Endangered Foghorns

Foghorns along the Great Lakes serve a dual purpose: each has a distinctive pattern of sound and silence that, with the help of a chart, tells boaters where they are. And in fog, the horns help lead them safely into harbor. But now the Coast Guard is questioning whether the horns are really necessary. Soon the melancholy wail of a distant foghorn may become just a memory to the people along much of Lake Michigan’s shoreline. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy Nelson has this report: