HOLLAND, Michigan — The United States Coast Guard announced Thursday that they would be consolidating seasonal Coast Guard stations on Lake Michigan and Lake Superior.
The consolidation will result in the closure of the seasonal Coast Guard stations in Grand Marais, Minnesota and Holland, Michigan. The crews and assets will be consolidated to Duluth, Minnesota and Grand Haven.
The Coast Guard says that the consolidation of the seasonal stations will not affect the ability of the search-and-rescue system across the Great Lakes to respond to emergencies.
The two stations were normally staffed from Memorial Day until Labor Day.
“We would not consolidate these stations if we thought it would increase the risk to boaters or the maritime industry,” said Lt. Paul Rhynard, public affairs officer for the Ninth Coast Guard District. “This decision was made after careful research and with the safety of the public as our top priority. Modern boats, aircraft and strong partnerships with other search-and-rescue agencies allow us to eliminate redundancies and ensure the best use of limited resources.”
The Holland based Coast Guard station averaged about 24 cases per year since 2010 out of the 600-700 average cases on Lake Michigan over the same period.
The Coast Guard conducted a study of its search-and-rescue trends and found that cases decreased from about 33,000 a year in 2004 to about 15,000 in 2019, a reduction of over 50%.
The Coast Guard said that they have not identified any other stations that are planned to be consolidated at this time.
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