Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is now Indiana Dunes National Park/NPS
The spending bill President Trump signed on Friday included a provision that changed the name of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore to Indiana Dunes National Park. This change takes place immediately.
The bill also changes the name of the Miller Woods Trail to the Paul H. Douglas Trail in honor of the late Illinois senator who helped lead the fight along with Save the Dunes and other citizen groups to create the national lakeshore in 1966.
"One-hundred-and-three years in the making, what a terrific tribute to the neighbors, partners, visitors and National PARK staff," said Indiana Dunes Superintendent Paul Labovitz. "We are so appreciative to the entire Indiana delegation for their recognition and support of this national treasure."
The park staff looks forward to celebrating this name change in the near future and to working with local communities and partners on spreading the word about the nation’s 61st national park.
Comments
what a joke, the Gateway Arch and this Dune Shore park are nothing signifiant when compared to the national parks legacy. it makes me sick that this legacy of national parks has been tarnished with these low quality unwonderous parcels of land. All national parks prior to this have a wow factor and this low grade move shows how unconnected our president is to reality
Parks create more money for the economy than a lesser park unit such as a monument, historical park, lakeshore, etc...Therefore, for example in this case, Pences state of Indiana would benefit from even greater tourism and dollars that come with it with the name change.
Not necessarily. I looked up the visitation numbers when Death Valley changed from National Monument to National Park and it wasn't much different. Pinnacles got one peak and it settled down. Not sure if it was because of the higher publicity or because people would have otherwise wanted to go there.
It does require a Congressional Act to declare a national park though. I believe all NPS areas require that except for National Monuments.
And if you can believe it, Mt St Helens isn't a National Park yet. Not sure if it's because the Forest Service has made it known they don't want to give it up or because there's no local Congressional support. That part of Washington isn't heavily populated, and not sure if Congress members in Portland would care to support it since increased tourist dollars might not make it there.
John thompson, my reading is that Trump had nothing to do with the Indiana Dunes designation. The congressional delegation buried it in the recent "wall" bill and it was thus signed. The acting NPS director actually testified against the NP designation. Say what you will about the Trump administration, but I think Smith's testimony is spot on:
https://www.nwitimes.com/written-testimony-of-p-daniel-smith-acting-nati...
IMHO each of the other three National Lakeshores is far superior (no pun intended) to Indiana Dunes in terms of scenery and general interest, but I'll admit that I'm not a biologist and not swayed by claims about preserving biodiversity - the area was already under the same protection that it will have in the future, right? Warren Dunes, a Michigan state park to the east, is arguably more impressive also. I don't deny Indiana Dunes is a pleasant place to visit, but NP status?
I originally hail from St. Louis (big fan of Ozark NSR!!!) and am aghast at the Gateway Arch NP designation also. I guess we should just redesignate every unit of the NPS as a NP and be done with it.
John Thompson, are you actually blaming Trump for this? A POTUS cannot designate a national park. Ask the congressional delegation first. That being said, I do agree that the last two new NPs have been baffling. Gateway Arch should have been made a national historical site or park.
What they should have done is take all of the Great Lakes National Lakseshores and combined them into one Great Lakes National Park just with separate units.
And the expansion of Shiloh NMP to include Fallen Timbers and other parts of the wider Corinth/Iuka campaign is an excellent development from a historians perspective. More battlefields and parks need to encompass the wider campaigns for greater context. Richmond NBP is one in particula that could benefit from two separate campaign parks, one for the Peninsular campaign and the other for the 64-65 campaign.
I think perhaps some kind of review board outside Congress needs to be created that would address some of these designations. Some of these newer NPs are cheapening the brand. NPs should be Crown Jewels. The best of all. But every politician in DC wants new NPs regardless it seems. We need a review board to separate the wheat from the chafe. I'm not talking all park units but just what becomes a National Park.
It is also surprising that Mathers home isn't a part of the NPS.
Which one? I know there's talk about the historic nature of the Mather Homestead in CT, but that's not where Stephen Mather was born or grew up.
And I've been in arguments over whether or not a place like Pinnacles deserved "national park" status. I like the place, but I just didn't get why it would be getting the crown jewel designation.
I agree this is a classic example of "grade inflation" and extends a recent trend in that direction. The name "National Park" has, since the earliest days of the National Park Service, connoted a landscape-scale natural area with numerous features of scenic, natural or historic interest, constituting a superlative example of the type of landscape in its class (be it mountains, desert, prairie, coastline, wetland, forest, etc). Indiana Dunes is a pleasant-enough place but otherwise is none of these. It is too small to be considered landscape scale, has only two or three features of interest, and in overall impression is outclassed by any one of the other 3 National Lakeshores established on the Great Lakes, all of which are larger and more scenic (sorry to say) than Indiana Dunes.
The name "National Park" has a certain cachet to it that brings a level of prestige and visibility to a park, and its surrounding communities and their economy, which other names do not, all other things being equal. The reason for the name upgrade here was local boosterism, primarily economic, in the hopes that the new name would let Indiana Dunes and its communities rise to the top and attract attention and visitation from non-local tourists who make it a point to visit all of the capital-N capital-P National Parks. It is notable that the NPS itself recommended against this upgrade; while those most often quoted in support of it are local congresspeople and chamber-of-commerce types who basically admit this.
There have been many examples of this throughout the history of the national parks system, and most have been properly sidetracked by committee chairs, Interior officials, etc, who knew and cared about the "brand" enough to protect it. The current crop of politicians does not, on both sides of the aisle, and that is the only reason this one got through. The same can be said for Gateway Arch National Park (better left as a national memorial or monument); Pinnacles National Park (better left as a national monument); and arguably Cuyahoga Valley and Congaree National Parks which ignited this recent trend back in the 2000's.
I digress, the congress - the president when he signs a bill to law, whatever it may be. I fully agree with everything you say, I have been to 38 of them and blown away. I have even psyched myself out when visiting some of them, thinking this wont be that spectacular and then I visit everything in WY, HI, UT, CO, AZ, NV, NM ,the WEST Coast and the EAST coast, the Dakotas, even Wind Cave was cool but subtle or Kentucky mesmerizing and its unbelievably iconic, I am truly awed. I thought Great Basin was going to be underwhelming and I saw the world's oldest trees after a pilgrimage to the heights and it was one of the most humbling experiences. I feel bad for Glacier my children wont be able to see it how it was 25 years ago even, TX and Dry Tortugas. I am leaving AK for last and MI to be explored when I can really indulge. CV-in OH was kinda low key but I understand the concept. I will check out this new one but I will also take everyone's recommendations and see the nicer places along the Great Lakes. We can only hope that we get some more goods one or uplift in some deserving ones so this trend turns a leaf for the better.