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The group, Thumb Residents United Ecologically (T.R.U.E.), believes that protecting and preserving the environment is beneficial to the economy.

T.R.U.E. has five goals this year including leading the fight to get ecoli off local beaches, start a local food movement, advocate the county going green, establish a grass roots movement and to implement a countywide recycling program.

"The biggest issue facing our county is keeping ecoli off our beaches," said T.R.U.E. member and spokesperson Chris Boyle. "We need to protect the health of our children and ourselves."

Three goals related to the ecoli issue are having the funds for water testing, starting a petition drive to get County Commissioners to get involved and pushing to get DNA testing to figure out if the ecoli comes from animals or humans.

The next item on their agenda is starting a community supported agriculture program.

"The average food travels about 1,400 miles before it reaches your house," Boyle explained. "We want people to support the local farmers."

"We're going to try and encourage more purchasing of food from the local farmers," he added.

One way T.R.U.E. plans to succeed with this is to establish and promote community gardens in villages and towns.

"The Farmer's Markets are a great start to this," said Boyle. "The more food bought locally, the better the economy can be."

To help advocate the county going "green," Boyle said the position of T.R.U.E is for the county to become more environmentally friendly.

"In the Thumb with the lakes and the shorelines we have ideally the perfect situation to be labeled as green."

"We can use the waterways for entertainment, for lifestyles and many other resources," he added.

Boyle said when offices and county buildings are in the process of remodeling, it would be nice to see them consider more efficient means of heating and cooling.

"All businesses could implement solar or wind energy and help save power," he said. "Every little bit helps."

The fourth goal is to establish a grass roots movement, which is to plan and sponsor fun public events and promote a cleaner Earth, raise awareness on how to protect natural resources and to build coalitions dedicated to protecting the environment.

The final goal is to implement a countywide recycling program.

"Lake Township has a voluntary recycling drop off but we would like to see something bigger."

"We've looked and we'd like to start with local communities," Boyle added.

To find out more about T.R.U.E or to become a member, contact Boyle at (989) 269-7151.