousands of boats, miles of hiking and walking trails, miles of swimming beaches, cultural facilities and activities, bank fishing and other general recreation uses. Navy Pier, located on the lake-shore in the heart of downtown Chicago, has hosted Chicago-Fest and other special events which represent the largest concentration of lakeshore users for single events. The 1992 World's Fair site is expected to be developed south of the Planetarium on an area which will be filled out into the Lake and after the Fair the area will be converted to park and cultural uses as were the previous World Fair sites in Chicago. As one proceeds north from the Chicago city limits the communities of Evanston, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Glencoe, Highland Park, Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, Waukegan, and Zion provide parks and recreation areas associated with the lakeshore through their park districts or municipal park and recreation agencies. Illinois Beach State Park, operated by the Illinois Department of Conservation, and the Zion Forest Preserve, operated by the Lake County Forest Preserve District, provide areas along the lakeshore with somewhat different facilities than those provided by the park districts. There are also historical and cultural features of interest on or close to the shoreline. For example, the lighthouse in Evanston; historic Zion; Navy Pier and the old Coast Guard Station at the Chicago River outlet; the Adier Planetarium, the Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum and Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago; or the nature area at Illinois Beach State Park. One of the nicest places for an extended visit along the Lake is Illinois Beach State Park, where one can camp or stay in the lodge. Northwestern University, Loyola University, the Great Lakes Naval Station and Fort Sheridan also control several miles of shoreline, basically restricted to use by (Continued on p. 29) Illinois Parks and Recreation 19 May/June 1984
the associated students and military personnel. The fishery of Lake Michigan has an interesting and varied history. When the region was first settled there were fish in abundance (whitefish, lake trout, lake sturgeon, perch, etc.) and commercial fishermen were active in all parts of the Lake. As the residential and industrial growth adjacent to the Lake mushroomed in a relatively uncontrolled scramble, resulting pollution from wastes and siltation created by landfills had a devastating effect on the quality of lower Lake Michigan. Spawning beds disappeared and reduced water quality drove the high quality fish out and less desirable fish species prevailed. The opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway, a significant development for expanded industrial transportation, was a contributing and accelerating factor in introducing the sea lamprey, alewife and smelt—alien fish from salt water that adapted to the fresh water of the Great Lakes system. The lamprey was a vicious creature that attacked native fish populations and virtually annihilated the game and commercial fishery by literally "sucking the life" from the fish. This destruction of natural fish predators caused the alewife and smelt populations to explode. The overpopulation of these species in the lake resulted in massive dieoffs of such fish innundating many of the beaches of lower Lake Michigan during the early and mid-1960's as they floated to shore. The health hazard and stench caused by the rotting fish created massive cleanup problems for many agencies. In the early 1960s, a selective poison was developed and used in spawning waters to kill the dreaded lamprey. Fish species native to the Lake could now be reintroduced with this predator under control; however, the native Fish species did not feed on alewife or smelt to any large degree and therefore were not much help in reducing the excessive population of these forage fish. Fisheries biologists then discovered that several species of salmon fed on alewife as a primary food source. Michigan was the leader in planting salmon, introduced from the West Coast, which was soon followed by the other states around the Great Lakes. Many organizations such as Salmon Unlimited and Trout Unlimited contributed funds and volunteer labor to accelerate fish plantings. The growth and multiplication of the introduced salmon were far beyond anyone's wildest dreams and in short order a significant sport fishery had returned to Lake Michigan. The water quality of the Lake has improved substantially in the last 20 years and it is important that the quality never be allowed to diminish to the level which would preclude use of the water for recreational or residential purposes. Although there have been major water-level fluctuations over the years, this is a cyclic phenomenon of Lake Michigan which has not had a significant effect on recreational use of the Lake. The 977,000 acres of Lake Michigan waters found within the Illinois boundary represent only seven percent of the total surface of the Lake, but is still 64 percent of the total water surface acres in the entire state. As a result of the improved water quality and expanded fish management efforts, sports fishing has become a major recreational activity on Lake Michigan. It is estimated that about 3.5 million user days per year are spent on Lake Michigan by sport fishermen who catch millions of fish. Coho, chinook and king salmon and lake, brown and rainbow trout are currently the most important species for sport fishing. These fish have thrived on the abundance of food available and have grown to exceptional sizes in a relatively short time.
An opportunity for fishing on Lake Michigan, not requiring the ownership of a boat, is to take a charter-boat from Waukegan or from one of the marinas in Chicago. A group can ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Robert D. Espeseth is Associate Professor, Outdoor Recreation Specialist and Chief of the Office of Recreation and Park Resources at the University of Illinois, Champaign. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a B.S. in Landscape Architecture and an M.S. in Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning. He has held positions with the Wisconsin State Park Systems and is currently President of the National Society for Park Resources, which is affiliated with the NRPA. Illinois Parks and Recreation 29 May/June 1984
charter a boat for a half day or a full day and can seek a particular type of fish or anything that comes along. There are almost 100 licensed charter-boats operating along Lake Michigan* "As a result of the improved water quality and expanded fish management efforts, sports fishing has become a major recreational activity on Lake Michigan." The Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Program is working with public agencies, private enterprises and individuals to address some of the problems related to Lake Michigan through research, education and dissemination of technical information. Recreation is one of the high priorities of the Sea Grant Program. *For information on charterboats, write to Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Program, University of Illinois, 1206 South Fourth Street, Room 104, Champaign, Illinois 61820, and request a "Directory of Illinois Licensed Boat Charter and Livery Services." This publication was cooperatively produced by the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Program, the Illinois Department of Conservation and the Illinois Division of Tourism. Illinois Parks and Recreation 30 May/June 1984 |
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