Indiana Dunes Administrative History

Operations, 1977—1979 (continued)

1979

Six new permanent full—time positions were filled during the year with three coming in the Division of Interpretation. This came in large part as a result of efforts by Congressmen Adam Benjamin and Sid Yates. Subsequently, at a meeting with Park Service Director William Whalen and Midwest Regional Director Jimmie Dunning, Save the Dunes Council President Charlotte J. Read noted that visitation surpassed the one million mark in 1978, and the Lakeshore still had only two permanent full—time interpreters out of an authorized ceiling of five. The Council believed ten more positions were needed to "meet the demands of expanded urban programs and the growing needs of school groups in the surrounding metropolitan areas."* Read spoke from experience, having once worked as a seasonal interpreter. Bringing the interpretive staff up to its authorized five positions during the governmentwide hiring freeze required a special dispensation from the Carter Administration. Another new position was that of Park Planner (filled by Steve Whitesell) to work closely with the Superintendent on planning and public involvement. [16]

---

*Save the Dunes Council unsuccessfully lobbied for a Communities Council similar to the one at Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area near Cleveland, Ohio. The move came out of the Council's long—standing belief that it lacked sufficient input on the Advisory Commission. Nothing came of the proposal. See Whitehouse interview, 12 March 1987.

---

Visitation nearly doubled in 1979: 2,016,791 compared to 1,031,307 in 1978. The explanation for the "extraordinary increases" included new environmental education programs, the success of special populations programs, the popularity of park folk festivals, and the short supply and rising cost of gasoline.

On June 18, the national lakeshore's administrative headquarters relocated to the newly renovated Bailly Administrative Area (the former NIKE base) at 1100 North Mineral Springs Road in Porter. [17] The move significantly improved park operations by alleviating the egregious over—crowding at the Tremont visitor center. The facility not only physically pulled together park staff, but put a more polished, professional face on the national lakeshore.

During the summer, three Congressionally—mandated transportation programs began at Indiana Dunes under a new transportation authority granted to the National Park Service. The Visitor Access Transportation Systems (VATS) began with an April 5 notice in the Federal Register. Three lightly-attended public meetings were held to explain VATS which was a scheduled weekend system of twelve—passenger vans providing connections between the South Shore Railroad stops in the lakeshore to lakeshore facilities. A lack of publicity, however, prevented the full success of two other services under the VATS program: a connection of the Gary bus system to West Beach and the Michigan City bus system to Mount Baldy. The only successful part of the program was the shuttle system carrying people from the South Shore Railroad stops to the park. The service helped to boost weekend use of the railway.

With a coordinated program of planning and community liason, the lakeshore achieved the control of illegal ORV use in the West Unit.

The Science Office, completely staffed and armed with a credible laboratory in the Rostone House, began its environmental monitoring activities. In April, an ambient air monitoring program started with the installation of a continuous sulfur dioxide monitor in the Bailly area. In October, scientists placed a similar device near Dune Acres. Particulates, ozone, and acid rain were evaluated by the monitors and found to be within acceptable limits determined by the Environmental Protection Agency. The national lakeshore program became a component of the National Atmospheric Deposition Network which tracks acidity and trace elements in both precipitation and dry deposition. [18]

Air quality was also involved in the obnoxious odors emanating from the Continental Can Company plant near Dune Acres and Bethlehem Steel. A burnt solvent smell was particularly strong during the winter months wafting over Cowles Bog. A visit from lakeshore personnel brought a claim by company officials that their incinerator was operating normally, yet the odors persisted. Service officials charged the unpleasant odors detracted from the outdoor park experience. The lakeshore's Air Quality Specialist determined the pollution was indeed the result of faulty equipment and was at levels far beyond State regulations. An appeal to the Chicago office of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) brought EPA concurrence with the finding. Superintendent Whitehouse succeeded in convincing Indianapolis officials to act swiftly, sending warning letters to the company. With the threat of litigation, the company corrected the problem. [19]

Aside from the increased staff in the Division of Interpretation, a Public Activities Subdivision formed separate from the Environmental Education program to handle school groups. Program attendance climbed dramatically as participation in the third annual Duneland Folk Festival more than tripled in 1979 with 21,953 people. Cosponsored with the Westchester Public Library, the event extended from seven to nine days and on the final weekend, more than 12,000 people gathered at the Bailly Homestead. A new program known as "Maple Sugar Time" held at the Chellberg Farm also brought increased participation as did the "Autumn Harvest" where more than one thousand visitors enjoyed square dancing, sorghum pressing, applehead doll making, pumpkin carving, and other activities. A biweekly guest lecture series on a wide range of topics enjoyed similar crowds. Senior citizens were encouraged under a special July program to visit on Fridays when a total of fifty elderly people were treated to a day in the dunes. A special publicity campaign of distributing Indiana Dunes buttons and plastic beach bags also helped to bring visitors to the national lakeshore.

Interpretation's Environmental Education Subdivision became an annual program in 1979. Contacting 10,000 visitors in 1978 on a part—time basis, the Environmental Education Specialist, Lead Technician, and experienced environmental education seasonals contacted 33,000 visitors in 1979. The Lutz House became the Environmental Education Center with school groups, teachers, and other organized groups being served there. The subdivision organized new community outreach programs, various winter activities, and bilingual programs.

Supplemental staffing for these programs came from the lakeshore's mushrooming Volunteers In Parks (VIP) program. VIPs could not be paid a salary, but travel expenses and lodging could be provided, and the VIPs could use the park's three dormitories. VIPs allowed the Service to expand its program as well as to begin new ones. The effort reaped tremendous public relations benefits. It allowed local citizens to feel a part of the lakeshore's operations while interacting with the professional staff, thus giving the often controversial park a more positive public profile.

The Maintenance Division carried on with no major changes in 1979. [20] Its operations were augmented by the assistance of the YACC camp. When the Midwest Region eliminated the three—mile West Beach Trail from the Regional construction program, it became a YACC project. [21]

Denver Service Center Historian A. Berle Clemensen completed the national lakeshore's Historic Resource Study in February. The document provided a general history of the dunes, including site specific information and data for the development of interpretive exhibits and programs. [22]

As early as March 1978, the Michigan City Board of Works approved the sale of Mount Baldy to the national lakeshore. The Land Acquisition Office prepared the proper forms for fee acquisition and the transaction was approved by Director Whalen, Secretary of the Interior Cecil B. Andrus, and the Office of Management and Budget. [23] The Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies of the U.S. House of Representatives, however, advised the Department of the Interior on July 21, 1978, that it would not approve acquisition except by donation. Whitehouse's efforts since 1972 to acquire Mount Baldy were hampered by the city's request to be compensated for the acquisition. After the denial by the Congressional Committee, Whitehouse continued to negotiate with the city. Partly in exchange for Whitehouse's commitment to arrange to perform certain services such as cleaning Kintzele Ditch, the city eventually agreed to donate the land at no cost to the National Park Service. [24] The dedication ceremony took place on February 17, 1979, when the mayor of Michigan City presented the Mount Baldy deed to the Park Service, represented by Superintendent Whitehouse and Director Whalen. [25]

The dedication of the Hoosier Prairie National Natural Landmark and State Nature Preserve took place on June 3, 1979. The largest tract of native prairie remaining in Indiana, the Department of the Interior designated Hoosier Prairie a National Natural Landmark in 1974 and it became officially registered in 1978. Indiana purchased 304 acres of the prairie in 1976 with the help of the Hoosier Prairie Committee, Nature Conservancy, Save the Dunes Council, Izaak Walton League, and other conservation groups. The Indiana Natural Resources Commission designated it a State Nature Preserve the following year.

The Hoosier Prairie ceremony took place on thirty—one acres owned by the national lakeshore. Dedication speakers included Natural Resources Director Joseph D. Cloud, Superintendent J. R. Whitehouse, Lt. Governor Robert D. Orr, Save the Dunes Council Executive Director Ruth Osann, and Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service Associate Regional Director Dave Shonk. State plans included fencing the area and building an interpretive trail with limited parking and an interpretive facility. In cooperation with the Park Service, the Indiana divisions of Nature Preserves and Forestry planned a controlled burning program to regulate the invasion of woody plants and to help the growth of native prairie vegetation.[26]

Yet another significant ceremony came on October 10, 1979, in the Department of the Interior auditorium in Washington, D.C. Sylvia Troy of the Save the Dunes Council received the Department's Conservation Service Award, the highest honor the Department bestows on private citizens. The award recognized Mrs. Troy's years of dedicated service in the preservation of natural resources in northern Indiana. [27]