Name: Beaver Beacon tracks low Lake Michigan levels and shoreline effects from August through November 2000
Start: 2000-08
End: 2000-11
Location: Beaver Island

Locator map: Beaver Island highlighted within the Beaver Island archipelago — Took place at Beaver IslandLocator plate © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0); depths NOAA; names USGS GNIS. How the plates are drawn.

Event

Dates: 2000-08 – 2000-11
Kind: Observation
Where: Beaver Island
Eras: Modern era
Concepts: hydrologyweatherconservationcommunication
Within: Beaver Island

Summary

The August through November 2000 Beaver Beacon issues described Lake Michigan as lower than usual but not at a new record, with effects on shorelines, beaches, docks, commercial navigation, and dredging requests. The September report noted a recent rise of a few inches in the harbor, while November’s weather column said the lake appeared to have stopped receding.

Evidence limits

These are newspaper explanatory accounts and attributed claims; they are not an independent gauge-series analysis or environmental-impact assessment.

Sources

Beaver Beacon, August 2000, “The Levels of Lake Michigan.”
Explains the issue’s account of lake-level measurements, the relation among precipitation, runoff, evaporation, and the St. Lawrence outlet, and warns that dredging could release nutrients and pollutants. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2000-08_Beaver-Beacon
Beaver Beacon, August 2000, held issue PDF, source scan.
The held issue scan confirms the published lake-level explainer.
data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 2000-08_Beaver-Beacon
Beaver Beacon, September 2000, “The Level of the Lake.”
Reports lower-than-usual levels and shoreline, beach, dock, navigation, and dredging effects, while noting that the article’s cited scientists did not expect continuing record-setting declines and that the harbor had recently risen a few inches. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2000-09_Beaver-Beacon
Beaver Beacon, September 2000, held issue PDF, source scan.
The held issue scan confirms the published lake-level report.
data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 2000-09_Beaver-Beacon
Beaver Beacon, November 2000, “Weather.”
Reports that Lake Michigan remained below usual levels because of evaporation and below-average rain but appeared to have stopped receding. The holding institution's portal restricts automated access; the archive holds a copy of this issue and can provide it on request.
data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2000-11_Beaver-Beacon
Beaver Beacon, November 2000, held issue PDF, source scan.
The held issue scan confirms the weather and lake-level observation.
data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 2000-11_Beaver-Beacon

Added 6 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Beaver Beacon tracks low Lake Michigan levels and shoreline effects from August through November 2000”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/beaver-island-lake-michigan-levels-low-water-explainer-2000/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, August 2000, “The Levels of Lake Michigan.” (and 5 further sources listed on the page).

Last revised 2026-08-06. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.

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