Boating access reopens at Sterling State Park, dredging continues

6/20/2007

MONROE - Although the dredging project at Sterling State Park is not finished, boating access has reopened.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources said the park's Bartnik boating access site will operate while silt is cleared from Sandy Creek and western Lake Erie's Brest Bay, both of which flow into western Lake Erie.

Boaters are asked to note the buoys off the dredging barge to determine which side they need to be on in order to pass.

The site had been closed for weeks because the boating channel had become too shallow for most recreational vessels to pass through until more silt was dredged.

Officials said the dredging had taken longer than expected because of conditions in the channel.

Bolles Harbor launch, three miles south of Sterling State Park, has been suggested as an alternative for those unable to use the state park's site.

For more information or updates, contact Jamie Allen, Sterling State Park acting supervisor, at 734-289-2715. General information about the facilities also can be found at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Web site, www.michigan.gov/dnr.

Sterling State Park is Michigan's only state park along Lake Erie. It lies north of the River Raisin and encompasses 1,300 acres. It was named after William C. "Win" Sterling, a two-term Democratic state representative and Monroe native who died of cancer in 1962 at age 63 while in office.