Many of the Institute's projects are germinated by grassroots groups that seek out our assistance in strategy, communications, and fundraising. Such projects include: helping to protect the Jordan River Valley from oil and gas drilling, preserving historic buildings at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, helping Friends of the Cedar River protect the river from the hazards of a neighboring resort expansion, and keeping the Leelanau County Courthouse in its present location.

Another aspect of the Institute's grassroots works involves our Public Trust Alliance. This project grew out of the misleading rhetoric of the "private property rights" movement in the 1990s that has weakened the reach of environmental regulations and undermined public safety, property values, and quality of life.

The Public Trust Alliance has deflated the private rights rallying cry through a combination of research, communications, grassroots organizing, and legal intervention. The Alliance now is helping rural residents deal with an influx of hog factories, which literally are driving people out of their homes because of the overpowering stench and pollution. On another front, the Alliance is raising grassroots awareness to strengthen the Michigan Drain Code, a law that's being misused to drain wetlands, line the pockets of developers, and unfairly tax the very people it hurts.

Here are just a few reports on the Institute's grassroots efforts in 1998:

Reawakening History at Sleeping Bear
The Olsen farmstead is nearly 100 years old, but stands strong at the gateway of Port Oneida, a once thriving community of 20 farms in what is now part of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Built by master carpenter Martin Basch, the farmstead reflects his trademarks sunburst patterns gracing the eaves, a rambling front porch, and a red Dutch gambrel barn.