Indiana Dunes A Signature of Time and Eternity: The Administrative History of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Indiana

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Pleased be assured that, reports to the contrary notwithstanding, the Department of the Interior has no plans to deauthorize Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, or otherwise eliminate it from the National Park System.

June 8, 1981, letter from Secretary of the Interior James Watt to Senator Charles H. Percy (Republican-Illinois). [1]

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Operations, 1981-1983

1981

Recreational visits registered a slight decrease in 1981, the first such drop in Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore's ten-year operational history. Although interpretive and environmental education visitation continued to rise, recreational visitation fell 16.3 percent to stand at an overall annual total of 1,023,436. Justification for the depressed figures rested heavily on the record-setting rainfall which fell during the summer months thereby discouraging beach use. The summer deluges caused water quality problems as the overabundance of rainwater runoff and inadequate municipal sewage treatment facilities combined to force the periodic closing of beaches.

New exhibits were designed by the Harpers Ferry Center and installed at the Bailly and Chellberg visitor center. Rehabilitation activities continued on several of the Chellberg Farm structures. Complying with the 1980 act to commemorate former Senator Paul H. Douglas, a wayside exhibit at West Beach and a new brochure were designed in 1981.

The lakeshore's resource management component underwent reorganization as a Resource Management Specialist was added to the Resource Management and Visitor Protection Division thereby assuming some of the responsibilities formerly performed by the Science Office. During the year, the park completed the first draft of its Resources Management Plan.

The lakeshore limited boat access in West Beach in an effort to further protect visitors by buoying the shoreline westward to the boundary at County Line Road. Under the Code of Federal Regulations 36 Part 3, no craft can operate within 500 feet of any designated swimming areas. New West Beach facilities opened during the year including the visitor contact station, the entrance/fee collection kiosk, and the maintenance facility.

In Interpretation, more than 60,000 visitors attended nearly 2,000 environmental education programs. Because of a lack of staff, however, nearly 12,000 persons could not be accommodated. Twenty-one thousand people attended the Fifth Annual Duneland Folk Festival and six thousand others participated in division-sponsored hikes, walks, and talks. The Volunteers In Parks (VIPs) program continued to flourish with four thousand hours donated.

The Maintenance Division remained responsive to the park's daily needs with seven permanent staff members and an overall Full-Time Equivalency (FTE) ceiling of 35.8. Under special authority from Congress, the second major road rehabilitation contract resulted in completion of work on East State Park Road (or Kemil Road), Howe Road, and Waverly Road. Fiscal Year 1981 signalled the "beginning of the end" for the YACC program. Because of budget reductions, the phase-out of YACC at Indiana Dunes saw the elimination of the camp administrative officer and one crew leader, the halting of recruitment activities at mid-year, and the return of all GSA vehicles.

Beach nourishment activities by the Corps of Engineers ended a five-year, $1.5 million erosion control program. In December 1981 alone, workers deposited 80,000 cubic yards of sand at Mount Baldy.

In October, separate fires destroyed five homes. The suspicious evening blazes were investigated by lakeshore rangers as well as officers of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. When the inquiry yielded a determination of arson, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was alerted. The National Park Service posted a reward of $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the culprit(s). [2] No one was arrested, but the increased law enforcement activity curtailed the problem.

1982

One of the most significant events of the year involved a change of leadership in the office of the Superintendent. After thirty years in the National Park Service and twelve years at Indiana Dunes, Superintendent James R. Whitehouse retired. His retirement became effective in December, although his last day was October 31. Whitehouse's apparent successor was Assistant Superintendent Dale Engquist. Engquist's familiarity with park operations thereby assured a smooth transition in park management. (See following section, "1983.")

Visitation rebounded in 1982 after the previous year's slight drop to register a 4.22 percent increase. Interpretation and environmental education programs suffered a twenty percent cut because of hiring ceiling restrictions and the resulting decrease in seasonal staff. Program attendance registered a mere decline of 500 people.

As in other Midwest Region areas, computer technology first came to Indiana Dunes during the year. Introduction of computers, especially in the area of word processing, greatly facilitated park operations. Many mistakes were made in the early stages as no specialists were on staff to coordinate the new technology. Within a very short time, however, computer usage permeated nearly every division.

Initiated in 1981, the Resource Management and Visitor Protection (RM and VP) Division underwent reorganization in 1982. The two subunits of Visitor Protection and Resource Management were formed. New resource management positions were added and positions and functions of science more directly related to monitoring and implementation were transferred from Science to Resource Management (e.g., fire management and air and water quality monitoring). The Science Office remained as a separate division. The administrative shift improved the park's ability to identify and react to natural and cultural resource threats. Superintendent Whitehouse envisioned that the reorganization would facilitate implementation of recommended actions in the Resources Management Plan as well as help face the multiple environmental problems identified in the park's numerous scientific studies.

A Resource Management monitoring project came to a successful conclusion in 1982 with NIPSCO fulfilling all requirements of the February 1978 agreement with the Department of the Interior. The NIPSCO fly ash ponds were effectively sealed and the danger of seepage onto lakeshore lands abated.

In May, Denver Service Center-led planning activities for developments under phase one of the General Management Plan began, including the East and West Unit Transit Centers, West Unit Access Road, Paul H. Douglas Environmental Education Center, Gary/Marquette Park Marina, and the Transportation Plan. Planning also began for exhibits for the West Beach visitor contact facility. The Gary marina feasibility/suitability study served as the basis for a November 22 meeting between Midwest Regional Director Jimmie Dunning and Mayor Richard Hatcher of Gary. The study recommended any of three proposed locations for the facility. The men agreed to proceed with the environmental impact statement (EIS).

Both a feasibility study and an EIS were prepared by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in regard to Indiana's shoreline erosion problems. The Corps recommended continued beach nourishment to offset the erosion in the national lakeshore's East Unit caused by Michigan City's harbor facilities.

Major road rehabilitation projects again were Congressionally authorized at Indiana Dunes. The lakeshore received permission to use road rehabilitation funds from its Operation of the National Park System (ONPS) base for road maintenance activities regardless of road ownership.

Phase-out of the YACC program occurred during the year to mark the end of YACC at Indiana Dunes. All enrollees were terminated on March 31 and the last YACC camp staff member departed on April 30. The benefits of utilizing a non-Park Service, low-cost labor force did not cease as a three-month Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) program began on June 14. Former YACC Camp Director Jon Evans was reappointed to serve as YCC director. The non-residential YCC program employed forty-four people, more than half of whom lived in Gary or Michigan City.

The young workers, augmented with Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) workers, were distributed throughout the lakeshore's divisions to assist in daily operations. In Maintenance, the workers joined division employees at Mount Baldy for dune restoration activities and construction of a trail and small picnic area. Other maintenance activities included installation of Blue Heron Rookery boundary markers and a trail along the Little Calumet River complete with interpretive signs and fishing access points.

In April 1982, the Land Acquisition Office moved from Marquette Mall in Michigan City to the Bailly Administrative Area. The office occupied the north end of a building which formerly served as YACC camp headquarters.

Parking lot fee collection at West Beach increased from one to two dollars during the peak Memorial Day to Labor Day season.

Superintendent Whitehouse became the Midwest Region's coordinator for the State of Indiana in early 1982. The responsibilities of State Coordinator included consulting with other Park Service superintendents in Indiana (George Rogers Clark National Historical Park and Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial) and keeping the Midwest Regional Office informed of pertinent developments which might affect Service programs and operations in Indiana.

In legislative developments, the proposed land exchange between the National Park Service and the State of Indiana succeeded with President Ronald Reagan signing the measure into law on October 20. Congressional action was necessary because the lands to be exchanged were not of equal value. The legislation permitted the Service to execute an agreement with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources for each agency to control lands within the Blue Heron Rookery and Hoosier Prairie respectively.

Some disappointing actions regarding the park's popular bimonthly publication, Singing Sands Almanac, took place in 1982. As late as the fall of 1981, the Superintendent of Documents at the U.S. Government Printing Office began purchasing 1,468 copies of each issue to distribute to Federal Publications Depositories throughout the country. On May 20, 1982, however, government-financed publication of the Singing Sands Almanac terminated under a circular from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The order resulted in the halting of distribution plans for the May-June 1982 edition. Superintendent Whitehouse explained to the press that termination of government publication of the Almanac came about from a moratorium on the printing of government periodicals. Whitehouse revealed the lakeshore was exploring alternatives to permit publishing through private funding sources, in which case the former mailing list entries (11,000) would be offered an opportunity to resubscribe. In the meantime, Whitehouse announced the Almanac would be replaced by a free schedule of activities available for distribution to park visitors upon request. Concerned about the Almanac's demise, the Indiana Dunes Advisory Commission recommended that Secretary James Watt request an exemption from OMB. Watt declined, but added his support for obtaining private funding to publish Singing Sands Almanac.

A revised Statement for Management reflecting the 1980 GMP was approved on October 6. Interpretive prospectuses for the Bailly and Chellberg Farm areas were approved two months later.

The local political environment shifted during the year upon the Congressional redistricting of Indiana. The national lakeshore, once included in three different districts, now found itself within the new First Congressional District. Because of the redistricting, Rep. Floyd Fithian lost his seat. To compound the turmoil, on September 4, First District Congressman Adam Benjamin, Jr. died. Benjamin's replacement, Mrs. Katie Hall, was elected to fill the First District seat in the November election. In appreciation of Benjamin's great friendship toward the lakeshore, the Indiana Dunes Advisory Commission joined other local groups in urging that the proposed Gary marina be named after the late Congressman. [3]

1983

Visitation continued to climb, hitting a record annual high of 1,510,630—a 41.6 percent increase over 1982 levels. With extreme heat experienced during the summer, people went to the beaches in droves causing the closing of the national lakeshore's four beach parking lots 148 times for a total of 538 hours.

Backed by the enthusiastic support of a united Indiana Congressional Delegation, the National Park Service approved the elevation of Assistant Superintendent Dale B. Engquist to fill the Superintendent's position. [4] Even though it conflicted with policy, J. R. Whitehouse enthusiastically advocated Dale Engquist's selection. The Advisory Commission initiated an intensive letter-writing campaign to get Engquist into the position. Not until a letter endorsing Engquist was signed by all twelve Indiana Representatives, two Senators, and Governor did the Service relent and change its mind—but not before a fast phone call from the Department to HOPE (Homeowners Opposed to Park Expansion)/Indiana Dunes Nature Conservancy was made to gain that organization's approval. As a result, Engquist had to meet with HOPE representatives before they reported they did not oppose his becoming superintendent. Engquist's unorthodox succession to the superintendency was yet another reminder of the lakeshore's close link to the political pulse. [5]

Six rangers in the West Beach Unit received the Department of the Interior Unit Award for Excellence from Secretary James Watt. Recognized for their efforts to reverse adverse usage at West Beach in favor of a family-oriented environment were Dave Montalbano, John Cannon, Sue Kylander, Phillip Lawson, Paul Crawford, and Fred Grish.

The Interpretation Division became more efficient in November 1983 with an internal reorganization. The separate Visitor Services (Public Activities) and Environmental Education subdivisions were merged to form the Visitor Services Subdivision which handled all programs and attended station operations. Festivals and interpretive planning were managed by the Interpretive Planning and Support Subdivision. The changes reduced lead positions from four to two, elevated productivity, and improved the lakeshore's planning capabilities.

Denver Service Center planners completed preliminary planning documents for the Douglas Environmental Education Center and construction funds were appropriated for the Service's Fiscal Year 1984 budget.

When President Reagan signed the Emergency Jobs Act of 1983 (P.L. 98-8) on March 24, the Park Service received $25 million, $211,000 of which went to Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. The emergency employment funding permitted the lakeshore to hire thirty-one people to engage in a number of maintenance and construction projects listed as follows:

1. Completed installation of the fire and security alarm systems at Bailly Homestead, Chellberg Farm, Rostone House, and 3,300-unit park museum collection at the temporary environmental education center. ($28,000 value.)

2. Conducted parkwide site restoration and cleanup activities, including dump sites in the Miller Woods area. Installed and repaired cables and other barricades to prevent use by off-road vehicles and illegal dumping. A total of 1,380 yards of debris were removed. ($76,100 value.)

3. Rehabilitated and improved safety on horse and ski trails, including trail stabilization, repair of bridge and drainage systems, and installation of boardwalks and signs. ($50,100 value.)

4. Rehabilitated and improved safety on the Little Calumet Trail, including a half-mile route revision, resurfacing, and boardwalk repairs. ($10,000 value.)

5. Rehabilitated and improved safety on the West Beach Trail, including adding woodchips and construction and repair of steps and boardwalks. ($27,400 value.)

6. Completed improvements at the West Beach Picnic Area, including installation of a fire hydrant, eight wooden picnic shelters, and a wood-frame railroad stop station. ($5,000 value.)

7. Replaced six water system shut-off valves in the Bailly Administrative Area. ($12,000 value.)

8. Installed safety handrailing at visitor center. ($3,000 value.)

YCC enrollees also continued to be intermixed in park operations with thirty-five in Maintenance, twelve in Resource Management and Visitor Protection, three in Science, one in Interpretation, and one in Administration. In addition to providing assistance in park maintenance programs and scientific monitoring projects, the YCC workers assisted with the self-guided Dune Succession Trail at West Beach, completed work on the Mount Baldy Trail, and helped with boundary survey and posting activities.

Once again the lakeshore received ONPS base funding for rehabilitating non-Federal roads within its boundaries. Additional parking areas were added at Inland Marsh, Pinhook Bog, and the Blue Heron Rookery. Service maintenance workers also realigned the West Beach visitor contact station and entrance road.

Volunteers In Parks (VIPs) donated more than 8,400 work hours to save the park an estimated $57,200. The 135 VIPs, combined with various local community groups, helped to augment the Park Service workforce.

Manpower worries became more common as work year personnel ceilings continued to drop. In Fiscal Year 1981, the lakeshore's ceiling stood at 110, but dropped to 101 in 1982, and then to 100.4 in 1983. In 1983, lifeguard services were provided for the first time by contract at the Kemil Road and Central Avenue beaches. Faced with contracting out all lifeguard services, park management studied the possibility late in the year of contracting out custodial services as well. The move came as a result of the Office of Management and Budget's Circular A-76 which evaluated Federal performance of activities which might be better handled by private commercial interests. The Maintenance Division began an evaluation of all of its in-house operations with an eye toward identifying all potential commercial activities including motor vehicle maintenance, snow removal, and roads, trails, and buildings maintenance. Superintendent Engquist noted, "It is anticipated that OMB Circular A-76 policy potentially will have a tremendous affect on Maintenance Division operations and personnel in F.Y. 1984 and subsequent years." [6]

Several studies were either underway or completed during the year. First, the Transportation Study, authorized by the 1980 bill, was completed in September and forwarded to Congress. The study recommended acquisition and restoration of ten historic South Shore Railroad cars. The Service's Fiscal Year 1984 budget included a $200,000 appropriation for acquisition, storage, and restoration of the vintage railcars, and $75,000 in planning funds for new South Shore Railroad stops in the lakeshore. The study also called for the redesignation of U.S. Highway 12 from Pines east to within 500 feet of the U.S. Steel Plant's east gate as a scenic road. The report advised that the speed limit be reduced from fifty-five to forty-five miles per hour and trucks be prohibited. Second, Denver Service Center began advanced planning for a campground study with a $200,000 Fiscal Year 1984 appropriation. The proposed facility was targeted for the former Beverly Shores golf course area. Third, administrative staff spent considerable time compiling a Land Protection Plan according to new Departmental guidelines. The report enumerated the lakeshore's land acquisition priorities and served as a guideline for the Land Acquisition Office.

A sizeable sewer connection project commenced later in the year with a $419,000 appropriation. The project involved connecting the lakeshore's Bailly Unit facilities to the city of Porter's sewer system. In addition, a separate $130,000 appropriation provided for a sewer extension to serve the GMP-mandated Goodfellow Environmental Education Camp.

The Science Office worked closely with the U.S. Geological Survey to gather data on the effects of dredging. When a local community proposed large scale dredging of Brown Ditch to alleviate homeowners' complaints of basement flooding, scientists proved that dredging within the national lakeshore would not produce the desired result of lowering the water table. Their efforts succeeded in halting the Brown Ditch dredging proposal within the lakeshore and thereby the potential adverse effects on the lakeshore ecosystem.

Preparation of the park's "Gifts Catalog" by Chief Interpreter Larry Waldron and his staff provided an ideal opportunity for the national lakeshore's supporters to donate money, items, and services. The catalog, entitled "Your Gift of Forever," focused on needs of the environmental education, science, resource preservation, and interpretive programs, and was published by Inland Steel the following year. Unlike other park gifts catalogs, the national lakeshore chose not to list mundane items (hammers, tires, shovels, etc.) because it recognized that in a depressed economy with many steelworkers unemployed, there would be few people willing to donate their own limited resources to the Federal Government. Instead, the catalog enumerated the lakeshore's programmatic needs and could be used in making contact with business corporations. Concurrent with this event was the formulation of the "Friends of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore" which provided financial and personnel support. Granted non-profit corporation status, the "Friends" were primarily charged with putting the various festivals on a self-sustaining basis. The Friends grew out of the large cadre of loyal volunteers who were involved in the interpretive programs at the Bailly Homestead and Chellberg Farm. The volunteers recognized that the lakeshore required assistance to maintain programs during an era of budget restrictions. [7]

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]

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*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.

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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]

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*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.

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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.

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*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.

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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]