There Can Be No Pure Michigan Without Pure Water by Babette Welch – Marquette Monthly
Michigan’s very name is rooted in the Ojibwa (Chippewa) Indian word for ‘large lake,’ and its handprint on the earth, the mitten-like Lower Peninsula and jagged-edged Upper Peninsula, is shaped by four of the five Great Lakes. They’re called lakes, but sailors referred to the planet’s largest bodies of fresh water as “Sweetwater Seas.”
So begins the successful advertising campaign for attracting millions of visitors and dollars to Michigan. A study commissioned for Travel Michigan concludes that every dollar Michigan invests in out-of-state tourism advertising generates $40.81 in total spending by tourists and $2.86 in new sales tax revenues for the state, according to Traverse City Record Eagle.
What a great return. And so much of that return depends on Michigan’s water—from trout streams to the Great Lakes, water is the central theme. Michiganders love their water. Now it is time to raise our voices to protect it and make sure it is pure for future generations… (read more on the Marquette Monthly site)
