About Us

Mission and Vision

The mission of Citizens for a Safe & Clean Lake Superior is to protect the shoreline, fresh water, and ecological integrity of Lake Superior and its watershed in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and to be an advocate for the Lake Superior region by fostering community action to preserve the quality of life provided by this coastal environment for generations to come.

We envision a Lake Superior watershed free from threats to its health and safety for the benefit of all that it sustains.

Born of love for the lake

Citizens for Superior was founded in 2020 by passionate local residents of Marquette County to stop an ill-conceived plan to build an industrial rocket launch site on an ecologically and culturally significant stretch of Lake Superior shoreline just north of the City of Marquette. We’ve researched, organized, and built community opposition of thousands of people to the spaceport project, ultimately resulting in the project’s demise. Learn more about the Stop the Rocket Campaign here.

We brought information to light that scared the spaceport company away, showed mountains of evidence why the project would be detrimental to the environment and economy of the area, and successfully secured a resolution in Powell Township preventing rezoning for a spaceport at Granot Loma. Along the way, we also built an organization that is uniquely poised to tackle new environmental challenges with the backing of a broad coalition of local and statewide civic, business, environmental, scientific, and academic leaders and citizens who remain deeply committed to protecting this globally unique, biodiverse, and fragile freshwater resource.

The view of Lake Superior and Little Presque Isle from an overlook on a clear blue-sky winter day. Photo taken by Jane Fitkin.

What we're up to these days

Citizens for Superior advocates for the protection and health of the Lake Superior shoreline and watershed in da wonderful UP. With a 7-member working Board of Directors, two full-time staff members, and assistance from volunteers and student interns, our current efforts are focused on advocating for wetland protection in Marquette County, organizing around and taking action against environmentally harmful mining threats in the watershed, supporting native plant landscapes and outdoor education in Powell Township, and reducing the hazardous waste effects of vaping in Marquette.