An effort is underway to prevent a high-tech buoy credited with supplying critical information from Lake Michigan from being moved out of western Michigan.
The nonprofit Great Lakes Observing System is managing a fundraising campaign to cover about $25,000 in annual upkeep costs for the buoy. The fundraising campaign has until the end of February to meet that goal.
The buoy has been located in Lake Michigan off Ottawa County's Port Sheldon Township since 2012. The Holland Sentinel
reports that it provides nearly real-time data to anyone interested in knowing about local weather and wave patterns.
Ann Arbor-based company LimnoTech has said it wants to shift the cost of the buoy's upkeep because a federal grant is running out.
The fundraising campaign has raised $1,500 as of early Tuesday morning.