FERRYSBURG, Mich. — Ottawa Sands, once an empty piece of former industrial land along Lake Michigan's shoreline is now being recognized nationally for its environmental transformation.
The park, located in Ferrysburg, has received an award from the National Association of County Park and Recreation Officials for its environmental efforts since becoming part of the Ottawa County Park System in 2019.
WATCH: Ottawa Sands receives national recognition for environmental work
"We were very excited to receive the award. We put a ton of work into this project, and there were a ton of partners that were involved in making it possible," said Nealy Molhoek, Ottawa County Parks and Recreation Coordinator of Natural Resources Management.
The environmental work included adding wetlands, increasing the shoreline and shallow area of the lake, and installing 200 woody habitat structures for migratory and wetland birds.
"This was one of the largest chunks of underdeveloped property in this area. It's kind of in the middle of six mile long natural corridor," Molhoek said.
Rather than simply restoring the area, the county focused on creating entirely new habitats.
"We didn't quite do restoration here; we did habitat creation. So we took what we had, which was a hole in the ground, and we improved some of the habitat around and in the lake," Molhoek said.
The recognition comes after Ottawa Sands opened their campground last spring, which has enhanced Ferrysburg's reputation as a recreation destination.
"We hear a lot of good things about the recreation in this area. The city has, with Ottawa Sands, over 400 acres of parks just in the city. So, that's almost like 25% of our land is parks," said Craig Bessinger, Ferrysburg City Manager.
While celebrating the award, park officials acknowledge there's still more work ahead.
"We're really excited to be able to celebrate what we have done along with our partners," Molhoek said.
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