If you've ever been to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, you're well aware of its natural beauty. However, If you have been there recently, you may have noticed a bunch of manmade structures along the beaches which takes that beauty and turns into a big fat eyesore.

The structures are made of mostly driftwood and are being found at multiple locations along the beaches. While this isn't considered littering, it is considered a disruption of the landscape.

They say it's fine to walk along the beaches and take pictures, just after you're done, leave without a trace...aside from your footsteps. It really just boils down to having respect and not being a pig.

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Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore:

Enjoy the natural beauty of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Take pictures, memories, and maybe a book or souvenir back home to remind you of this beautiful part of Michigan, but take care to leave the Park in at least as good condition as when you came.

 

Leave What You Find at Sleeping Bear Dunes

  • Preserve the past: Examine, but do not touch cultural or historic structures and artifacts.
  • Leave rocks, plants and other natural objects as you find them.
  • Avoid introducing or transporting non-native species.

There were some Facebook users that agreed this is a problem and others just found it to be a bit petty.

  • Do some research and you’ll understand why it’s bad to build those things.
  • Structures like these are particularly harmful to shorebirds, including our Federally Endangered Great Lakes Piping Plovers. Shorebirds really need natural beach debris for shelter from the elements, and also to use as hiding places from predators. These tipi-like sculptures not only disrupt the natural beach debris, they also create ideal perches for Merlins, a small falcon that eats Piping Plovers. So if you care about Plovers, building structures like this is one of the worst things you can do on a beach.
  • They are down and dead, perfect for a nice little beach camp fire for those calm and cool evenings.
  • I hate when people do this just like I hate when people build those stupid stone towers or make stone "art". Some of us go to wild places to not have to see evidence of human projects.

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