2026 Great Lakes Beach Association

National Beach Summit

Travers City, Michigan

Oct 27-30 2026

REGISTRATION OPENS AUGUST!

Join us Oct 27-30 in Travers City, Michigan for the 24th Annual Great Lakes Beach Association (GLBA) meeting.  The beach summit will be held in at the Hagerty Center at Northwestern Michigan College.

Abstracts for posters and presentations - submission details below

Questions? Contact Dr. Shannon Briggs (BRIGGSS4@michigan.gov)

Registration

Price guides for attendees, exhibitors, and for field trips.

Attendees (general) - $200 USD (after OCT 10, $250 USD)

Students - $50 USD

Exhibitor table - All sponsorship levels include a registration and exhibitor table. If you are with a non-profit or educational organization and would like a table without registering for the conference, please reach out to Nicole Messacar at nmessaca@idem.in.gov

Field trip: Interpretive tour of Indiana Dunes State Park, Tuesday November 4, 1:30PM-4:30PM (transportation included)

Program agenda: Click here for 2025 agenda or access via the navigation menu.

Call for presentation and poster abstracts

The submission deadline for presentations, posters, and student posters is 3 May 2026.

Presentation Abstract Submission Guidelines

Abstract Title: Limited to 12 words.
Abstract Length: Limited to 300 words.

Presentations should be at 20 to 30 minutes in length.  Longer presentations should be submitted as two separate presentations of equal length (e.g., Part 1 and Part 2).

Topic Areas

Please review the following topics to consider the category where your presentation would best fit. Authors may suggest additional topics that are not on the list, but they must fit a general topic area related to sustainability:

• Policy, Water Quality Standards, and New Alternative Methods

• Laboratory Technologies/Rapid Detection Methods

• Harmful Algal Blooms 

• Pollution Mitigation Strategies and Case Studies

• Microbial Source Tracking and Risk-Based Decision Making

• Beach Safety, Dangerous Currents, and Beach Notification Systems

• Trash Mitigation and Microplastics 

• Community Science

• Indigenous-led monitoring and Traditional Ecological Knowledge

• Public Engagement and Communications

• Predictive modelling

• Coastal Resilience

• Data stories: Lessons learned from years of monitoring 
   

Presenters of selected abstracts should expect to be contacted in June 2026.  Selected presenters will receive a discounted rate to attend the full conference.

Poster details:

• Posters should be no larger than 36” x 36”.

• Easels will be provided at the venue; Presenters will also be provided poster board or backing (such as a cork board or foam board) to display their poster securely if needed.

Accommodation

Delamar Traverse City

Location: 615 E Front St., Traverse City, MI 49686

Group room rates: To secure the GLBA group room rate book before Oct 2, 2026

Group Code: National Beach Summit

• $139.00 USD/Night

Phone: +1 231-947-3700

            Advise agent of Group Discount: Group Code: National Beach Summit

Web: Delamar Travers City

National Beach Summit location

Location: Hagerty Center At Northwestern Michigan College

Web: https://www.hagertycenter.com/

Address: 715 East Front Street, Traverse City, MI, USA

Getting to Travers City

Nearest Airport — Cherry Capital Airport (TVC), Traverse City

Cherry Capital Airport is located right in Traverse City, approximately 5 miles / 8 km from the Hagerty Center — about a 10–15 minute drive by rental car or rideshare.

Other Nearby Airports

• Detroit Metro (DTW): Approx. 235 miles / 378 km away — about 3 hrs 30 min to 4 hrs by car. Direct regional flights to TVC are also available from DTW (approx. 1 hr flight).

• Grand Rapids Gerald R. Ford International (GRR): Approx. 145 miles / 233 km away — about 2 hrs 15 min by car.

• Chicago O'Hare (ORD): Approx. 330 miles / 531 km away — about 4 hrs 45 min to 5 hrs by car. Regional connecting flights to TVC may also be available.

• Pellston Regional Airport (PLN): Approx. 70 miles / 113 km away — about 1 hour by car. Smaller airport with limited service.

Our 2025 Sponsors

Interested in sponsoring the meeting?

Contact

Nicole Messacar (NMessaca@idem.IN.gov)