How Is Erosion Affecting the Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan?
The dunes at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Park in Michigan are currently under threat from erosion, which is changing their distinctive shape.Changing ShapeSleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Park takes its name from the largest dune, which used to resemble a bear. According to the park’s own fact sheet, Sleeping Bear Dune “hardly looks like a bear anymore.” This is because erosion has both changed its shape and changed the character of the vegetation that once lent it a “shaggy” appearance.Human ImpactAlthough they are not supposed to, people sometimes walk on the dunes. Unfortunately, this can kill off the vegetation of the dunes. Without the stabilizing roots of plant life, erosion is left unchecked.Wind ErosionWind erosion removes sand from the Sleeping Bear Dunes and changes their shape. Wind erosion also contributes to the destruction of dune vegetation, meaning that future erosion will be ever more devastating to the dunes.Water ErosionThe primary agent of erosion a
