New National Park Push Being Made For Indiana Dunes

PORTER, Ind. (AP) — A new effort is being made in Congress to designate the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore along Lake Michigan as a national park.

A bill for the designation has been filed by Indiana Sens. Todd Young and Mike Braun and Rep. Pete Visclosky. The same proposal was approved by the House in 2017 but failed to get through the last Congress. The Senate didn't take a vote.

Visclosky says designating Indiana Dunes as a national park would recognize what he calls the lakeshore's environmental wonder and enhance the region's economy.

The national lakeshore was established in 1966 and now includes about 15,000 acres at the southern end of Lake Michigan. There's also an Indiana state park in the area.