News Blip: Indiana Dunes Wants National Park Recognition
Operated By The National Park Service, The Federal Dunes Hopes To Attract More Visitors With This Newly Honored Title
Editor's Note: This news item was retrieved and first published through nwiTimes's website.
Could Indiana get its first National Park? A likely contender for the title is Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky is eager to make the change and convert Indiana Dunes into America's 60th national park! As the first step, the U.S. House unanimously approved legislation to apply the national park moniker to the 15,000 acres of federally held land stretching for 15 miles along the south shore of Lake Michigan. According to nwiTimes, if H.R. 1488 is approved by the U.S. Senate and signed into law by the president, the federal Dunes property would join the ranks of the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, the Great Smoky Mountains and other natural wonders recognized as truly special places in the United States.
nwiTimes writer Dan Carden speaks with US Representative Visclosky and relays what he had to say: "It is incumbent that we do everything possible to encourage citizens and travelers from around the world to visit the park to learn, recreate and simply enjoy the sublime environment of the Northwest Indiana Lakeshore," Visclosky said. "H.R. 1488 helps to achieve this goal." The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is recognized as a beautiful natural resources in Indiana and it only seems right to designate the area with the recognition it deserves, with an added benefit of helping grow the economy in Northwest Indiana.