The Wisconsin Coastal Management Program (WCMP) Council held its quarterly meeting Oct. 8, at the Washington Hotel on Washington Island.

Ellen Brody, of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), gave one of the reports presented to the council. Brody serves as the Great Lakes Coordinator of the National Marine Sanctuary Program established in 1972 under the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act. The sanctuary system includes 13 national marine sanctuaries and a marine national monument.

The WCMP provided a grant to the Wisconsin Historical Society whose staff evaluated historic shipwrecks within each of the state's four Maritime Trails regions.

The society concluded that an 875-square-mile area stretching from Port Washington to Two Rivers has the best potential as a national marine sanctuary in Wisconsin. This portion of Lake Michigan contains 14 intact shipwreck sites, which the society noted is significantly more than in the other regions of the state.

This study area is meant to serve as a starting point for discussion with interested stakeholders, including state agencies, local communities and officials, recreational sports groups, and the general public. NOAA and the state of Wisconsin are in the early stages of meeting with these stakeholders.

For information on the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, visit http://thunderbay.noaa .gov.

The Friends of Plum and Pilot Islands also presented information about its historic preservation efforts within the Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge to the WCMP Council.