Michigan Beach Scattered With Glass; Ranger Says Deliberately

CLEVELAND TOWNSHIP, MI — Several hundred yards of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore was found scattered with pieces of glass numbering in the thousands, according to authorities. A park ranger said they believe the "large quantities of broken glass" was spread deliberately.

The glass was found by the Good Harbor Picnic Area, the NPS said, at the east end of Lake Michigan Road in Cleveland Township.

The NPS said there was a similar incident on the Lake Michigan beach in October 2017. "Just like the Lane Road incident, the glass was not dumped in one spot, but is spread fairly uniformly up and down the beach for several hundred yards," said Leelanau District Ranger Andy Blake in a release.

"It is definitely a hazard to beachgoers as it consists of literally thousands of freshly broken pieces mostly one half to two inches in size," Blake said.

"I am outraged by this act that is clearly intended to injure visitors to the National Lakeshore," Superintendent Scott Tucker said in the release.

Park rangers, alongside volunteers, will be taking time from their regular duties to clear the area of pieces of glass as best they can "before visitors and wildlife find them unexpectedly."

Glass containers are not allowed on park beaches, the NPS reminds citizens.

Anybody with information on this incident is urged to contact Leelanau District Ranger Andy Blake at 231-326-4805 or email at andrew_blake@nps.gov.

See the National Park Service release here.