The Indiana Dunes And The Battle To Save Them

Here’s an article from the Smithsonian about the fight to save the Indiana dunes, which recently became a national park. I can attest that it is a truly interesting area, with a number of varied habitats. The dunes are real sand dunes, but they are so old that the backsides of the dunes – the areas away from the lake – are often heavily forested. But heavy industry – and the pollution it causes – sits cheek to jowl with many of these beautiful areas. Cowles Bog is often called the “birthplace of ecology” because Henry Cowles, a University of Chicago biology professor, did the studies that formed his view of forest succession there. It’s beautiful place – technically a fen, not a bog – but it sits literally a stone’s throw from an huge, working steel mill. Countless rail cars full of fuel to be burned in the power plant at Michigan City roll past it day and night, also just a stone’s throw away. The dunes are also a top birding location in the spring, rivaling Magee Marsh, east of Toledo, for their diversity and profusion of migratory birds and waterfowl. There is a beautiful swimming beach, and there are miles of Lake Michigan shoreline to explore, along with miles of walking trails.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/inside-the-fight-to-save-the-indiana-dunes-one-americas-most-vulnerable-national-parks-180984756/