Environmental advocacy shines in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. It can be difficult not to fight for its wilderness, especially when surrounded by the shimmering Lake Superior. Some people go out of their way to involve themselves and spread the word about the importance of conservation. They attend meetings, create campaigns and make themselves known. Not many dedicate their lives to the U.P.’s protection, however.

Luckily, some are passionate enough.

Jane Fitkin is an NMU alum who creates and appears at vast amounts of talks, meetings and outreach events advocating for the environment. Aside from her consistent involvement elsewhere, Fitkin makes a large impact as a leader. She is the Director of Outreach and Communications for Citizens for a Safe and Clean Lake Superior (CSCLS), a nonprofit dedicated to advocacy for the largest, coldest and cleanest Great Lake.

Her stature as an advocate did not come out of nowhere. She found her passion and learned many of her skills as a student at NMU.

“I fell in love with Lake Superior pretty immediately,” Fitkin said. “I was very drawn from the start to want to protect her, because I started to see all the ways in which she’s threatened.”

From there, her passion for the environment bloomed and flourished. As an environmental studies major and political science minor, she became involved in a myriad of extracurriculars. Fitkin’s time as a co-leader of NMU’s Conservation Crew was a highlight for her, as it helped her channel her love for advocacy.

“I was passionate about getting people out hiking and bringing students out for group hikes to appreciate the U.P.’s natural environment,” she said. “The goal of conservation is to concentrate impact and bring people into the outdoors so that they appreciate it, and then once they care, once they feel a connection to Lake Superior, then we’re able to show them where the threat lies and show them why it is urgent for them to take action.” 

With a leadership role at NMU, Fitkin’s involvement streak got rolling. She made the most out of her time as an undergrad by attending city meetings, building valuable connections with professors and learning the inner workings of environmental policy.

All of her participation led her to recognize how important advocacy was to her.

“I am especially drawn to advocacy because I know that there are so many threats brewing all of the time,” she said. “We need to value Lake Superior as if she is our mother, because she is. She is the source of all life for us here.” 

As an NMU graduate, Fitkin continues to fight for Lake Superior. She prides herself in her work with CSCLS and is a valuable voice in campaigns against environmental threats. She joined the organization at the tail end of a campaign against the proposed SpaceX Spaceport, which would have destroyed Marquette land and lake resources. In 2023, the rocket project was stopped.

Now, Fitkin and her organization continue to fight against threats such as the Copperwood Mine. The mine would destroy valuable land in the Porcupine Mountains. Progress has been made, but advocacy against it continues.

“We also act as a catalyst between other organizations to make sure that everybody’s voice is as loud as possible,” Fitkin said. “It culminates in a lot of different things. We’re working on trying to get local wetland protections, and part of that is an education campaign.”

Fitkin also spreads her voice elsewhere. She recently joined the Planning Commission and is involved with the Marquette Sustainability Coalition. When interacting with the Marquette community, she is able to see how supportive people are behind the scenes.

“I think that that is where I find hope, seeing what we can do on a local level, and how responsive people in Marquette are to change,” she said. “It is also seeing what all the activists who’ve come before me do, and seeing what they’ve been able to accomplish in the face of adversity.”

A look at Fitkin’s long list of accomplishments reveals her success in environmental advocacy. She was a driven NMU student with big goals that she met as she went on to graduate. Still, she is not done. She plans on continuing her journey to creating a change and ensuring that the Lake Superior Watershed is protected.

“My goal is to make sure that even with things that are outside of our control. We’ll have people on the ground who care and are willing to use their voice to advocate for change,” Fitkin said.