MT. CLEMENS — Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel has announced some of the highlights of the Blue Economy Strategic Development Plan the County will be implementing to further develop Lake St. Clair and the Clinton River.
The plan was outlined on June 8 during the annual Celebrate the Lake press day at MacRay Harbor, which is held to highlight the assets of Lake St. Clair.
“Lake St. Clair and the Clinton River are tremendous assets, and we need to leverage them to create more tourism, recreation and economic development opportunities,” said Hackel. “My vision for the County’s key waterways includes creating campgrounds, canoe and kayak liveries along the Clinton River and boosting tourism activity along Lake St. Clair by making it more of a destination for boaters and visitors.”
A core group of individuals from the Executive Office, the Macomb County Department of Planning & Economic Development and other key agencies worked to cultivate the plan, which looks at existing, potential and larger-scaled projects and programming. It was developed on three core principles: environmental stewardship, economic development, and quality-of-life issues. Highlights of the plan include five major areas of concentration that will be analyzed considering each project or program’s assets and deficiencies, short- and long-term goals, timeline and potential funding resources:
1. Increase accessibility to Lake St. Clair and the Clinton River
2. Continue to enhance and improve the environmental quality of Lake St. Clair and the Clinton River
3. Increase the number of entertainment and recreational development opportunities
4. Seek additional funding resources and opportunities
5. Develop and implement marketing, educational, and advocacy programs.
“This development plan will go a long way in helping us to highlight the assets of Lake St. Clair and the Clinton River that have been hidden for way too long,” said Gerry Santoro, program manager of Land & Water Resources.
