Plum, Pilot Islands Transferred

These two Door County (Wisconsin) lighthouses and their respective islands were finally transferred from the US Coast Guard to the US Fish and Wildlife Service this past October, after decades of bureaucratic red tape and legal wrangling over environmental cleanup issues. Terms of the conveyance required the Service to partner with a nonprofit organization to renovate the buildings on Plum Island that were abandoned when the Coast Guard deserted the century-old life-saving station in 1991. That role has been taken on by the Friends of Plum and Pilot Islands, a newly formed organization just now finishing nonprofit filings (No website yet).

It is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s goal to protect native and migratory bird habitat and endangered species habitat within the Great Lakes Basin ecosystem. The 325 acre Plum Island would be accessible for public hiking, birding, hunting and other compatible activities. The approximately 3.7 acre Pilot Island would be closed to the public. Both islands would become part of the Green Bay Island National Wildlife Refuge System. However…

No Money For the Islands

Originally, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources wanted to take over the islands, turning them into a state park, but the costs of cleanup (the Feds spent $800,000 on cleanup in 2004) and the fact the Fisheries and Wildlife Service claimed them as wildlife refuges quashed the idea. The islands are home to a burgeoning population of cormorants, which almost faced extinction in the Great Lakes not too long ago, but have now recovered to the point that they’ve become somewhat of a nuisance. The islands are also a critical stop for migratory birds in the spring and fall.

So, the agency will be providing funding for these islands? No. The budget is a big fat zero.

“We knew from the start that there would be no increase in our budget once we took over the islands, and no increase in staff,” said Patti Meyers, manager of the Horicon National Wildlife Refuge. “But we still agreed it was extremely important to do this - to protect these islands.”

Although tiny Pilot Island will remain off limits to the public, the USFWS is hoping to work closely with the Friends Group in repairing these long neglected buildings.

A Race Against Time

With winter setting in, volunteers can finally get to work. But it may be too late for some of the buildings. And it’s a sad state of affairs that once again the federal government has allowed these buildings to deteriorate to this point.

Pilot Island:

• The lighthouse roof needs replacing to prevent it from collapsing like it did on the foghorn building.
• The floors and walls are rotting on the keeper’s house.
• The foghorn building can still be saved, but needs to happen soon.
• The docks need to be repaired or replaced so volunteers can safely access the island for work.
• Portions of the lighthouse keeper’s residence are in danger of collapsing.

Plum Island:

• The once white paint is peeling from the buildings.
• The roof, covered in guano, is in need of replacement. An emergency repair was done a few years ago, but the original roof has collapsed into the floors below.

There’s a sign warning visitors of lead paint hanging out at Pilot Island. Mike Kahr, a Door County dock builder, said about it, “Ridiculous. How about a warning sign that we’ve let these buildings fall apart? If we let them go, what will that say about us in 50 years?”

 Edited 20, January, 200 to add the new website for the Friends of Plum and Pilot Lights

Photo credits:

• Pilot Island Lighthouse by cwbash on Flickr. Some Rights Reserved
• Plum Island Lighthouse by clare_and_ben on Flickr. Some Rights Reserved

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