The Saginaw River and Bay absolutely define the settlement geography of Bay County and the entire Saginaw Bay Watershed. Here in Bay City, our community is nestled on the banks of the Saginaw River several miles inland from the Lake Huron shoreline and the expansive Saginaw Bay. On both sides of the Saginaw River, where it meets Saginaw Bay, there are significant developments that prevent public access and enjoyment of this special area. As a result, many residents and visitors to our community have scarcely seen our Great Lakes shoreline!

Consumers Energy has made a public declaration that significant changes are coming to their power plants on the east bank of the Saginaw and that they’re committed to solar energy production and opening areas of the site that are deemed safe to the public for the first time in generations. The site was a coal plant from 1959 to 2023 and two generating units powered by natural gas will continue operation through 2031.

This project was designed to solicit input, interpret that input, and provide a series of professional recommendations from the Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy on how to approach the design and development of these new open spaces and public lands in the coming years.

Click on the image to the right to view and download the full report.

This report was produced by the Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy with the support of funding from the Mott Foundation administered by the Environmental Law and Policy Center (ELPC). The cooperation of ELPC and Consumers Energy staff were instrumental to the public consensus building process that generated discussion and content serving as the foundation of this report.