The Truth about Michigan State Park/diving Legislation

[Greg_MacMaster]

I hope you don't mean making pristine wrecks off-limits to diving? If so what's the point? I don't want to put words in your mouth so please clarify the above statement. But the thought of the government deciding to limit my access to what they determine are pristine wrecks scares me.

There are two things, to me, that make a shipwreck a great dive. First, it needs to have a good history, or story behind it. It's one thing to go down and swim around a ship. It's another thing entirely to understand the ships history while you're diving it. It brings it to life.

Second, it's obviously more fun to dive pristine wrecks instead of a pile of boards. When you put the two together, pristine wreck with a great history, you have a superior dive site in my opinion.

Get the government involved and I worry that this is exactly the kind of dive site they'll decide to "protect" or make off-limits to divers. I'm all for protecting the wrecks as far as artifact removal and repsonsible buoying techniques. But why make them off limits? That'd be like closing all the museums. Sure everything would be protected but what's the point if the general public can't enjoy them?

Now if you mean limit the access to pristine wrecks then how do you determine who can dive them? Who decides what wrecks are pristine?

I'm not necessarily opposed to intentional sinking of ships in the Great Lakes. I've got a few dives on the Wolfe Islander in Kingston, Ontario, and its' location has given us something to dive when the weather was too rough to get out to something else. It's a fun dive but it's not nearly as fun as diving a real wreck.

"Get the government involved and I worry that this is exactly the kind of dive site they'll decide to "protect" or make off-limits to divers. I'm all for protecting the wrecks as far as artifact removal and repsonsible buoying techniques. But why make them off limits? That'd be like closing all the museums. Sure everything would be protected but what's the point if the general public can't enjoy them?"

They (the gov't) will be promoting these wrecks, allow funding for surveys and proper research so we can get more exposure of our cultural marine resources...which will make it available for everybody... But some feel the greater number of divers will degrade the dive site - so it can be a double edged sword. I think funding good surveys and documentation by the state will allow more freedom to dive newer wrecks. Not restrict access.