Having a world-class visitor center centered around local research involving Lake Michigan and the Bay of Green Bay potentially in your backyard is a step closer to becoming a reality.

The Sturgeon Bay Common Council will look to approve a prospectus document aimed at bolstering the city’s bid to attract the National Estuarine Research Reserve visitor center to be built. Sturgeon Bay is competing with Green Bay and Marinette as a possible location for a visitor center for the Green Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. Last December, UW-Green Bay submitted several sites where some of their studies would take place within the reserve, including two that are in Green Bay. Earlier in 2022, the city began looking into potential sites for the visitor center, which will be a central space where public outreach, laboratory analysis, and other operations can take place.

The 26-page prospectus highlights the reasons why Sturgeon Bay should be considered for the future visitor center, which includes its status as a national tourist destination, its renewed focus on sustainability,  and its support for the arts and sciences. The prospectus also shows its six potential sites for the visitor center and features the $500,000 already committed to a future visitor center through the NERR Startup Fund at the Door County Community Foundation. The city has received two dozen letters of support for their bid, ranging from local municipalities and school districts to business owners and private citizens.

The Sturgeon Bay Common Council will also receive an update from the Sturgeon Bay Historical Society on the progress of the Door County Granary and approve the purchases of a stormwater easement from Tall Pines Estates when they meet on Tuesday at 6 p.m.