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CHOCOLAY TOWNSHIP -- Restoring sand dunes along M-28 can improve winter driving on that stretch of highway in Chocolay Township. That's because with Lake Superior's vicious winds, they blow sand across the road and in winter it is the snow.

But if you replace the native beach grass and eventually trees, they can act as a natural wind break, saving the dune and stopping the snow.

About a dozen volunteers from N.M.U., helped the Superior Watershed Partnership today replant beach grass. The project is funded by FEMA with help from M-DOT and Chocolay Township.

Areas where there is no beach grass or trees, are commonly called blow-outs. These areas will be completed replanted.

Rick Ligman with the Superior Watershed Partnership says this kind of work pays dividends for years to come. He says, "By restoring the dune face and replacing some of the native trees, we hope to at least minimize the number of white-outs during the winter months and physical erosion of the dunes during the summer storms."

He adds, "It's not just mother nature eroding the sand dunes, human traffic is also to blame." Ligman says using the stairs on the dunes is key in preserving them and the plant life.