Local Resources
State and Local Government on the Net: Michigan
Nice list of government links from the State level all the way down to Townships and Villages.
Marquette County
The official governmental site for Marquette County. Provides links to administrative units, board members and county officials, commissions, courts, human service programs, etc. A popular link includes the Marquette directory, which lists members and elected officials for townships, school boards, etc.; state and county data; Board of Commissioner's meeting dates; and more.
City of Marquette
The official site for the city Marquette. Includes links to information on the city commissioners, manager, departments, and boards and commissions. Also included are online city forms (small arms permit, waste permit, Freedom of Information Act, etc.), maps (voting precincts, sidewalk plowing map, bike path route, etc.), and descriptions of the city's strategic and master plans. See also the Marquette City Code.
City of Marquette (and everywhere else) from BS&A
BS&A is a software company specializing in software for municipalities--local assessor records. Nationwide, too. There is some free access, but a free account will open up more access.
City of Negaunee
The online presence for the City of Negaunee. Includes a directory of local businesses. Negaunee's city ordinances can be found.
City of Ishpeming
There is no online compilation of the city ordinance. You can use their search function for specific topics you might be interested in, though.
Other city codes, for locations all over the State (and nation), can be found here at Municode and here at the American Legal Publishing Corporation.
Michigan Association of Counties--List of Counties
Clickable map and list linking you to the official homepages for all the counties in Michigan as well as Census information. The Michigan Association of Counties has been an advocate for Michigan's county governments for over 100 years.
League of Women Voters of the Copper Country
Very nice website with the names of county officials in the Copper Country (Baraga, Houghton, Keweenaw, and Ontonagon Counties).
Michigan Townships Online
From the Michigan Townships Association. Provides links to the official websites of Michigan townships as well as current topics/legislation dealing with townships. The following townships in Marquette County have a web presence: Champion, Chocolay, Ely, Forsyth, Humboldt, Ishpeming, Marquette, Michigamme, Negaunee, Powell, Republic, Richmond, Sands, Wells, and West Branch.
National Weather Service - Marquette
Offers daily forecasts, satellite imagery, daily and monthly climate summaries, and more. Historical climate data can be found at this link. Across the UP is the Skywarn system ("an informal, non-profit group of amateur radio operators, meteorologists, and weather spotters dedicated to serving severe weather awareness" in the 15 UP counties). For wildfire danger, click here.
Lake Superior Community Partnership (formerly the Chamber of Commerce)
The heading Economic Development offers key demographic and economic information for Marquette County.
Marquette County Health Department
Offers current health topics relevant to the local community along with a variety of local health statistics, such as births and deaths, communicable diseases, teen pregnancies, tobacco use, etc.
Local libraries across the UP are an additional resource to be used. This link takes you to the Upper Peninsula Region of Library Cooperation website, with links to the libraries across the Upper Peninsula.
**An extensive list of U.P. local government links can be found at the Non-Government Local Resources U.P Blue.
Local National Forest Resources have been collected at the Olson Library since the mid 1990s. Publications ranging from pamphlets to environmental impact statements for both the Hiawatha and the Ottawa National Forests are housed in “Cabinet 4”, which is adjacent to the government documents microfiche collection.
Using USA.gov or google's advanced search, it is possible to search within a specific domain, such as the City of Negaunee or City of Marquette.
Regional Resources
Western Upper Peninsula Planning & Development Region (Baraga, Gogebic, Houghton, Iron, Keweenaw, and Ontonagon Counties)
Central Upper Peninsula Planning & Development Regional Commission (Alger, Delta, Dickinson, Marquette, Menominee, and Schoolcraft Counties)
Eastern Upper Peninsula Planning & Development Commission (Chippewa, Luce, and Mackinac Counties)
The 3 of 14 agencies in the State of Michigan created in 1968 for assisting local government. A variety of information can be found here: population information, reports of regional planning studies, economic information, GIS, recreation plans.
Rural Insights: The Upper Peninsula & Beyond.
A regional resource connected to the Master of Public Administration Program here at NMU. Stories, studies, opinion, data on the Upper Peninsula.
USGS Great Lakes Science Center
Per their website, their research "spans a range of studies including fish populations and communities, aquatic habitats, terrestrial ecology, nearshore and coastal communities and the biological processes that occur in this complex ecosystem of the Great Lakes." Full-text publications (reports, fact sheets) can be found here. Also, the Michigan and Wisconsin pages of the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center.
Great Lakes Observing System
The Great Lakes Observing System works to make near to real-time and historical data publicly available to the larger Great Lakes community. Great Lakes Protection is another worthwhile site from the Environment and Climate Change Canada.
The Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat Framework Explorer. Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat Framework is a comprehensive spatial framework, database, and classification for Great Lakes ecological data.
Great Lakes Water Life. Resource developed to meet a need for a comprehensive, accessible inventory inclusive of the wide range of biodiversity of the Great Lakes. The taxonomic scope of this resource includes members of the animal kingdom that spend all or significant portions of their life history in the water. Among vertebrates, it includes fishes along with amphibians and reptiles with facultative or obligate aquatic stages, but excludes birds or mammals regardless of how closely they associate with water or wetlands. Among invertebrates, it includes free-living taxa typically collected with nets and grab-samples as well as taxa that are parasitic on other aquatic vertebrates or invertebrates. Species-level entries are used whenever possible, but genus-level or family-level is the best taxonomic resolution available for some taxa. The resource does not extend to subspecies.
Environmental Protection Agency Region 5
Region 5 covers "Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin and 35 Tribes."
Binational
This resource is a collaboration between the United States Environmental Protection Agency and Environment Canada to provide a single window on joint Great Lakes programs.
Lake Superior Legacy Collection. Online access to the geologic research of the Lake Superior Division of the USGS, 1882-1922 (Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and Ontario).
Lake Michigan Health. Begun after 2015, this study of Lake Michigan looks at the lower food web, which may be depleted by invasive zebra and quagga mussels, the condition of key prey fish species, and the impact of contaminants on water quality and in the food chain.
Freshwater Ecoregions of the World: Laurentian Great Lakes.
"Provides a new global biogeographic regionalization of the Earth's freshwater biodiversity. Covering virtually all freshwater habitats on Earth, this first-ever ecoregion map, together with associated species data, is a useful tool for underpinning global and regional conservation planning efforts, particularly to identify outstanding and imperiled freshwater systems; for serving as a logical framework for large-scale conservation strategies; and for providing a global-scale knowledge base for increasing freshwater biogeographic literacy." Also includes a bibliography for each region. A companion site to GLANSIS (Great Lakes Aquatic Nonindigenous Species Information System).
U.S. Climate Resiliance Toolkit: Great Lakes. From NOAA. The U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit (of which the Great Lakes is one section) is a website designed to help people find and use tools, information, and subject matter expertise to build climate resilience. The Toolkit offers information from all across the U.S. federal government in one easy-to-use location.
Great Lakes page from the Agency for Toxic Substance & Disease Registry (program ended in 2012)
Information on the environmental pollutants found in the Great Lakes. Biomonitoring of Great Lakes Populations is ongoing. Also, the Superior Watershed Partnership.
The Online Water Library from Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City.
The mission of this collection is to provide an open access portal to research for the Great Lakes and local area (Grand Traverse Area) lakes for researchers, educators and the general public.
Great Lakes Fishery Commission.
The Great Lakes Fishery Commission was established in 1955 by the Canadian/U.S. Convention on Great Lakes Fisheries. The commission coordinates fisheries research, controls the invasive sea lamprey, and facilitates cooperative fishery management among the state, provincial, tribal, and federal management agencies.
Also from NOAA is their Ocean and Coastal Management in Michigan website. This program works closely with local communities to encourage responsible growth and development along the coast, improve public access to the coast, and protect sensitive coastal resources.
NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. This office conducts innovative research on the dynamic environments and ecosystems of the Great Lakes to inform resource use and management decisions that lead to safe and sustainable ecosystems, ecosystem services, and human communities.
NOAA CoastWatch Great Lakes Node. Provides near real-time and long-term remote sensing data products and customized decision-making applications for regions around the Great Lakes.
Another tool is the National Water Prediction Service. New in April 2024, this hub for water data, products and services combines local and regional forecasts with water data and new national level capabilities, such as flood inundation maps and the National Water Model. Although national, you can zoom in to the UP.
Michigan Interactive
Self-professed "source for the north", this website has many maps (park, trail, lake, interactive) and contains outdoor recreation information for all of Michigan.
International Joint Commission
While not strictly limited to Great Lakes issues (all water issues along the U.S-Canadian border are the concern of this commission), the IJC's virtual library contains publications of interest locally.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Sea Lamprey Management Program.
Upper Peninsula Economic Development Alliance. The mission of the Upper Peninsula Economic Development Alliance (UPEDA) is to enhance, link and promote the unique aspects of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula as the superior location in which to invest and conduct business. Their "County Profiles" provide a nice snapshot of social and economic conditions.
Non-Governmental Local Resources
UP Blue
Huge collection of links to Upper Peninsula resources, including media, government, schools, recreation--This really is a great place to start.
Exploring the North
A guide to the Upper Peninsula and Northern Wisconsin.
Superior Sights
Another guide to the region.