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FEATURED PARK
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Indiana
"The dunes are to the Midwest what the Grand Canyon is to Arizona." - Carl Sandburg
Every year more than two million people visit Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore at the southern tip of Lake Michigan to enjoy its renowned beaches, towering sand dunes, and beautiful bird-filled ponds and marshes. The park protects more than 15,000 acres of beautiful shoreline, woods, and wetlands, as well as historic routes where Native Americans traveled between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River.
The strong winds across Lake Michigan create these dunes--including the 126-foot Mt. Baldy--by lifting grains of sand and transporting them inland until plants and hills slow the wind, drop the sand, and create the hilly dunes. As you walk you may hear the "singing sands" as the combination of quartz crystals, moisture, and the friction of your steps create a musical tone unique to only a few beaches worldwide.
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore was established by President John F. Kennedy as part of a compromise, creating both the park and a port to satisfy industrial needs. Today several steel mills and a power plant are adjacent to the park, so protecting the park's fragile resources is a challenge. NPCA is working on a strategic plan with the park and other partners to build support and carve a path that preserves Indiana Dunes for the future.
PARKS IN THE NEWS
America's Great Outdoors Conservation Initiative Launches
 On April 16th, the White House hosted an all-day conference to focus on land conservation in the United States and discuss a new presidential initiative, America's Great Outdoors. This was the first time the president had convened such a meeting since 1908, when Theodore Roosevelt was in office.
The conference initiated an important dialogue among land managers who work within government agencies, conservation groups including NPCA, as well as those who are involved on a local level in states throughout the country. During the next few months, the Department of Interior, Department of Agriculture, and Council on Environmental Quality will host public and private forums around the country to solicit information about ongoing land conservation programs as well as ideas for new ones.
The national parks provide some of the best means of connecting a wide range of people to America's great outdoors, while preserving our country's natural and cultural diversity. They have great value to the American people as natural and historic landscapes and as places that tell our shared story. As a result, national parks have the potential to be the centerpiece of America's Great Outdoors, and should have a prominent place in the administration's initiative.
Stay tuned. The three agencies are expected to produce a report for the President with their recommendations sometime this fall, and we may be encouraging your comments and participation in some of these forums around the country.
NPCA Announces New Partnership
 The National Parks Conservation Association has partnered with Nestlé Waters North America Inc., on behalf of its six regional spring water brands--Arrowhead®, Deer Park®, Ice Mountain®, Ozarka®, Poland Spring® and Zephyrhills® -- to support NPCA's mission to protect and enhance America's national parks. Nestlé Waters' Regional Spring Water brands will work with NPCA on specific restoration projects in a select number of national parks across the country. Those projects will include some or all of the following; trail maintenance and building, removal of non-native, invasive plants and planting of native species, wetlands restoration, and general park maintenance.
For more information, visit npca.org.
Legacy on the Land
 This April, Audrey Peterman and Frank Peterman published Legacy on the Land: A Black Couple Discovers Our National Inheritance and Why Every American Should Care. The book details their cross-country tour of America's national parks and historic sites to reveal some of the often-overlooked issues regarding race, diversity, conservation, and the outdoors.
As long-time NPCA supporters and outdoor enthusiasts, the Petermans have made it their life's work to ensure that all Americans have the information--and the invitation--to get out and have a national park experience of their very own.
To learn more, or purchase the book, visit Earthwise Productions.
TRAVEL WITH NPCA
Women's Fly Fishing AdventureSeptember 12-18, 2010
The National Parks Conservation Association invites you to join Fran Ulmer, Former Lieutenant Governor of Alaska, for a women's fly fishing adventure. You'll meet your fellow travel companions in Anchorage--then it's off to the quaint town of Cordova, where our celebrated guide awaits.
Cecilia Pudge Kleinkauf, author of both Fly Fishing Women Explore Alaska and River Girls: Fly Fishing for Young Women, will be leading our fishing excursions in world-class rivers and streams. We'll also enjoy a trip by air to the interior of the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, as well as sightseeing at Childs Glacier and the Copper River Delta.
For more information or to reserve your space, call us at 800.628.7275, e-mail us at travel@npca.org, or learn more online.
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