Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA: Summer 2003: The brand-new edition of the popular "Lake Michigan Circle Tour & Lighthouse Guide.," published by the West Michigan Tourist Association (WMTA), focuses on the restoration and preservation of lighthouses around Lake Michigan.

The Michigan Lighthouse Project was established in 1998 to increase public and governmental awareness of lighthouse preservation issues. It also seeks to identify ways to ensure the long-term preservation of the lights all across the Great Lakes. The Secretary of State''s "Save Our Lights" license plate campaign was introduced in April, 2001. Since that time, more than $300,000 has been raised for the preservation of Michigan's historic beacons. The new 2003 "Lake Michigan Circle Tour & Lighthouse Guide" features restored lighthouses as well lights on the "doomsday" list. It spotlights the need for preservation of all Lake Michigan lights.

The guide's lighthouse map and index identify 115 beacons along the 1100-miles of shoreline, including lights, lighthouses and crib and shoal lights. New to the guide's lighthouse index this year are tower heights, the original Fresnel lens order, state and historic register designations and identification of lights located inside state parks. The index also notes the year the light was built, whether a museum is located on site, whether the tower and/or keeper's residence are accessible to the public and whether the light or its related structures are among those rumored to be haunted.

Those who enjoy the printed version of the "Lake Michigan Circle Tour & Lighthouse Guide" will find the online version an expanded information and travel tool. Located at www.wmta.org/lighthouse/circle_tour.shtml, the online directory includes detailed driving directions around the official four-state Circle Tour route. Comprehensive profiles of each light include photographs, historical accounts and driving directions. Other features of the online directory include a history of the Lake Michigan Circle Tour route and its official WMTA publication, "Beacon Briefs" news stories, and listings of events, tours and get-aways with lighthouse themes.

The first "Lake Michigan Circle Tour & Lighthouse Guide" was published in 1988. Since then, more than a million copies have been printed and distributed exclusively by WMTA. The guide is designed to help travelers navigate the route, which winds through some of the nation''s wildest country and one of its largest urban centers. WMTA's publication is considered the official guide to the route and is the only guide of its kind distributed free to the traveling public. To order it, call 800-442-2084 ext. 1, 24/7 or order it online anytime at www.wmta.org/pubs.shtml.