Indiana Dunes Administrative History

Preservation of South Shore Railroad History

The Chicago, South Bend, and South Shore Railroad, commonly referred to as the "South Shore Railroad," has enjoyed a close relationship to Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Both entities have engaged in cooperative efforts to promote the other. The South Shore Railroad has an integral role in the park's 1980 General Management Plan. Indeed, the railroad has played a significant part in the history of the Indiana Dunes. During the early 20th century before good roads like U.S. 12 and 20 were built, the primary means of reaching the dunes was via the South Shore Railroad. In late 1987, lakeshore Historian Dori Partsch initiated the process of nominating the South Shore Railroad Station at Beverly Shores to the National Register of Historic Places. The structure is planned to be a key to future developments regarding the nearby lakeshore campground.

As horse—powered vehicles gave way to machines at the turn of the century, streetcar lines powered by electricity were constructed to transport citizens within municipal boundaries. Entrepeneurs and local governments, recognizing the economic rewards of linking cities together, were responsible for the birth of the "interurban railroad." In its path from South Bend to Chicago, the South Shore Railroad makes several stops in the dunes region. Local residents commute safely and quickly to jobs in the city while urban dwellers enjoy equal access to the beauty and solitude of the Indiana Dunes.

In the 1920s, Samuel Insull, owner of the South Shore; North Shore; and Chicago, Aurora & Elgin interurban railroads purchased luxurious steel cars and installed catenary overhead wire and pantagraphs for higher speed—in lieu of single wire and trolley poles—for the South Shore Railroad. Thus, Indiana was at the core of the U.S. interurban system in terms of trackage, frequent operation, and importance to the regional transportation infrastructure. Better roads and cars plus the Depression spelled the doom of most interurban systems, but several passenger lines did survive. When the North Shore Railroad folded in 1963, the South Shore Railroad remained as the last interurban line. Its well designed and constructed steel cars remained in continuous service for an amazing fifty—seven years.

Although the cars come in all sizes and exhibit various interior configurations, the most historically significant are the "short cars" which were never modernized or lengthened. Car No. 33 is the best example of a short car and its 1929 pristine appearance included mahogany woodwork, plush bucket seats, and polished bronze dome light fixtures. The two remaining restored cars represent different stages of the railroad's development and modernization.

Park support groups have lobbied for the necessary funding to accomplish the restoration activity. They propose additional appropriations to rebuild the external operating systems in order to use restored Car No. 33 for demonstrations. When the intra—park shuttle system is developed, these park boosters envision the need for additional restored South Shore Railroad cars.

Because the national lakeshore's 1966 enabling legislation calls for the preservation of the area's historic resources, the lakeshore's fleet of donated South Shore Railroad cars qualify just as the significant cultural resources of Bailly Homestead do. In an era so closely tied to the personal automobile and jet airline travel, the preservation of an important early mass transit system which remains in operation is considered a primary task for Federal park managers. [8]

Secretary Watt's "Hit List"

With the installation of the new Republican leaders of President Ronald Wilson Reagan's administration in January 1981, the national agenda shifted to a more conservative outlook. More stringent fiscal policies were adopted—called "Reaganomics"—which discouraged the growth of government and promoted the free enterprise system. The appointment of James G. Watt to the post of Secretary of the Interior caused much concern among conservation circles as to how the new administration's policies would be implemented. In the area of parks, it was apparent that some urban recreation areas were not viewed as "legitimate objects of Federal ownership and responsibility." [9] Among James Watt's initial acts was to freeze land acquisition funding, halt the purchase of private inholdings in parks, and stress the development of natural resources over conservation.

Watt also appointed National Inholder Association (NIA) founder Charles Cushman to the National Park System Advisory Board. NIA lobbyist Ric Davidge became Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks. Soon after the November 1980 Reagan victory, Davidge came to Indiana Dunes at the invitation of Beverly Shores—based HOPE (Homeowners Opposed to Park Expansion). Explaining he was a member of the Department of the Interior transition team, Davidge told Save the Dunes Council Executive Director Charlotte Read that Interior would be seriously examining the newer units in the National Park System to see if they merited being Federal areas. Read left the meeting with a nagging concern for what the new administration had planned for Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. [10]

Apparently, park opponents had convinced the Reagan appointees to the Department of the Interior that the only person who wanted the park was Senator Paul Douglas. With Douglas' death, there would be little or no resistance to a deauthorization effort. [11] Consequently, during the first months of the Reagan term, a memorandum from Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Ray Arnett to the directors of the National Park Service and the soon—to—be abolished Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service asked the bureaus to research the "history of your agencies opposition to Congressional designation and creation of new areas within the National Park Service." The directive stated:

Please review the files with respect to national recreation areas, lakeshores, and seashores. Of principal interest are those areas created over the last 10 years by Congress over the objection of the agency. Please compile this by area. [For example, compile] specific statements in testimony by the agencies raising objections to the creation of the area; documents (studies) internally that address the problem.

In addition to the specific documents on specific areas, please research the files to identify general materials expressing concern with the expansion of the system in previous Administrations. [Also research] documents expressing concern with the designation of NRA's absent any organic act respective of that classification. I would appreciate a prioritization of research. First focus on Santa Monica Mountains NRA, secondly on Cuyahoga Valley NRA, then Fire Island NS, Indiana Dunes NL, Sleeping Bear Dunes NL, etc.

Please provide this material as soon as possible as it will provide a basis for assessing historic objections to the creation of areas now within the federal estate. [12]

Leaked to the National Parks and Conservation Association, Arnett's directive soon found its way to the news media which charged the administration with targeting units of the National Park System for deauthorization. [13] Charlotte Read, girding the Save the Dunes Council for the fight, later remarked, "We made sure that the idea got bashed in every major newspaper that we could reach. The trial balloon got blown right out of the sky." [14] The predictable public outcry over the Watt "hit list" was angry and tumultuous. It included the Indiana political hierarchy, once adamant foes of the national lakeshore, now acting as its primary protector. In hurried testimony before the Senate Interior Appropriations Committee, National Park Service Director Russell E. Dickenson attempted to quell public concern. He explained:

I am familiar with this memorandum and the reasons behind its preparation. It was written on the instruction of the Secretary who, as you know, is not seeking to deauthorize any units of the Park Service.

The memorandum is an attempt to get information pertaining to the creation of national parks over the past decade when there were reasonable objections raised by park professionals to the suitability of certain lands for national designation.

The Secretary is concerned that boundaries for some Federal areas may have been drawn in most peculiar ways which may favor special interest purposes rather than specific national purposes of park acquisition. He is curious to know why and has directed that an inquiry be made into factors leading to certain boundary, easement, and acquisition decisions. The Secretary has said repeatedly, and has authorized me to reiterate in this hearing:

That there is no national park hit list.

That there is no present plan to deauthorize or ask the Congress to revise the boundaries of any unit of the National Park System.

That while the Secretary, from a philosophical point of view would not approve additional urban parks at this time, neither is he taking steps to deauthorize existing facilities. [15]

News of the so—called "hit list" and the fact that Indiana Dunes was one of the five targets did not shock the staff at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. As early as February 27, Assistant to the Assistant Secretary Ric Davidge met with Superintendent Whitehouse at Indiana Dunes upon the invitation of HOPE.* A former lobbyist for the National Inholder's Association, Davidge was intimately familiar with the local chapter's concerns and had lobbied for removing Indiana Dunes from the National Park System. As an Interior official, Davidge was particularly interested in the golf course tract authorized by the 1980 expansion bill. Davidge and HOPE members were concerned about limiting the lakeshore's acquisition of developed land and boundary determinations. [16]

---

*An integral component of HOPE is the Lithuanian ethnic community of Beverly Shores. Forced to migrate from their strife—torn homeland during the upheavals of twentieth century Europe, displaced Lithuanians established a community in Chicago. When their Chicago neighborhood began being pressured by an expanding black community, some Lithuanians resettled a second time in Beverly Shores, Indiana. Having lost their homes to political reasons before, it is understandable that many of the Lithuanians opposed the National Park Service's efforts to acquire their homes for Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. See Whitehouse interview, 11 March 1987.

---

To assess the authenticity of the hit list, Superintendent Whitehouse consulted the Congressional delegation, including Senator Richard Lugar (Republican—Indiana). At a breakfast three days later in which both Lugar and Watt were present, Lugar sent a message to Watt inquiring about the controversy over Indiana Dunes. Watt's response was, "You're safe. Indiana Dunes will be untouched." Lugar subsequently sent a photocopy of the Watt note to Whitehouse who remained confident that a deauthorization measure—like a decade earlier—would never be endorsed by Congress. [17]

Local conservation groups such as the Save the Dunes Council mobilized their forces to heighten public awareness. The Council joined ranks with other groups to form the National Park Action Project to develop a national support network for the National Park System. [18] Council President Charlotte Read commented, "The scare provided the Save the Dunes Council with a valuable reminder that no park is ever really secure and that every park needs the continuing support of an informed and active citizenry to survive." [19]

With the deauthorization trial balloon thus successfully deflated, another blow came on May 20, 1981, when the Interior Department's Inspector General ordered all National Park Service land acquisition files sealed pending a full—scale audit. J. R. Whitehouse ensured early compliance with the directive on May 19 by ordering the removal of records from the Land Acquisition Office at the Marquette Mall to the property office at the Bailly Administrative Area. [20] Departmental inspectors poured laboriously over the records searching for any improprieties between certain landowners and Park Service land acquisition officers. Their report failed to identify any irregularities, although it stopped the land acquisition program for most of 1981 and put a definite "chill" on future prospects.

On April 4, 1982, Secretary James Watt* (along with two U.S. Park Police and four Lakeshore rangers for security reasons), [21] accompanied by Congressman John Hiler of Indiana's Third District, came to Indiana Dunes as a side trip while on a speaking engagement in Michigan City. It marked the first visit by a Secretary of the Interior since Rogers Morton dedicated the National Lakeshore in 1972. Secretary Watt held a press conference in the visitor center where he stated:

It is phenomenal to stand in the beauty by the waters edge and see the dune grasses and trees and yet look both ways and see tremendous industrial development. We are ninety—five percent complete in our acquisition program. We are less than twenty percent complete with development. To make this pristine, beautiful area more accessible... the next monies need to go into building the facilities to make it more enjoyable for people and that should be our priority. [22]

---

*James Watt held the Indiana Dunes Advisory Commission in limbo through most of 1981 by failing to reappoint the former members and certify new appointees in a timely manner. Whitehouse inquired to the Secretary's Office nearly every month only to receive the same reply: "It's up on Ric Davidge's desk." The first Commission meeting finally came in December 1981. See Whitehouse interview, 12 March 1987.

---

Superintendent Whitehouse and Assistant Superintendent Engquist had served as the Secretary's tour guides. Engquist later recalled that on their way to the prearranged "photo opportunity" and informal press conference at West Beach, Watt paid almost no attention to the lakeshore's problems as related by its managers. Whitehouse and Engquist finally resigned themselves to polite, general conversation. However, immediately before emerging from the van, Watt interrupted the conversation to ask specific questions about his surroundings. Utilizing his naturalist's background, Engquist delivered a short natural history lesson. Watt proved to be a good student for in his remarks to reporters, he recited Engquist's speech as well as other tidbits of information he had gleaned from his two—day visit, thus seeming to be well—versed on Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. [23]

Firmly stating his support for park development, Watt held separate meetings with the Save the Dunes Council and Homeowners Opposed to Park Expansion (HOPE). In the meeting with environmentalists, Watt adopted his standard practice of excluding salaried members. Whitehouse, Engquist, and other lakeshore officials were not invited to attend the HOPE meeting. The surprisingly tranquil meeting with the Council covered a wide range of topics, including the "hit list" from which Watt disassociated himself. [24]

One result of the Watt—HOPE meeting brought about yet another Departmental investigation at Indiana Dunes. HOPE, which changed its name to the Indiana Dunes Conservancy Foundation, complained that the National Lakeshore was using inflated visitation figures to elicit a more favorable stand in the park expansion issue and to receive increased appropriations. Secretary Watt instructed the Inspector General to investigate the allegations. While the meticulous probe resulted in the Servicewide reevaluation of the visitation accounting system, no substantive changes were made and no improprieties were uncovered in the visitation counts at Indiana Dunes. [25]

Conservationists also viewed Interior's new "land protection plans" as an attempt to curtail the expansion of parks by requiring justifications for each proposed parcel as well as the acquisition of inholdings. The plans presented alternatives to acquisition even in cases where Congress decreed the purchase of specific parcels. New policies restricted land acquisition to willing sellers only and exempted commercial and industrial property. While the administration proposed no land acquisition funds in either the Fiscal Year 1982 or 1983 budgets, Congress overruled it and appropriated funds nonetheless.

Congressional hearings held in 1983 revealed the extent of the Reagan—Watt policies on the National Park System. Among the superintendents to testify was Indiana Dunes' Dale Engquist in whose park 600 acres remained in private ownership. Testimony revealed that all land acquisition cases had to be cleared through the Department—and more specifically, Ric Davidge's office—with the result being that the program slowed down considerably. Condemnation could only take place if the land were threatened. [26] Representative John F. Seiberling (Democrat—Ohio), member of the Interior and Insular Affairs Committee, declared:

The Interior Department has continued to delay spending funds to buy land within existing parks, despite the repeatedly expressed will of the Congress that the lands be acquired. This hurts private property owners who want and need to sell their lands; it also threatens the resources of the parks themselves which face damaging activities such as mining, timber—cutting, and housing construction if the lands are not purchased. [27]

Superintendent Engquist revealed the state of affairs at the national lakeshore. Engquist told Congress that $69,000 of the $1.5 million had been spent in the first half of Fiscal Year 1983. The park received clearances on seven of the nine cases it submitted to Washington. Engquist announced the lakeshore had dropped its seven—year effort to acquire NIPSCO's Crescent Dune, a thirty—seven acre tract bordering Mount Baldy and the NIPSCO power plant. Authorized for inclusion in 1976 with the stipulation that it be acquired in two years, condemnation proceedings were initiated within the deadline. However, the Justice Department adopted a literal interpretation and ruled that it was abandoning the suit because Crescent Dune had not been acquired by 1978. [28] Conservationists, however, refused to give up Crescent Dune. In mid—July 1983, the U.S. Army Special Forces Group (Airborne) and U.S. Coast Guard held a joint training exercise adjacent to the NIPSCO generating plant in Michigan City, including the Crescent Dune area. Commenting on the damage caused by the manuevers, Save the Dunes Council President Charlotte J. Read informed Dale Engquist that the Council would not back away from its commitment to add Crescent Dune to the national lakeshore. [29] The Council retains the tract on its Congressional wish list for future lakeshore expansion legislation.

The Watt era came to an end on November 8, 1983, with the resignation of the controversial Secretary of the Interior. The atmosphere of crisis dissipated over Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore as park proponents breathed a collective sigh of relief. Former Superintendent Whitehouse credited Director Russell Dickenson with the strong leadership required to help the National Park Service weather the storm. Whitehouse labeled the tumultuous period as a bureaucratic exercise in paperwork which ultimately changed very little. [30]

Triumph of the Bailly Alliance

Scientific monitoring of the environmental consequences attributed to the Bailly nuclear plant construction achieved significant results in the early 1980s. In a joint effort with the U.S. Geological Survey, national lakeshore scientists concentrated on evaluating dewatering impacts as well as seepage from fly—ash ponds into Cowles Bog. The studies determined the lowering of the ground water and NIPSCO's plan to compensate by adding waters would not be sufficient to maintain the water table. Secretary Cecil D. Andrus subsequently asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement (EIS) for Bailly I. [31]

In April 1981, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved NIPSCO's request to resume construction even though no new EIS was completed. In response, the Bailly Alliance mobilized and staged an impressive demonstration at the construction site. When NIPSCO asked that their construction permit be extended through the end of the decade, a public hearing was scheduled for October 1.

It was never held. In a surprise public announcement on August 26, 1981, NIPSCO declared it was abandoning its plan to build Bailly I.* The original estimate of $187 million had mushroomed over the past decade to an astronomical $1.81 billion. After expending $200 million and with only one percent of the facility in place, the utility company decided to absorb its losses and terminate the project.

---

*It came as no surprise to J. R. Whitehouse. In a meeting with Congressman Adam Benjamin (Democrat—Indiana) three months before the announcement, Benjamin revealed that NIPSCO had already decided to abandon Bailly I. See Whitehouse interview, 12 March 1987.

---

The Bailly Alliance, a far—flung, unlikely union of diverse organizations, succeeded in targeting public opinion against the nuclear facility. While the Joint Intervenors and the Concerned Citizens pursued litigation and public hearings to secure continuous delays, NIPSCO costs inevitably sky rocketed, compelling the company to re—evaluate the pros and cons of Bailly I. Taking advantage of the growing national anti—nuclear movement, the Bailly Alliance succeeded in turning the tide against NIPSCO's proposed nuclear plant. The result was the first cancellation of a nuclear power plant under construction in the history of the United States.

The national lakeshore's science division and management staff remained vigilant following the NIPSCO announcement in order to ensure that no damage occurred to Cowles Bog during the rehabilitation activities. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission charged NIPSCO with the responsibility to restore the former Bailly I site; in essence, to fill—in the massive hole. Beginning August 1, 1982, the company had a deadline of September 1, 1983, to complete the work. [32]

Management Efficiency

In early 1981, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) translated President Ronald Reagan's philosophy of government into Executive policy. OMB called on all agencies to formulate budgets designed to operate each unit at a "minimum acceptable level" of performance. Both Secretary Watt and Director Dickenson concurred with the President's back to basics approach and encouraged fiscal restraint. Each unit of the National Park System devised its own statement of purpose outlining basic operations. In addition, a new initiative called "Management Efficiency" interjected itself into park operations: trying to get the most with limited and oftentimes shrinking fiscal resources.

At Indiana Dunes, Management Efficiency translated into a reorganization of the lakeshore's staff in order for the park to operate more effectively and efficiently. In Resource Management and Visitor Protection, law enforcement district responsibilities were abolished to form a parkwide patrol. To eliminate duplication, cultural resources management and environmental monitoring duties were consolidated from three separate divisions. In Administration, two clerical positions were condensed into a secretarial position and the workload from three divisions was adjusted among the staff. In Maintenance, the Buildings and Utilities subdivision relocated to the centralized maintenance facility at the Bailly Administrative Area, thereby allowing more space for the Roads and Trails subunit at Furnessville.

Management Efficiency also meant making the best use of VIPs and CETA workers. In 1983, these programs were expanded dramatically and new cooperating volunteer groups such as Prisoners and Community Together (PACT), scouting troops, and school groups were recruited. Out of the VIP program emerged the "Friends of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore," a cooperating association working with park staff to assist in interpretation and environmental education as well as fund—raising activities for festivals. [33] Private initiatives, such as the Shirley Heinze Environmental Fund, also augmented park programs. Established in 1981 as a charitable trust, the Heinze Fund supports educational projects which highlight dunes resources. It also acquires duneland for preservation purposes outside the lakeshore boundaries either by donation or purchase. [34]